Mayor Adams breaks ground on delayed $1.6B Gowanus Canal sewage overflow tanks, public space project

On the banks of Brooklyn’s heavily polluted Gowanus Canal, Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday broke ground on the first of two long-delayed underground sewage overflow tanks, designed to prevent further pollution of the waterway, and a total 3.6 acres of public space that’ll top both tanks.

Together the tanks — costing a combined $1.6 billion — will be able to store up to 12 million gallons of sewage overflow that comes from heavy rainstorms, the mayor said.