A look inside the mysterious "Gowanus Batcave," transformed into artist hub
NEW YORK — For decades, the industrial zone of Gowanus, Brooklyn, has attracted a variety of artists and fabricators, many of whom now worry about being priced out as the neighborhood undergoes massive development due to a 2021 rezoning.
One nonprofit is working to address those concerns.
"Batcave" undergoes massive renovation thanks to nonprofit
At 153 Second St., the walls of a 120-year-old former transit power plant are covered in graffiti.
The old walls of the building have stood the test of time, but time has not always been kind to the mysterious structure or adjacent, polluted Gowanus Canal.
The brick building was once abandoned for decades, and served as a home for squatters, earning it a nickname as "The Batcave."
"It was an absolute disaster in here," said Eric Shiner, President of Powerhouse Arts. "The roof had caved in by that point. There was a lake in here. At one point in the late '90s, we had up to 50 street artists who were living here."
In 2012, Powerhouse Arts, a nonprofit committed to keeping creative fabrication alive in Gowanus, purchased the derelict property.
It took a massive renovation, and a $20 million environmental remediation to address decades of pollution.
Last year, the organization formally launched at the now-landmarked site with the goal of providing workshop space and full-time employment to artists, many of whom worry about the amount of change happening here.
"We have wood shops, metal shops, printmaking, ceramics, textile. We're going to have a jewelry department starting next year. We have a public art department that makes large scale sculpture," Shiner told CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger.
Former "Batcave" offers space for NYC artists to work
Leaders at the organization say they wanted to preserve as much of the original building as possible, including decades-old graffiti left long ago by those squatters, as a way to remember the artists who tried to make it there when it was still known as the Batcave.
Now, printmakers operate massive machines to create fine art.
"As the New York real estate market has changed so much, these workshops and collaborative spaces are disappearing because they cannot not just feasibly, economically, have the real estate they need for the equipment," said Luther Davis, Director and Master Printer at Powerhouse Arts.
In the ceramics studio, pottery makers like Caroline Heffron have space to work.
"There is always this sort of DIY spirit to the Gowanus and different industrial buildings working side-by-side with manufacturers or small business. And that just seems to mostly be gone now," Heffron said as she worked on a new piece.
"It is historically a site of production, a site of industry, a site of people bringing their skills together from all over the world," Shiner said of the neighborhood.
Powerhouse Arts says everything from the creative fabrication, to the graffiti-covered walls, to the organization's name, is a nod to the building's history and the legacy artists have left in this neighborhood.
"I love that it started with power and giving power out to the city and we hope that we're giving a different kind of power today," Shiner said.
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