Late in the evening of Wednesday, September 17, fire erupted at 481 Van Brunt Street in Red Hook,
Brooklyn. The fire spread and quickly became a five-alarm event, with more than 200 firefighters
called in to fight the blaze. After two firefighters experienced injuries, the FDNY called in a fireboat,
which traversed the canal that follows the back of the 1870 warehouse building. By Thursday
afternoon, the fire was extinguished, only to reignite Thursday evening. The FDNY spent that Friday
dousing hot spots.
The Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, operating the BWAC Gallery, occupies 25,000 square feet at
481 Van Brunt, at the waterfront end of the building. BWAC opened four exhibitions on Saturday,
September 13, exhibiting the work of more than 350 artists, both local and national. Hundreds of
people visited the gallery that opening weekend, just days before the fire. The gallery experienced
major damage from the thousands of gallons of water pumped into the building and resulting mold,
and the interior will need to be rebuilt. BWAC, now in its 47th year as an organization, has been
operating the two-floor gallery in that location since 1996.
On Tuesday, September 29, a small group of volunteers were granted permission to enter the building
to remove the art. Dressed head-to-toe in PPE (personal protective equipment), the group was led by a
building engineer to systematically remove the art from the four exhibitions and out to an adjoining
parking lot. “It was as surreal experience,” said one volunteer who preferred to remain anonymous,
“The restroom sheetrock ceiling had collapsed and there was major water damage and mold
everywhere you looked.”
Funding efforts are now in effect; and there will be much funding needed to replace the walls, light
fixtures, .lost desks, office equipment and more. “We will be rebuilding,” said Alicia Degener, BWAC
President, and added, “We’d like to thank our landlord Greg O’Connell, Jr. and the O’Connell
Organization, for their support in this disastrous emergency.”
BWAC has set up a GoFund Me page. There is a direct link to donate from the BWAC.ORG website to
assist in the gallery’s recovery, which will be a prolonged effort. The hope is the gallery will reopen to
the public in the spring.
BWAC is an artist-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded in 1978. Since 1990, BWAC’s home
has been in Red Hook, thanks to the vision and generosity of Greg O’Connell, who passed away in
August.
