Gowanus Rezoning: Neighborhood Walking Tour

What happens after a neighborhood rezoning is approved, and who gets to decide how the neighborhood is developed? These important questions drive civic conversations throughout the city, but are difficult to answer in the abstract. As a neighborhood experiencing significant growth after the adoption of a Neighborhood Plan in 2021, Gowanus may hold the answers to these questions. The Gowanus Neighborhood Plan was the result of a decade-long process of engagement between the City, Community Board 6, community organizations, and neighborhood residents. The plan includes 56 specific commitments by the city, now being tracked by residents through the Gowanus Oversight Task Force (GOTF). This unique model of accountability and community oversight works collaboratively with city agencies to advance the commitments including delivering more affordable housing units to the neighborhood, while reinforcing the Industrial Business Zone as a 21st century jobs hub, and re-envisioning the Gowanus Canal, a federal Superfund site, as an ecologically restored public realm through the Gowanus Lowlands master plan.

On Saturday, June 13, New York City Department of City Planning Senior Advisor for Urban Design, Sagi Golan, will be joined by Gena Wirth, Design Principal at SCAPE Landscape Architecture and Andrea Parker, Executive Director at Gowanus Canal Conservancy to lead a neighborhood walking tour exploring the incredible community-led transformation in Gowanus. Explore a neighborhood in the midst of transformation and learn how the neighborhood’s rezoning presents a framework for community oversight and civic accountability. The tour will highlight realized and future impacts of the Neighborhood Plan with a particular focus on canal waterfront access, and what other rezoned neighborhoods can learn from Gowanus.

Sagi Golan is a Senior Advisor for Urban Design at the New York City Department of City Planning (NYCDCP) where he ensures a high level of design excellence in projects across the five boroughs. Sagi works on large scale housing projects, neighborhood planning initiatives, waterfront open spaces, redesigning streets, public spaces, and mixed-use developments. His work strives to achieve the best design outcome through collaboration with developers, designers, various agencies, local and city-wide organizations, and other stakeholders to make New York a more sustainable, resilient, livable, and equitable city. Sagi holds a Bachelor‘s degree in architecture from Tel Aviv University and an M.S. in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. 

Gena Wirth, FASLA, RLA, works with cities, community advocates and landowners to reveal the immense ecological and cultural potential of public landscapes. As Design Principal, she translates research into practice, leading the design and implementation of complex, multi-stakeholder landscapes — including public and private waterfronts, regional trail systems, parks, plazas and climate adaptation plans. Gena is also a tenacious advocate for ecological systems design across the design fields, both as a member of the non-profit Dredge Research Collaborative and through past teaching positions at Harvard, Columbia, Syracuse, and Rutgers universities. She also serves on SCAPE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC), helping advance the firm’s commitments to social and racial justice within its work and throughout the field. She is co-author of Silt Sand Slurry, published by Applied Research + Design Publishing.

Tamara Greenfield is a New York–based urban planner and the Deputy Director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. Tamara holds a Master’s in Urban Planning from Hunter College and a B.A. in Art History and International Development from Washington University in St. Louis. She currently serves as Deputy Director of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, where she guides strategic planning, organizational development, and program initiatives. Before joining GCC in 2026, Tamara was Vice President of Public Space & Operations at the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, overseeing the planning, design, and stewardship of public spaces. Previously, she spent seven years at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, directing place-based initiatives to enhance health and safety in public housing through community leadership, equitable access, and vibrant public spaces. Tamara has also held leadership roles as Executive Director of Fourth Arts Block (FABNYC), Co-founder of Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York (NOCD-NY), and Director of the Catalyst Program at Partnerships for Parks. A passionate supporter of arts and community development, she is co-founder of the DanceNOW NYC Festival and serves on the Board of Urban Bush Women.

This is an outdoor walking tour on sidewalks and often on uneven terrain. Guests should dress for the weather and bring a water bottle.

For any questions regarding accessibility, please contact us at info@ohny.org