This Friday: Help Shape the Future of Gowanus, All While Enjoying Free BBQ

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — The Fifth Avenue Committee and Gowanus Councilman Brad Lander are hosting their annual Summer Celebration this Friday, billing it as a great opportunity to enjoy the weather while learning about the city's approach to the neighborhood's future development.

The gathering will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 621 Degraw St. It's free, and you can register online here.

Organizers have promised music, dancing and BBQ, but the main attraction is information about Bridging Gowanus, an ongoing community planning process designed to clearly lay out what kinds of development Gowanus-area residents want — and what kind they don't want — in their community going forward.

As part of that process, numerous community meetings were held from 2013 through 2015, where feedback and ideas were collected and cataloged. Starting this fall, the city's planning department will work in conjunction with other agencies to create a "land-use framework" that will inform future zoning and development approaches in the area.

There's a lot of background information on the Bridging Gowanus website, but Friday's event is another opportunity to be brought up to speed on what has taken place and how you can stay involved in the future.

Pictured at top: the Union Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal. Image via Google Maps