For those not from Brooklyn, the Gowanus Canal has been one of the dirtiest, foul smelling areas that could be found. In its waters are industrial waste and mob hits; although it has become much cleaner over the last few years.
So clean, in fact, that I took this picture of a family of ducks swimming under a bridge. Cleanliness is a matter of perspective; that slick on the upper right is oil and other waste. It's astounding what animals (and people) can survive. If you're interested there's a blurb on the Gowanus below the picture.
The Gowanus Canal will never be clean
https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/01/17/the-gowanus-canal-will-never-be-clean-opinion/
Lining its bottom is millions of cubic feet of toxic black mayonnaise, a combination of coal tar and sewage that sticks to the bottom of the canal at a depth of up to 10 feet thick. Yes, toxic pollution is a major problem in the Gowanus; it is why the EPA has made its formal presence.
The first time a Brooklynite formally complained about the raw sewage that had plagued his Gowanus Canal-side real estate investment, the man wrote a strongly worded letter to the common council of Brooklyn, claiming that the stench “injured the health of his wife” and “killed his father in law.” A local alderman by the last name Greene stood up and said he knew the land and this man, and if he took the city to court the man would win —”I wouldn’t take this land as a present,” said Alderman Greene. The year was 1861.
Since this meeting that predates the Civil War we’ve had dozens of mayors and probably hundreds of thousands of thunderstorms in this region. Perhaps shocking to Brooklynites today is that, now, 158 years later, the city has not yet finished cleaning the Gowanus Canal. Chances are it never will.