By: Victoria Vele, Social Media & Water Intern

Our first day working together is spent getting to know one another and making our office a home away from home where we feel a sense of ownership, similar to what we are aiming to accomplish in terms of giving back a neighborhood to a community. It’s about teaching, interacting, and learning from one another. When setting up the office conference table and bookshelves this becomes very apparent as we create a small reading nook with references on a plethora of topics – ranging from urban ecology to energy, water and waste resources to transportation to professional development and artistic design.

Our initial Gowanus focus includes 3rd Street from Smith Street over the Gowanus Canal as well as a radius of six city blocks on Court Street – including our office at 509 Court St. We went on a walking tour to meet the neighbors and see the neighborhood that contains Living City Brooklyn Gowanus. It’s going to be a great summer working here!