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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, NOVEMBER 17, 2019
RVs line the underpass of the Gowanus Expressway, where they house an eclectic community. Photos by Trey Pentecost
Trailer park grows under
Gowanus Expressway!
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 unofficial 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 five 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 camper Billie Dumont poses under
the expressway (below).
Photo by Rose Adams