The Gowanus Oversight Task Force (GOTF), charged with monitoring the city’s commitments towards the area’s 2021 rezoning, recently published a report on the status of several agreements.
The commitments were created by Councilmember Brad Lander and Community Board Six as a way to soften the impact of forcibly transforming the mixed-use neighborhood from being somewhat like Red Hook into much like Williamsburg.
Most are on track to be complete or have already been fulfilled. However, about 30% “need attention,” because they are delayed, lack funding, require further advocacy to advance, or just unlikely to be completed. The commitments all involve city agencies that are responsible for moving them forward.
The January report breaks up the agreements monitored by smaller committees that provide supplemental oversight. Those include the Housing, Economic & Workforce Development, Open Space & Waterfront Access, Sustainability & Resiliency, Public Infrastructure and Communications and Engagement Committees. Here’s what we observed from the report:
The Housing and Open Space & Waterfront Access Committees both have the most lagging commitments, five in each.
Commitments related to environmental concerns were commonly delayed, including the proposed mixed-use Gowanus Green complex, plagued by a dispute over the site’s remediation process.
Renovations of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) Gowanus and Wyckoff Gardens Houses are repeatedly delayed, with some fixes progressing.
Some commitments mention the need for further public engagement, but provide no concrete details on when that would happen.
We wanted to get clarity on these delayed commitments and reached out to several city agencies and the Task Force for answers. After several emails to the Task Force went unanswered, we contacted WXY Studio, the group’s new facilitator, to clarify some of GOTF’s actions. WXY Studio’s managing director, Bahij Chancey, is the lead facilitator for GOTF. Regular readers of this paper will know him from his work with the NYC EDC and their Brooklyn Marine Terminal “Vision Plan.” He answered our questions related to this Task Force. Chancey said WXY provides “administrative, technical, and communications support” for the oversight group.
Delayed Housing Committee Points of Agreement (POA): Fund comprehensive in-unit renovations at all apartments at Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens. (Assigned to: NYCHA)
The task force’s update said work will begin in the current quarter of 2026 and that the housing authority is awaiting permits to start construction. In a December report in the Star-Revue, a NYCHA spokesperson said renovations were set to begin in January. Now, that’s changed. On Jan. 29, the same spokesperson told us that in-unit renovations at Gowanus Houses are scheduled to begin in mid-February, starting with Building 3 on Hoyt Street. Construction will begin at Wyckoff Gardens once permits are approved.
Ensure tenant engagement and oversight of NYCHA investments. (Assigned to: NYCHA)
When apartments are renovated, residents will have to temporarily relocate to other units. Throughout 2025, NYCHA engaged with tenants to inform them about relocation plans. Currently, residents are awaiting information on upgrades and remediation plans for individual apartments, according to the task force.
Renovate and reopen the Gowanus and Wyckoff Community Centers. (Assigned to: NYCHA)
The Task Force notes that there’s “ongoing councilmember advocacy” around this commitment. The Star-Revue reported Council Member Shahana Hanif celebrating the “soft-launch” opening of the Gowanus Community Center in October. The group’s update also notes that programming at the center started in December, with an official launch event planned in January. It’s not clear whether that event occurred.
Wyckoff is getting an addition to its community center, which is “approximately 95% complete,” according to the Task Force update. The tentative completion date is March 2026. An official opening date will come after building inspections are completed. When asked about a fixed opening date, a NYCHA spokesperson said, “NYCHA anticipates being able to provide a concrete timeline by late February.”
Deliver approximately 950 units of affordable housing at Gowanus Green, with at least 50% of units at 50 AMI or below. (Assigned to: Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development, HPD)
This commitment, assigned to HPD, is blocked due to a dispute between National Grid and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) over added guidelines surrounding the site’s remediation. We reported in late 2024 that the two parties are in the process of resolving that dispute. Until that dispute is finalized, the project will remain at a standstill despite the site’s developer being ready to break ground, according to the Task Force.
Advance full remediation at Gowanus Green. (Assigned to: HPD)
Another commitment is the remediation itself. GOTF said it will invite DEC “to present at an upcoming meeting” and engage local politicians on how to advance the process. WXY’s Chancey said this meeting will be held on March 12, with a tentative location at PS 133.
“The Task Force will host a forum to clarify the facts and work toward a solution that is safe for the community and allows the 100% affordable housing, public school, and public park to move forward,” said Chancey.
Delayed Open Space + Waterfront Access Committee POA: Advance planning to remediate and renovate Thomas Greene Playground while maintaining public access to comparable facilities. (Assigned to: Dept. of Parks and Recreation)
This commitment is delayed as plans for the site’s remediation have changed, according to the Task Force. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would need to approve those plans. GOTF stated that this new process, which eliminates the need to raze the playground pool, “creates uncertainty about the timeline and funding for anticipated renovations.” As part of the update, the committee is interested in hosting a public meeting to collect input on possible design ideas for the space. When we asked Chancey about when this meeting would be, he said it would be determined once the Task Force coordinates with the EPA and the NYC Parks Dept., as they’ve requested more information about the site’s cleanup.
“Our priority is to ensure the pool and playground are safe for community use, and that regardless of the plan to move forward, we maintain pool access here or nearby every summer,” said Chancey, via email.
The city also has a public engagement process for this, which would happen during a “later phase,” according to the update.
Create a new city-owned waterfront park adjacent to Gowanus Green. (Assigned to: DPR)
This is falling behind due to the dispute over the site’s remediation.
Create new open space at the Bond Street end. (Assigned to: DPR)
The creation of this open space is delayed because a nearby sewer and bulkhead redesign needs to happen first (which is related to the Superfund cleanup). The Task Force stated that no action or updates were provided by city agencies, despite expecting progress in late 2025. The oversight group plans to “support a robust public engagement process” that may contribute to the open space’s design. When asked about this robust process, the committee’s chair, Celeste LeCompte, said the process “has been very slow, because it requires coordination between multiple agencies,” which all have different schedules.
“Parks and DOT will be able to work with us on a public design process once work on the Bond–Lorraine sewer is complete,” said LeCompte, in an email statement via Bahij Chancey. “A few of the GOTF committees have already convened an interagency meeting to better understand the challenges and kickstart this process.”
Study potential pedestrian bridges at key crossing points. (Assigned to: Department of Transportation, DOT)
Part of the rezoning explored fixed pedestrian bridges across the canal. According to The Task Force’s memo, no bridge planning is “expected to begin seriously” until after the Superfund cleanup work is finished. The Gowanus group also stated that the city planned to brief the public about bridge proposals as far back as 2022, but that never happened. Multiple requests for comment weren’t answered by the DOT when asked whether this public session hadn’t occurred because of the Superfund cleanup progress.
Work to identify suitable and feasible locations for in-water recreational access and share design concepts with Gowanus Community prior to Waterfront Certification. (Assigned to: Department of City Planning, DCP) This update is critically off track. None of the private waterfront sites built post-rezoning has included in-water recreational access. The Task Force said DCP is continuously considering amenities throughout the waterfront’s open spaces. Public boating access at Gowanus Green is also a goal, but the design of which cannot commence until plans are developed for the site’s public park. The document states the Task Force will “continue to work closely with Parks to ensure a robust public engagement process for this site development planning, as well as adjacent sites, including advocacy for public water access.”
Communications and Engagement Committee: Work to create a Construction Committee at Community Board 6. (Assigned to: DCP)
The recent update states that the Task Force is re-engaging with CB6’s leadership to push for the creation of a Gowanus Construction Committee or “a sustainable equivalent” and better coordination between the board and the Task Force. While it’s a commitment for CB6, it’s assigned to the DCP. When we asked DCP spokesperson Casey Berkovitz, he explained that because the board isn’t actually a city agency, DCP is listed as the lead agency for the commitment. “But the board will have the latest information on progress on those points,” said Berkovitz, who then directed a reporter to contact CB6 District Manager Mike Racioppo and Land Use Coordinator Rebecca Kobert.
After we emailed them multiple times, only Kobert responded and said, “It is the responsibility of the GOTF leadership and their consultants to create this body alongside and within CB6,” and that the board is in conversation with the group about the new committee. Neither Kobert nor Racioppo explained why establishing the committee was delayed and when it would start meeting once it’s been formed.
The city’s own rezoning commitments tracker, maintained by the Mayor’s Office of Operations, states that CB6 hasn’t created the committee because a plethora of other groups (including GOTF itself) are addressing construction concerns on an “as-needed and topic-specific basis.”
Economic + Workforce Development Committee: Help IBZ businesses and property owners meet resiliency and sustainability goals. (Assigned to: Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, MOCEJ)
The document states that this update has “no status.” MOCEJ and Small Business Services (SBS) haven’t updated the Task Force on this commitment since 2024.
Sustainability + Resiliency Committee: Include Gowanus, Red Hook, and Gowanus IBZ in upcoming Cloudburst studies. (Assigned to: DEP)
According to the Task Force, DEP said high groundwater levels in Gowanus make cloudburst strategies nonideal for the area. Gowanus was included in the initial analysis, but the committee has requested additional data from the study. Chancey told us the data was requested to understand how DEP made its conclusion, and that the Task Force “will continue to explore other avenues to support green infrastructure investments in Gowanus.”
Target outreach around green building infrastructure through NYC Accelerator. (Assigned to: MOCEJ)
According to GOTF, the success of this commitment is measured by the quality of MOCEJ’s engagement wengagementith the businesses in the Gowanus Industrial Business Zone (IBZ). The Task Force stated that “has been limited.” The report claims that although MOCEJ planned to partner with Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) on a roundtable, updates regarding that effort were never provided. When we asked a MOCEJ spokesperson about this, they gave the following statement:
“The NYC Accelerator program has continued to work with property owners that have contacted them for support along with any new owners who reach out to them. MOCEJ is still open to collaborating on an engagement with SBIDC.”
Public Infrastructure Committee: Construct a school at Gowanus Green (Assigned to: School Construction Authority, SCA)
This commitment would require several steps before the city determines whether a school is needed. The report states that the site needs remediation, and construction plans can’t begin once it’s deemed safe to build upon. Currently, there are no earmarked funds to support a school’s design and construction.
Commitments to look out for in 2026:
- The start of renovations at Gowanus Houses, the first quarter of the year (NYCHA)
- The tentative completion date for the Wyckoff Gardens community center addition is March, with an official opening date following necessary post-construction inspections. (NYCHA)
- Composting operations were expected to begin at the Gowanus Salt Lot in January. (They were temporarily relocated to a Parks Department-owned site on 9th Street) (DEP)
- Design work for restoring the remainder of the open space at the Salt Lot will restart mid-year. A DEP spokesperson told us that construction documents for a bid on the project are being finalized. (DEP)
- Construction of the Head End CSO tank (underground storage tank that will collect a mix of sewage and stormwater during intense rainfall) is ongoing through the summer (DEP)
- The final report for the NYC Industrial Plan is expected this year, which involved Gowanus community members in its development. (DCP)
- Design for public boating access at Salt Lot/Owl’s Head site will continue this year with additional public engagement opportunities. (DCP)
- No construction work on the Old Stone House (OSH) at Washington Park will happen before September, at the earliest, to allow the OSH conservancy to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Brooklyn, which is a vital funding opportunity for the group. (DPR)
Author
Discover more from Red Hook Star-Revue
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
