Demolition has begun on the ten industrial tanks on the Williamsburg Waterfront and the Tanks Team has launched a campaign to save the historic oil tanks to be reused as breathtaking relics of the waterfront's layered, industrial history. 

An incredible industrial relic is currently being demolished, without public consultation and despite a momentous petition that has garnered over 1,000 signatures in under 2 weeks. On the other hand, STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop have released new renderings for a planned project for the historic oil tanks. 

Image courtesy of The Tanks team

Over the course of four years of tireless advocacy, designers, environmental scientists, and civic activists led by Karen Zabarsky and Stacey Anderson have worked to save and breathe new life into ten industrial tanks on Brooklyn’s waterfront. The City of New York’s decision to demolish them, and destroy their unharnessed potential, is an enormous loss for Brooklyn’s cultural and civic heritage.

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

Hidden in plain sight in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—one of the most creative neighborhoods in the world—are breathtaking relics of the waterfront's layered, industrial history: ten decommissioned oil tanks with the potential to be re-imagined as a truly 21st-century park, worthy of Brooklyn. 

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

The possibilities to reuse these structures as public amenities for community use were virtually endless. Early designs included vertical gardens, performance spaces, oyster hatcheries, art installations, among other uses. 

Through years of research with our environmental team, consultation, and community engagement, The Tanks team determined that preserving the structures would not only give the chance to create a dynamic, interactive, and educational public space, but would have been the more affordable, safe, practical and sustainable option.

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

The demolition of the tanks is estimated at a cost of $22.1 million and risks releasing toxic fumes into the air. Adaptive reuse would have been safe, sustainable, and—by preserving some of New York’s irreplaceable civic history—ensured that future generations would have had a place to learn and discover their shared past.

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

Although New York is losing its chance for an inventive and forward-looking public space, cities around the world in Spain, Israel, Korea, and others are embracing the Oil Tank typology as the basis for innovative cultural uses. The Tanks team hope that other cities learn from New York’s loss.

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

Image courtesy of STUDIO V Architecture and Ken Smith Workshop

Video courtesy of PLANE-SITE

> via Change.org