Gowanus Houses

The Gowanus Houses is a housing project of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), located between Douglass and Wyckoff Streets & Bond and Hoyt Streets in both the Gowanus and Boerum Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It sits on 12.57 acres (5.09 ha) of land, consisting of sixteen separate buildings. As of December 2022, the housing development accommodates over 2,600 residents in 1,139 apartment units.^[1]

Gowanus Houses
NYCHA property
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40.683700°N 73.989500°W / 40.683700; -73.989500
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Brooklyn
Area
• Total	0.0196 sq mi (0.051 km2)
Population
• Total	2,604[1]
Zip code	11217
Area code(s)	718, 347, and 929, and 917

History

Gowanus Houses, from the corner of Bond and Douglass St

In 1944 NYCHA announced their plans to demolish the existing row houses on the blocks bounded by Hoyt, Bond, Douglass, and Wykoff Streets, to make way for a series of sixteen modernist towers, designed by William T. McCarthy, Rosario Candela, and Ely Jacques Kahn.^[2] By 1946 the land was cleared,^[3] however, due to a wartime restriction of materials,^[4] the project was delayed until 1948. In January of that year,^[5] NYCHA broke ground^[6] and the project was completed by June of 1949.^[7] The development included a community center, playground, and public park.^[8]

The Gowanus Houses was the setting for Spike Lee's 1995 film, Clockers,^[9] in which it was renamed the "Nelson Mandela Houses" for the movie.^[10]

In 2005 the Gowanus Houses Community Center was shuttered. However, following the recent rezoning & redevelopment of the Gowanus neighborhood, the community has secured the funds needed to reopen the center, along with other improvements.^[11]

See also

• New York City Housing Authority
• List of New York City Housing Authority properties