RVs line the underpass of the Gowanus Expressway, where they house an eclectic community. Photo by Trey Pentecost
COURIER LIFE, NOVEMBER 15-21, 2019 3
BY ROSE ADAMS
Talk about life on the road!
A small community of recreational
vehicle dwellers
have turned a stretch of public
parking beneath the Gowanus
Expressway into an unoffi
cial trailer park, and it’s
getting bigger by the month!
“Everyone knows each
other,” said Bobby Zero, a local
repairman who services
most of the vehicles. “Every
month you come by, there’s a
new one.”
The RV owners began
parking their mobile living
quarters on Third Avenue between
20th and 30th streets
fi ve years ago, according to
Zero, who said that between
15 and 30 trailers now sit in
the parking lots at any given
time — many equipped with
electric generators and water
tanks.
Many of the inhabitants
are single men, but the area
also houses a Jamaican family
and a man who uses his
camper as a weekend bachelor
pad to get away from his wife,
according to one resident.
Most of the RV dwellers
took to the mobile refuges
to avoid skyrocketing local
rents, said Zero, who claimed
that residents purchased their
trailers for as little as $500.
“I wanted to go see a studio
apartment. You know how
much they were asking for?
$2,400,” he said. “I’m in the
market myself for an RV.”
Others say they simply enjoy
the freedom of camper-living,
like Billie Dumont — who
plans to move into his RV once
he installs a bathroom and a
kitchen.
“I’ve always liked the idea
of living in RVs,” said Dumont,
who works as a delivery
man. “One, it’s your house.
And two, you can move it anywhere
you want.”
Photo by Trey Pentecost
And Third Avenue, which
cuts through Sunset Park beneath
the Gowanus Expressway,
provides campers with a
low-key spot that is perfect for
a makeshift trailer park — the
surrounding sidewalks are
lined with warehouses, auto
body shops, and the remnants
of neighborhood’s notorious
red light district.
Still, some local business
owners have voiced their annoyance
with the onslaught of
trailers.
Matthew Walters, who runs
the Momma Tried watering
hole on 27th Street and Third
Avenue, called the campers
“an eyesore” and “a little bit
creepy” — but said that he’s
not actively trying to push
them out.
“I met some of the owners,
and they’re nice enough,”
Walters said.
The RV owners agree that
they’d rather not live beneath
the noisy highway, but the locale
is one of the few spots in
the city where they can park
for free without getting ticketed.
City laws require RVs
parked on residential streets
to move every 24 hours, but
the local police only ticket
the campers if they don’t
move for alternate side parking
once a week, according to
Zero.
While the underpass
doesn’t make for an ideal living
space, the residents work
to make it a livable area —
coming together on Saturday
mornings to help sanitation
workers sweep the parking
lots, and sticking up for one
another, according to Dumont.
“We don’t know each other
well, but we look out for each
other,” he said.
A dog gazes out of an RV (above) while one camper dweller helps sweep
the parking lot (below). Photos by Trey Pentecost
Trailer park grows under
Gowanus Expressway!