Noel Caban 

In the summer of 2019, I participated in a research project with Families United for Racial & Economic Equality (FUREE) to assess the living conditions of the Gowanus Housing Complex in Downtown Brooklyn. Home to around 1,700 families, the Gowanus Projects span four city blocks, bordering affluent neighborhoods like Boerum Hill and Park Slope. Six months later, the Daily News reported on the crisis we had documented. As a former resident of this community, my research reaffirmed the conditions I had also witnessed growing up there. "We are enduring a worsening public safety, health, and housing crisis. Broken pipes, peeling paint, heatless apartments, and vermin infestations plague our homes, while chronically out-of-service elevators and dangerous structural damage put our safety at risk. Many NYCHA residents, including children and pregnant women, face exposure to lead paint, leading to serious health problems." — Daily News. This body of work was developed during my residency at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, and is dedicated to the residents of the Gowanus Housing Complex. Gowanus the last sanctuary, Essay.