BrooklynPaper – By Meaghan McGoldrick O’Neil & Paul Frangipane | Published August 26, 2025

The walls of the Fifth Avenue Committee’s Center for Community Development on DeGraw Street now pulse with new life.

On Thursday, Aug. 21, FAC and Groundswell Community Mural Project unveiled “The Heartbeat of Gowanus,” a large-scale community mural created by lead artists Kristy McCarthy and Yolande Delius in collaboration with 13 youth artists from Groundswell’s Voices Her’d Visionaries program, local leaders and neighborhood residents.

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City Council Member Shahana Hanif also attended the unveiling, underscoring the mural’s political and social resonance.

“This mural is a movement that demonstrates the work of women and BIPOC people in this community and particularly the working class fight to ensure that the future of Gowanus is clean air, affordable housing and one that’s equitable,” Hanif said. “We’re headed towards resilience, we’re headed towards ensuring that this community is welcoming and inclusive … and that we get to honor it with art.”

“The Heartbeat of Gowanus” is one of more than 700 Groundswell murals citywide.

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