The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on February 22nd announced a plan to preserve certain features of the historic Gowanus Station building, also known as 234 Butler Street (pictured below), in conjunction with construction of an underground sewage capture tank at the site the building currently occupies.
The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group had recently passed a resolution asking that the building be preserved in full if the EPA and New York City agree on the construction of an underground storage tunnel, rather than a storage tank, as the city has proposed. The Memorandum of Agreement between EPA and the New York State Historic Preservation Office only extends to preservation of certain elements of the building’s façade.
You can read the EPA’s full press release on its agreement to preserve portions of the building here: Gowanus Butler St Bldg FINAL NEWS RELEASE.
Additionally, you can read EPA Region 2 Administrator Peter D. Lopez’s letter to Gowanus Canal CAG regarding the matter here: GowanusCAGfinaltr22219.