Gowanus: Come Share Your Thoughts About Neighborhood Resiliency & Sustainability

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — Your next chance to weigh in on the city's plans for the future of Gowanus is coming up.

The city's Gowanus Neighborhood Planning Study will host its next public meeting on Dec. 8. The gathering will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Wyckoff Community Center, located at 208 Wyckoff St.

According to the Department of City Planning, which is hosting the event, the evening will focus on "how resiliency and sustainability efforts and interventions are central to the Gowanus Neighborhood Planning Study."

"Attendees will learn about existing and future anticipated risks, what agencies are working on locally and citywide to address these risks, and how the community can help shape sustainability and resiliency in Gowanus," according to the city.

And in case you're new to the effort: the Planning Study is a public engagement process that follows the multi-year Bridging Gowanus program, which ran from 2013 to 2015.

Bridging Gowanus produced a list of priorities that community members wanted to inform future zoning and development policy. Among them:

• The city should support resiliency and sustainable development
• It should increase available neighborhood amenities
• It should make improvements to streetscaping and pedestrian safety
• It should promote job creation in the arts and cultural sectors
• It should develop affordable housing and protect existing tenants against displacement
• And it should improve the area's infrastructure and environmental quality

The planning study, also referred to by the acronym PLACES, will further impact neighborhood planning going forward.

If you have more questions about the Gowanus Neighborhood Planning Study, you can visit the project's website, where you can also sign up for email updates.

You can also email the city at gowanus@planning.nyc.gov, or call the Planning Department at 718-780-8280.

Pictured at top: the Gowanus Canal. Image via Google Maps.