Gowanus Playground

Gowanus Playground is a neighborhood playground at Nevins and Butler Streets in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, near the infamous Gowanus Canal. The playground serves families in a neighborhood that has been undergoing dramatic transformation from an industrial district into a mixed-use residential area.

The Gowanus Canal, a 1.8-mile waterway that was once a vital commercial corridor, became one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States due to decades of industrial waste, raw sewage, and chemical contamination. The canal was designated an EPA Superfund site in 2010, triggering a massive cleanup effort.

The neighborhood surrounding the playground has attracted artists, restaurants, and increasingly, residential developers, who are betting that the canal cleanup and neighborhood rezoning will transform Gowanus into one of Brooklyn's most desirable areas. The playground serves the families who are part of this ongoing transition.

The playground features modern equipment, safety surfacing, and seating areas. Its proximity to the canal means that the ongoing Superfund cleanup is quite literally happening in the playground's backyard, a reminder of the environmental legacy that industrial neighborhoods inherit.

Gowanus Playground serves a community living through one of the most dramatic environmental and urban transformations in Brooklyn's recent history, providing everyday recreation space in a neighborhood that is reinventing itself from the ground up.