Talking to new Gowanus Residents

Gowanus is in the middle of a major transformation, courtesy of the 2021 rezoning, and large, new apartment complexes are dotting formerly open skyline. Many are open for business.

This is part three in a series learning about the newest members of the Gowanus community.

This month, I focused on asking residents who moved to Gowanus in the past few years to compare and contrast their new neighborhood with their old ones.

I spoke to people near 499 President St., which had a few apartments listed as being available online. Rent for a few studios in the building costs a little over $3,000 per month, while one-bedrooms were available for a little over $4,000 per month, and two-bedrooms were available for just under $6,000 per month.

New to the city
“I’m not only new to Gowanus, but also New York City,” said Angela, who had previously lived on Long Island. “I’m from Long Island and had been living in Farmingdale until about two years ago, when I moved here. I work in Manhattan, and so I have a lot of co-workers who live in NYC, some of them are in Manhattan, others are in Brooklyn and Queens.

“One of the big differences is not having to rely on driving to get around from Gowanus to other parts of NYC, after driving to do little errands like getting groceries in my old neighborhood. On the other hand, I still have a car, and it’s really tough to find parking here.

“I’ve been lucky to have kind neighbors in both places, and I’ve gotten to know everyone’s dogs here. Homes are a lot more spread out on Long Island, and here, it’s like each of the apartment buildings is like its own little community.

It was a little easier to get to know people on Long Island versus here. I have some great neighbors next door, but there are other people in the same building that are on different schedules from me that I hardly ever see.”

While Angela mentioned that driving places was much easier in her old neighborhood, she also said that the public transit system is much better here, and that it’s affordable and fairly reliable, even though it isn’t very clean.

Calmer than the East Village
“I’m originally from Connecticut, but I lived in the City for a few years, and now I moved here about a year and a half ago,” said Helen, who had previously lived in the East Village. “Connecticut was very different from New York, and it was definitely more of a suburban vibe. I was excited to move to New York City, and I felt like going to Manhattan when I was younger, and wasn’t as worried about how expensive my rent was.

“It was exciting to be in the middle of the City and be in the center of everything, but I feel like this is a little bit of a calmer neighborhood, but it’s great to still be in New York. I think when I first moved from Connecticut, I only thought about Manhattan as New York City, but I love it here in Brooklyn, and it’s home. Now that I’m here, I love it, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

Over the past few months, most of the people I’ve spoken to who have moved to Gowanus within the last few years view it as their home and a place they want live long-term.

Friends on the same floor
“I’m from Jersey, and I’ve lived in Brooklyn for a while, but I’ve only lived in Gowanus for the last three years,” said Joseph, who used to live in Jersey City. “I actually see a lot of similarities between Jersey City and New York City. In some ways, it felt like the sixth borough. I moved to Bay Ridge and was there for 12 years, and then I moved to Gowanus.

“I’ve been very lucky with all three places, and I’ve had good friends and good neighbors in all three places. I spent a lot of time in Bay Ridge, and I had the coffee shop that I’d always go to, and I had great neighbors. One of the differences there was that it was a much smaller building than the one I’m in now.

“There seem to be a lot of younger neighbors here, a lot of families, but just like in Bay Ridge, there have been a lot of great people. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people who live on the same floor, and they’ll always stop to say hello. I’ve gotten to know the dogs and the kids, and even in just a few years, it’s nice seeing the kids grow up. Just like Bay Ridge was, it’s a great home.”