The Gowanus Canal CDC has released its final plan for Gowanus. It divides the neighborhood into "zones" and pushes a "green" focus for new development and industry. Meantime, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which was set up in the summer, wants to create a Gowanus Canal Environmental Education Center "on the banks of the canal" with classroom and meeting space, an auditorium and boat launch. The plan, in the words of the Gowanus group:
includes the concept of the "canal as park"--viewing the waterway, like a park, as a precious community resource for all users, industrial and residential, to be improved and protected. This would mean establishing Gowanus as a green community, the first in the city, dedicated to sustainability, and exploring the creation of a Canal Improvement District, also the first of its kind for a waterway, to focus on existing conditions while promoting restoration.The plan is an independent effort to create a "framework" for neighborhood development. Meantime, the city is starting its own planning process as a precursor to rezoning that developers like the Toll Brothers want.
· Gowanus Comprehensive Plan [Gowanus Canal CDC]
· Gowanus Plan Calls for Green Focus and Environmental Center [GL]
· Comprehensive Plan for Gowanus Released [Brownstoner]
· Ready for a Gowanus Canal Conservancy? [Curbed]