Gowanus Canal CAG Archaeology & Historic Preservation Committee Meeting

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Archaeology and Historic Preservation Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 6th, 2026 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., via Zoom video conference.

You can join the Zoom meeting here: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73340569454?pwd=xBrXTF5UzTDl4U0aOJVHlSwyZQRHu6.1

Meeting ID: 733 4056 9454
Passcode: fsKje5

Agenda

1. Check status of the Storyboard with GRT. Chronical Heritage is working on setting up an account with a platform for activity.  No certain date yet.  Arts GIS is a multi-media platform that allows photos, video, text and audio and the Story Map is the Hx of the Gowanus Canal.  Expedite, please.

Getting our stuff out there

2. Share materials with committee to send first tranche to Johnny & Emily (Arts Gowanus) for the Walkabout Tour.

3. Set up email of photos we would like to post to Johnny & Emily.

4. How the WalkAbout works – There will be a QR code there that folks can use that takes one to a website with a map the viewer uses to find their current location and see what was there before the re-zone. Will invite Johnny & Emily to an upcoming meeting.

https://gowanusimprovementdistrict.org/get-involved is where the Walkabout link lives.  The actual Walkabout link is here:

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c878d7e5ed124f27942a436244695ebb

Jason created an excel document that compares what materials already exist in various walking tours.  See it attached to the email with this Agenda.  It gives us a good starting point to decide on materials.

5. Now that Spring is coming, set time to meet with Andrea at GCC and Celeste at Dredgers to do possible displays. Work with Outreach to make these into events.   jqjr@quadrozzi.com – dug up Quadrozzi’s contact info so we can plan a field trip once the snow is gone.

6. New semester so outreach to Brooklyn College Museum Studies Program and to Pratt’s archeology team is timely now to see if there are any opportunities there. https://www.brooklyn.edu/bc-news/curating-excellence/.  If we are going to set up exhibits they may be able to help.  bbingham@pratt.edu,

7. Keep an eye on the Union St Library on Clinton Street to see when it opens (not yet). Take a walk up to the substitute library – who would be in charge of anything displayed there?

8. At some point we should all, as committees invite the new Region 2 Administrator, Ted Weiss, to a General CAG meeting.

These items from last year’s February meeting are out there to keep in mind but were not discussed.

9. Explore grants – (can this work with Sasha’s work?)

10. Explore funding possibilities (Can our City Council member fund a space like the Coignet Building?)

11. Keep thinking about spaces for exhibits (temporary or permanent) – Brooklyn Public Library?

12. Approach Dept of Cultural Affairs and/or Dept of Arts

13. We have good intellectual control because we have all the history of the objects that have been retrieved.

14. Work on Provenance, ownership.

15. Safe storage (fundraiser?). Some storage conditions currently are good, others need work.

16. We need to have a way to ensure physical security of the objects both on exhibit and when not on exhibit (this combines storage issues with fundraising).

17. Digital is easy and there is a market for that. Mary wishes there were more history of the Canal out there but we do have Joseph who is THE historian for Gowanus’ long and important history.

All Gowanus CAG meetings are open to the public, unless specifically noted otherwise.