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.

The mural, spanning the building’s facade, pays tribute to the resilience and advocacy of Gowanus organizers and residents who have shaped the neighborhood through decades of struggle and transformation. It was created after months of research, interviews, a community listening session and on-the-street interviews with locals.

“Over the 21 years that

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