The Gowanus Station Building at 234 Butler Street is at risk.
To have their voices heard, they will be holding a Candle Light Vigil at the building and are encouraging others to join.
If the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Agency has its way, the beautiful former City of New York Water Supply Distribution Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street at the corner of Nevins Street will be demolished as part of the current plan to build an 8 million gallon Combined Sewer Overflow tank and facility head house on the site it occupies,
This two-story beaux-arts building, built in 1913 by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, not only reflects the larger context of Gowanus as one of the earliest and busiest industrial and manufacturing centers in this country, it is also unique for being the only building that actually bears the name of the neighborhood.
There has been much advocacy from members of the community to save the building, or at the very least, incorporate its facade into D.E.P.'s design for the C.S.O. facility.
Support came from the
New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which wrote in October 2017: "Based on our review of the project details to date, it appears feasible to retain and incorporate the historic former Gowanus Station Building (234) Butler Street into the project. This building which has a prominent street presence on the corner and the very edge of the city’s preferred site, has overreaching significance on the National Register eligible Gowanus Historic District. Its demolition would adversely affect both the building and the National Register eligible Gowanus Canal Historic District. To destroy this intact, architecturally distinctive example of Brooklyn’s civic and industrial heritage would be a disservice to the Gowanus neighborhood and to the city as a whole.”
Borough President Eric Adams also noted that the entire building is valued as a local resource and has been found to be significant by SHPO as part of the National Register Gowanus Historic District. "Given the building's significance to members of the community, if additional testing determines that the building's walls are structurally sound, it would be worthwhile to consider retaining the walls using creative architectural and engineering solutions, integrated into the facility's design."
Community Board 6 acknowledged the importance of the building to the community and asked DEP to "consider an alternative design to save the historic structure."
Yet, New York City D.E.P. seems determined to take a wrecking ball to 234 Butler Street. Why wouldn't the agency attempt to take the wishes of the community into consideration, you ask? Many would say that the City has never been very transparent or trustworthy when it comes to Gowanus.
To better understand the matter regarding the Gowanus Station building and how it relates to the planned C.S.O facility, let us rewind a bit.
The agreement allows New York City to locate an 8 million gallon retention tank in New York City’s preferred location, known as the “Head-of-Canal” location. It also stipulates that the EPA can require New York City to place the tank at the EPA-suggested Thomas Greene Park location instead "if certain activities do not occur on schedule, including if New York City is not able to acquire the land at the Head-of-Canal location within approximately four years."
The City's plan relies on the taking of two privately owned sites, 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street, by eminent domain. A third site, 270 Nevins Street, which currently houses a film production studio, will be seized and then leased by the City for temporary staging purposes.
In the meantime, D.E.P. is designing the C.S.O. facility, which includes a huge head house (for maintenance and odor control). According to the agency's plans, that head house will be located in the footprint of the Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street.
Kevin Clarke, the DEP Project Coordinator, told the community that his agency had determined that it was "not technically feasible" to keep the building, nor its façade, since the excavation for the retention tank would seriously undermine the structure.
According to Clarke, the Gowanus Station is too brittle, had been altered too many times over its lifetime, and did not meet code anymore. Besides, DEP feels that saving the building would 'not be a prudent expenditure."
Instead, DEP would salvage the building's parapet and other exterior elements and display them in the publicly accessible areas of the completed C.S.O. facility.
That is not enough for those who want to keep this piece of Gowanus history.
Please join the candle light vigil and make your voice heard.
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