For most of New York City’s history, Gowanus was a neighborhood you drove through rather than moved to. The canal that bisects it — long a dumping ground for industrial waste, raw sewage, and worse — made the area one of the most polluted places in New York. But in 2026, Gowanus is completing one of the most remarkable neighborhood turnarounds in recent city history. The cleanup is real, the rezoning is delivering, and thousands of new apartments are rising along the canal that once defined the neighborhood by what it smelled like.
The Canal Cleanup Is Actually Happening
The EPA designated the Gowanus Canal a federal Superfund site in 2010 and launched a multiyear, $1.6 billion cleanup effort. The work includes dredging contaminated sediment from the canal floor and constructing two large underground sewage retention tanks to capture overflow that would otherwise spill into the water during rainstorms.
The city’s Department of Environmental Protection recently announced a key milestone: the completion of excavation for the Red Hook tank, an eight-million-gallon underground facility designed to capture sewage overflow. Construction on that tank, along with a smaller partner called the Owls Head tank, began in March 2023. When both are operational, the canal will see dramatically less raw sewage during storms — one of the most persistent sources of pollution in the waterway.
A separate proposal is even floating the idea of making the canal safe for swimming someday. That’s a long way off, but the fact that it’s being discussed seriously tells you something about how much has changed.
The Rezoning Is Delivering Thousands of New Homes
In 2021, the City Council approved a rezoning of Gowanus that paved the way for more than 8,500 new residential units — over 3,000 of them affordable — plus new retail, parks, and artist space along the canalfront. That rezoning is now producing real buildings.
The most recent and notable approval: on April 12, 2026, the City Planning Commission signed off on a 27-story, roughly 1,000-unit mixed-use complex at 175 Third Street, right on the canal. About a quarter of the apartments will be permanently affordable. The project includes canalfront retail, ground-floor artist space, and a new esplanade connecting to the broader waterfront.
Also advancing is Gowanus Green, a multi-phase development that will deliver approximately 955 units of 100 percent affordable housing along the canal, with Phase 1 construction expected to begin in 2026. That’s a significant commitment in a neighborhood where the development pressure is pushing prices upward fast.
The New Gowanus: What It’s Becoming
Walk through Gowanus today and you’ll see cranes where there used to be vacant lots, new restaurants in former industrial spaces, and a waterfront that — for the first time in living memory — doesn’t just smell bad. The neighborhood sits at a crossroads between Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook, and residents from all three are increasingly spilling in as those areas price them out.
The challenge city officials and longtime residents are watching closely is whether the affordable housing commitments built into the rezoning will hold as market-rate rents rise. The 175 Third Street project’s commitment to lock in a quarter of its units as permanently affordable is a good sign — but advocates say the pressure will be constant as the neighborhood’s profile rises.
What You Need to Know
- The Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup is underway. The Red Hook underground sewage tank — 8 million gallons capacity — has completed excavation and is a major step toward a cleaner canal.
- The 2021 rezoning is now producing real results: over 8,500 new residential units are in the pipeline, with more than 3,000 designated as affordable.
- The City Planning Commission approved a 27-story, 1,000-unit building at 175 Third Street on April 12, 2026 — with a quarter of units permanently affordable and a new canalfront esplanade.
- Gowanus Green, a 955-unit 100% affordable development, is targeting a 2026 construction start for Phase 1.
- Gowanus is now one of Brooklyn’s most-watched development stories — expect continued price pressure on existing rentals as the neighborhood’s reputation improves.
- If you’re interested in affordable housing in the area, check the NYC Housing Connect portal for lotteries as the new buildings come online.
For what else is new in Brooklyn, check out five Brooklyn orgs changing the borough with 2026 Spark Prize funding and the new bike boulevards coming to Bergen and Dean Streets.
