After Decades of Living with Legacy Pollution, Gowanus Community Members Launch Health Survey with NYU Expert to Study Health Impacts
BROOKLYN, NY, UNITED STATES, February 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Community coalition Voice of Gowanus (VoG) announced the release of a health survey for the Greater Gowanus community in partnership with Dr. Judith Zelikoff, an internationally recognized expert in the field of toxicology and environmental health based at NYU School of Medicine (Full Bio Link).
“Dozens of community members have written to us at Voice of Gowanus with their concerns about health issues, including questions about the safety of their homes and environmental conditions at their children’s schools and daycares,” said VoG member Martin Bisi, speaking to what prompted the launch of the survey.
Results from a soil vapor intrusion (SVI) investigation by the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), spurred by VoG’s advocacy, also triggered the need for the survey. Thus far, 38 properties needing remediation have been identified by state officials.
The survey focuses on the health of the community and their perceptions as it relates to legacy toxicants at the Gowanus Canal Federal Superfund site, the surrounding NYS Superfund and NYS Brownfield sites, and DEC’s broader SVI investigation area. The main goal of the survey is to shed light on if – and how – the people of Greater Gowanus have been affected by chemicals known to be in the local ground and air, such as the human carcinogens trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene (BTEX), and other industrial contaminants that have impacted Gowanus for over a century.
“This health survey, the first of its kind in Gowanus, aims to provide a safe and anonymous forum for community members to voice health concerns that may be related to the legacy pollution in our neighborhood,” said Linda LaViolette, a longtime Gowanus resident and VoG Outreach Committee Co-Chair.
The survey seeks to understand any potential effects of legacy toxicants, including respiratory conditions, cancer, reproductive health outcomes, and other diagnosed conditions. The project also seeks to document what residents have experienced in their environment, including odors, dust, air quality issues, and construction impacts they have observed, and how they have responded, whether by installing air purifiers, changing their daily routines, or contacting authorities.
“The survey aims to define community health concerns that could otherwise remain unseen by our elected officials and the agencies that are supposed to be protecting us,” commented VoG member Katia Kelly, who also serves on the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group.
As noted in brief above, the launch of the health survey is happening against the backdrop of DEC’s ongoing SVI investigation, which has sought to access more than 1,600 buildings in Gowanus but has only managed to access and test less than 23% of those properties. Across the two completed years of the study, an average of more than 10% of the properties that were tested have required mitigation.
These results beg the question: How many more Gowanus buildings and residents are being exposed to toxic soil vapor intrusion?
In addressing the urgent need for the Gowanus Community Health Survey, Dr. Zelikoff said, “The people of Gowanus need to be aware and speak out to protect themselves and their children’s health.”
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