Brooklyn developer attempting to use Gowanus sludge to expand Red Hook dock

The Gowanus Canal and the Gowanus Bay Terminal
The Gowanus Canal and the Gowanus Bay Terminal

John Quadrozzi, a Brooklyn developer and concrete magnate, has proposed moving toxic sludge from the Gowanus Canal Superfund site to the Gowanus Bay in Red Hook to expand a shipping terminal he owns, DNAinfo reported. The proposal would allow Quadrozzi’s Gowanus Bay Terminal On Columbia Street to accommodate larger ocean-going ships and create additional dry land, which could be rented to industrial firms. The plan was discussed Monday by a Brooklyn Community Board 6 committee.

“Like turning water into wine, the dredge sludge could be remediated and beneficially re-used locally as both a building material and in the creation of …future maritime economic development in Red Hook — a repeat of history of what once made Red Hook great,” Quadrozzi said in a statement.

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However, many questions remain over who would pay for the different aspects of the project, what can be dredged from the canal, where the sludge will be shipped, how it will be treated, and whether the expansion is even legal.

Both Quadrozzi and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declined to speak about the projects details. [DNA Info]Christopher Cameron