The battle to redevelop Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal has been going on since the 1960’s. By then, the canal, once one of the state’s busiest waterways, had fallen largely into disuse. Many of the warehouses, factories and other industrial sites that lined the canal’s shores were abandoned.
Now, with residential real estate booming and the city’s population expanding, the area is on the verge of a new era of residential development. But as development plans go forward, every step requires a delicate balance of the city’s enormous need for housing, the environmental cleanup required on a century-old industrial waterway, and the ongoing needs of the businesses that remain in the area.
Nearly 3,000 names, an American flag for each one. As first responders and family members read the 9/11 names at Floyd Bennett Field, a host of rain-soaked flags snapped in the wind behind them.
For the sixth commemoration of 9/11, with access to Ground Zero severely restricted, some New Yorkers created their own poignant backdrop to commemorate those who were lost.
With the help of the 9/11 Healing Field organization, volunteers from all over the city and state erected nearly 3,000 American flags – one for each person lost on 9/11 – at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.
9/11 Healing Field organized the first such commemoration in Utah for the first anniversary in 2002. Since then, they have organized similar events all over the country. Healing Field then sells the flags, all of the proceeds go to local charities. This was the first time that a Healing Field had been created in New York City.
Organizers have committed to bringing the Healing Field back to New York City again next year.