During the American Revolutionary War, Gowanus was the scene of fighting in the Battle of Long Island and American soldiers positioned themselves in Gowanus Heights (now Park Slope), where they had full view of the British ships as they made landfall in the Bay.

[9] The water and much of the land along the banks of the Gowanus Canal have been severely polluted by combined sewer outflows (CSOs) along the canal designed to relieve sewage and storm water when the sewer treatment plant is overwhelmed, as well as by decades of industrial use and extensive coal gas manufacturing during the late 19th century.

[11] In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency designated the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site, allocating $506 million for the cleanup of decades of industrial pollution and sewage contamination.

[15] Many residents and community groups have expressed concern over the sewage overflow that the rezoning could possibly create.

[19] The elevated Gowanus Expressway runs through the southern edge of the neighborhood, crossing the canal at Hamilton Avenue.