Equity, the Deep (Grass)Roots, and Community-led Change

The Gowanus/Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn is an intensely contaminated community that is simultaneously undergoing multiple processes of environmental remediation and gentrification. The 4,500+ public housing residents of this neighborhood face unique challenges including environmental racism; poor housing conditions and disproportionate impacts from extreme weather associated with climate change. In this Neighborhood Conversation, we’ll explore these dynamics and the challenges and opportunities posed by the Gowanus Canal Superfund Clean Up, neighborhood combined sewage overflow (CSO) issues, the remediation of several manufactured gas plant sites, the rapid disappearance of commercial establishments and services that are affordable to low- and moderate-income households and the recently announced housing authority plan to build market-rate apartments in the parking lots of Wyckoff Gardens. Attendees will also learn about the Turning the Tide initiative, a multi-neighborhood effort that focuses on building social and environmental resiliency in five Brooklyn public housing developments. The Conversation will be hosted by staff and members of FUREE (Families United for Racial and Economic Justice), who organize low-income families to fight for a seat at the decision-making table, mobilize voters around community-identified demands, and win economic justice battles for residents of Gowanus-area public housing. FUREE leaders will be joined by staff of the 5th Avenue Committee, a community development corporation with a long history of community organizing that works to advance economic and social justice, advocate for affordable housing, and combat displacement caused by gentrification.