Gowanus Canal

City planners and politicians have set plans for a 1,800 square-foot park, dubbed “sponge park.” It will be designed to capture storm water that flows from 2nd Street to the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The sponge park is designed to absorb storm water runoff and to filter contaminants. At the same time, additional public space is created to bring people closer to the water.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it will extend the public comment period for cleaning up the Gowanus Canal, an environmental superfund site, for another month, the agency said in a statement on Friday.

On Thursday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which designated the canal a Superfund site on March 2, 2010, announced a proposed cleanup plan, which is expected to cost between $467 and $504 million.