Audio Portrait: Gowanus Activist by Jamie Courville

Audio portrait of F.R.O.G.G member Linda Mariano. Listen here.

 

 Audio portrait artist Jamie Courville says that "I like to record the voices and faces of people who are seldom heard and strive to get them to places where they will be."

 

She recently  produced a piece focusing on one of F.R.O.G.G founders Linda Mariano.

 

What is F.R.O.G.G you ask? F.R.O.G.G stands for Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus, a Brooklyn community activist group who act as a watch dog for environmental issues in the Gowanus Corridor. A few years back F.R.O.G.G led a huge campaign to helped in part to get the Gowanus Superfunded. In the past month most of FROGGs prophesies have come true with the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. FROGG uses science as a barometer and has been talking about sea levels, climate change, flooding and water contamination in response to future development plans on the shores of the Gowanus for years. Developers like to depict them as "environmental crazies" but I think that they are the sanest people around.  

 

Please click here to listen.

 

 Jamie has other audio portraits of people that you can listen to on her website. Go to it here.

Gowanus Waters Surge and Fill Bond Street

This scary footage was taken last night as the waters surged from the Gowanus Canal and began to fill Bond Street at a frighteningly quick speed.

The brave person who took this footage (I live on Bond and I was cowering in the middle of my apartment with the lights off having anxiety attacks!) has a very sane and logical message for Lightstone Properties , who wish to build a 700 unit apartment complex on this stretch of block which is "DON'T BUILD HERE!"

Sandbags along the Gowanus

 

The tide is extremely high tonight and the anticipated rain has not even started. The boats are swaying and anything that is in the canal is thrashing about. Houses in the Zone A areas did not really seem evacuated but precautions were being taken as far as putting tape on windows and sandbags on cellar doors

340-342 Bond Street waits for Hurricane Sandy at 9 PM on Sunday night. 

This Scarano condo building at 340-342 Bond Street had all it's doors fortified with sandbags.

 

Recently the Gowanus/Carroll Gardens community has learned that developer Lightstone Properties wants to build a 700 unit apartment building on this very block - directly on the shores of the Gowanus Canal in a CATEGORY A EVACUATION ZONE!

 

It makes me wonder.

 

Is this project about creating safe housing for people or really about developers making ruthless profit by putting people in harms way?

 

Building on a Federal Superfund Site seems like a bad idea to start but to also build in a flood plain in which the floods include raw sewage makes it even a worse idea. And to build in a place that right now is in the midst of a MANDATORY EVACUATION seems like a REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA!

 

 In fact there was supposed to be a hearing about it tomorrow but it's been cancelled due to the hurricane!

 

Now is the time for our elected officials and City Planning to start opening up their eyes.

 

Climate change is real and we are living it now.

 

Click here to contact 39th District Councilman Brad Lander to voice your concern and here for City Planning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Snow Noir

Preservation Support for the Gowanus Awarded by Historic District Council!

I am happy to learn that the hard work of a Gowanus neighbor of mine has paid off. This person, who chooses to remain anonymous, has been tirelessly working to get the Gowanus Urban Industrial district considered for preservation since before the Toll Brothers knocked down the Blades-Forman Lumber Company warehouse at the end of 2nd street near the canal (which should of been landmarked) back in December 2007.

Contrary to what many developers say, there are many beautiful buildings in the Gowanus which exude their own unique industrial revolution era charm. The type of charm which has vanished from other parts of Brooklyn and other parts of the city and needs to stay. The Gowanus district spans from Butler up to Hamilton Avenue and is bordered by Hoyt and 4th Avenues. It really is quite larger than most people think. Since 4th Avenue has been partially destroyed and marred by some pretty fugly condo buildings it is a bit of a relief that an agency in NYC actually cares about maintaining what is so special about the Gowanus corridor.

The Gowanus has been chosen along with 5 other neighborhoods in the five boroughs by the New York Historic District Council as part of a program called "Six to Celebrate". The other neighborhoods chosen are Bedford-Stuyvesant,Jackson Heights, The Bowery, Mt. Morris Park and Inwood.

Here are the details from the New York Historic Distict Council's website.

"The six, chosen from applications submitted by community organizations, were selected on the basis of the architectural and historic merit of the area, the level of threat to the neighborhood, strength and willingness of the local advocates, and potential for HDC’s preservation support to be meaningful. Throughout 2011, its 40th anniversary year, HDC will work with these neighborhood partners to set and reach preservation goals through strategic planning, advocacy, outreach, programs and publicity.

“Neighborhoods throughout New York are fighting an unseen struggle to determine their own futures. By bringing these locally-driven neighborhood preservation efforts into the spotlight, HDC hopes to focus New Yorkers’ attention on the very real threats that historic communities throughout the city are facing from indiscriminate and inappropriate development.” said Simeon Bankoff, HDC’s Executive Director. “As the first list of its kind in New York, the Six to Celebrate will help raise awareness of local efforts to save neighborhoods on a citywide level.”

Read more at the Historic District Council's website here.

Blizzard Greetings from Found in Brooklyn

F.I.B failed to address the holidays this year. Soooo may this blizzard be the beginnings of good luck, health, happiness and prosperity being forcefully blown into your New Year!
My block here in the Gowanus, which is a fire truck route from the Red Hook Station did not see a snowplow until 11:30 am this morning. It was strange not hearing continuous plows throughout the night as done in all other storms. What's up with that? I have a feeling Bloomie is going to get an earful on this one. Just sayin'...And here is Hoyt Street completely forgotten at 1:30 in the afternoon. And no trains running in Carroll Gardens either...I am glad I did not have to be anywhere. I feel for you all that had to walk all the way over to 4th Avenue and Union to catch the R today.When I returned to the quiet almost country like tranquility of the Gowanus area I was lucky to hit the bridge at the moment the sun shone through the little holes of the rusty old corragated fence by the bridge.
Our own version of Stonehenge right here in the Gowanus!

* More photos at my Gowanus flickr set.

Gowanus Flood Prevention

A tire, a log and sandbags will hopefully do the trick. Sort of looks like some sort weird art installation of a strange bed except it's not,these are cellar doors being battened down on Carroll Street.

Anyway it's old news at this point that Whole Foods is now saying that they are going to start to set up shop on 3rd Street after years of delays. It's a well known and documented fact that the area that surrounds the site and around Gowanus Canal sits in a flood zone (hence the need for the Root Hill Cafe to go the measures that they do) It should be interesting to see what happens when Whole Foods puts their foundation in, it will be sure to fill with water whenever it rains. That site was full of water until a couple weeks ago, it was like a little swamp most of the time. Anyway I saw foundation flooding happen repeatedly on the Scarano building on Bond Street and it took YEARS to finish that stupid looking thing. So, in closing I really hope that the D.E.P really did magically re-mediate the toxic plume that runs (or ran?) beneath the soil on the site for the sake of the construction workers health and also the local communities.

More Stuff Happening in Gowanus this Weekend

OK not only do we have the AGAST open studio tour, the e-waste recycling on Bond Street but now I have just heard that Jerko the Gowanus Water Vacuum is going to be docked at the end of 2nd Street on the canal. Jerko is " a salvaged houseboat that has been transformed into a laboratory and showspace for do-it-yourself sustainability projects."

Get there at 1:30 if you want to pre-register for a tour of Jerko. Go to the website for more info on all the projects that the Jerko crew are working on. There are some photos on the website and I swear in one of them, there is a guy with his hand in the water...yikes!

Tour at your own risk people! Go to the website here

There is also some sort of Green Sustainability type fair going on on Third Street between Bond and Hoyt Streets on Saturday afternoon. Proteus Gowanus will be there with a table top replica of their Hall of the Gowanus. Check it out!

Links to the other happenings on Saturday:
AGAST open studios here.
E-Waste Recycling here.

The Day the Gowanus Went Day-Glo

Let's pretend that that psychedelic pattern in the Gowanus Canal water (that has taken on an seriously almost artificial green hue lately) are not "floatables" (stuff that comes from the outflow of the sewers into the Gowanus) but an abstract painting with a little Rousseau like palm leaf thrown in for a compositional effect.

Wednesday Night Flick on Tanker in Red Hook*Ferry Tales*

Last week I had the pleasure of finally seeing that movie made in 1998 about the Gowanus Canal, Lavender Lake. I saw it in one of the most amazing and appropriate settings, on the deck of tanker, Marie Whelan, docked down in Red Hook. The event was hosted by Portside, New York. First off, I would like to comment on the movie. It was very well made and as a Gowanus resident it was fascinating. It was basically about the history of the canal and about well known Carroll Gardens resident and local funeral home owner Buddy Scotto's personal crusade to clean the canal and about his vision to turn it into the next San Antonio "River Walk". Buddy seemed sincere, although he mentioned "development" a lot. It is sort of shocking 12 years later that when people (the EPA) have stepped in to sincerely clean the canal, he took the side of the Toll Brothers and the city...but that's ancient history!

This week's tankerFlick is Ferry Tales. Sounds like fun!

The details:

"Hop aboard the Mary A. Whalen for the screening of Ferry Tales, the 2003 documentary nominated for an Academy award in 2004 A film by director Katja Esson, Ferry Tales takes place in the Ladies Powder Room of the Staten Island Ferry. It is a sneak peek into a culture that only happens 30 minutes a day in the women's bathroom….a place where no men are allowed. As they put on their make-up, they are transformed from housewives to businesswomen, from mothers to lawyers, from sisters to socialites. The women who step inside this room leave their race, social status and net worth at the door, sharing their most intimate secrets, solving each other’s problems or just dishing up the latest ferry gossip. What starts as funny anecdotes turns into a deep and moving account as these women, one by one, draw each other out, solve one another's problems and dish up the latest ferry gossip. "

Seating will begin at 8:30, and the movie will start at 9.

Printed Tickets are not mandatory, though reserving a ticket online is preferred.

Click here to reserve.

PS- When I went last week the first 40 people got a free beer. You are welcome to bring your own food and drink as well. The setting is fantastic. The skyline, the Statue of Liberty, an old tanker, the moonlight...a truly unique experience.

Where? Pier 11, Atlantic Basin, Red Hook (Pedestrian entrance at Pioneer & Conover)

Check out other events at Portside New York here

Gowanus News: F.R.O.G.G Receives TAG Grant from E.P.A

F.I.B would like to congratulate F.R.O.G.G (Friends & Residents of the Greater Gowanus)on being awarded the Technical Assistant Grant from the E.P.A! F.R.O.G.G has tirelessly worked for years fighting for the environmental rights of the Gowanus Canal with absolutely no commercial interests whatsoever. I would like to think that their concerns and tenacity were the force field that suddenly brought the E.P.A's attention to the Gowanus Canal and the subsequent Superfund nomination which became a reality. Unlike other groups whose affiliation with the canal and whose priorities seemed to be tied with "development", F.R.O.G.G's has always been about clean water and clean land. That's it. Pure and simple.

The T.A.G grant was conceived in 1980 when Congress wanted to ensure that the people whose lives were affected by abandoned hazardous wastes would have a say in actions to clean them up. This grant means that F.R.O.G.G will sort of be the go between the EPA during the Superfund process and the community. All I can say is that the E.P.A chose the right people for the job. F.R.O.G.G is and always have been completely transparent and actually live in the neighborhood that they serve.

I have been to F.R.O.G.G. meetings and I can tell you that no decision is ever made without the mutual concent of all members and I am absolutely positive that this will remain their modus operandi when working with the community during the Gowanus Canal clean up.

Viva la F.R.O.G.G!

Haven't they heard the news?

Found on Sackett Street, not the usual books or housewares buttop soil anyone? GOWANUS TOP SOIL?!!! HUH?!

Good Morning Gowanus

Taken at the break of dawn today.

Characters of the Gowanus

The Watchdog from Characters of Gowanus on Vimeo.

Check out this fab multimedia website made by Sarah Portlock and Rob Anderson. It is the culmination of "many hours of inhaling eau de Gowanus". The duo has done a thorough job presenting all sides and facets of the that neighborhood and features interviews with both pro and anti-superfund supporters, the EPA's Walter Mugdon, photographers, scientists, denizens of the american can factory etc...lots of great video and photographs, check it out!

From their press release:

"The beloved waterway and surrounding neighborhood has been in the news a lot lately, but there's more behind the facts of this long-awaited Superfund cleanup. Amidst the muck and stink, there's a vibrant, thriving community of New Yorkers — Brooklynites, really — who care deeply about this post-industrial neighborhood, its diverse history, and its rich potential. You may know these citizens as your neighbors, friends, or someone you see regularly crossing the Carroll Street bridge, but these are also the people who have managed to thrive on what the neighborhood offers them. Artists, entertainers, and entrepreneurs are inspired by the area's landscapes and details, and have opened up studios, event spaces, and businesses in former manufacturing warehouses. Scientists have discovered micro-organisms that might be used to create new medicines. Architects and urban designers imagine waterfront esplanades, recreation and a thriving oyster population in and along the canal’s shores. And its own longtime residents aren’t going to let planning for the future happen without their input.

This Web site, created as a multimedia thesis at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, features those stories and captures the passion and the energy of this unwavering breed of Brooklynite — the characters of Gowanus. We also created an interactive timeline of the Gowanus Canal from the 1600s to present, interviewed the EPA regional Superfund director, Walter Mugdan, and explain just what it is that's going on here."

Click here to see the whole thing!

Gowanus Whole Foods Site Flooded

To those that don't take the threat of rising tides and flooding in the Gowanus seriously, all I can say is a picture is worth a thousand words. These photos were sent to me by a reader with some very astute observations.

View from 3rd Avenue Bridge that is over the turning basin behind Whole Foods site.

"Wetland it is! Looking at the picture makes you wonder just how a "green" organic market can look at this wetlands and think "good place for a market". It more mind boggling that they designed a building as a cellar with parking on top. A cellar would have to be 2/3rd below grade!"

And here we have the canal flooding Dyke's lumber yard which is across from the Whole Foods site.

I wonder how high the tides are in the basement of the lumberyard?

Some food for thought, Whole Foods!

Gowanus Canal a *DESIGNATED* Superfund Site!

From a statement from Judith Enck, the E.P.A. regional administrator:

“After conducting our own evaluations and consulting extensively with the many people who have expressed interest in the future of the Gowanus Canal and the surrounding area, we have determined that a Superfund designation is the best path to a cleanup of this heavily contaminated and long neglected urban waterway,”

After years of community activists speaking up against the developer's plan to put housing on the shores of the aquatic brownfield that is the Gowanus which then turned into supporting the EPA when they stepped in last April when the Toll Brothers got special "spot zoning" to build, something rational has finally happened. The canal will be cleaned the RIGHT way without putting the developers before the existing community. Hallelujah!!

The RESIDENTS of the community have tirelessly spread the word of the importance of Superfunding, a massive petition drive was organized within days of finding out about the nomination to encourage people to submit comments to the EPA's website, films were made, politicians were met with, the EPA themselves said that they had never had such massive community support.

I am happy to say that sometimes you can fight city hall and WIN!!!

Read the statement in today's New York Times.

*EPA Hosts Meeting to Discuss Upcoming Activities on the Gowanus Canal*Thursday

Yes, another meeting. I hope there will be some news on if it's getting designated as a superfund project or not! The use of the words "upcoming activities" gives me some hope.

From the EPA's press release:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to attend a public information meeting to discuss upcoming activities at the Gowanus Canal.

When: Thursday, March 4, 2010
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Where: P.S. 58 auditorium
330 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY
(entrance to the school is on Carroll Street)

This meeting will include a brief presentation followed by a question and
answer period.

For more information about the meeting or other site related issues you can contact:

Natalie Loney
Community Involvement Coordinator
loney.natalie@epa.gov
(212) 637-3639 or 1-800-346-5009

Christos Tsiamis
Remedial Project Manager
tsiamis.christos@epa.gov
(212) 637-4257

Additional site related documents are available here.

Pipelines Appear in the Gowanus (ends up they are there to maintain oxygen levels while the flushing tunnel is worked on.)

Two weeks ago pipes started to appear in the Gowanus near the Third Street bridge, they have now snaked their way almost to the Carroll Street Bridge. Apparently it's the work Department of Environmental Protection. Does anybody have any idea what they are doing? A while back they spoke of pumping oxygen into the Canal as a plan to revive the ecosystem. Is this it or another thing all together?

*Update: Thanks to some members of F.R.O.G.G (Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus) who read the Army Corp of Engineers newsletters who kindly sent me the info,here is the deal with the pipes from that source.

"NYCDEP has authorized the Army Corps to install intake and pipes in association with an upland, temporary Canal Aeration-Oxygen Transfer Station along the Canal. . .

The work involves installation of 28 linear feet of 20 inch diameter intake pipes with an intake velocity of less than 1 foot/sec and a fish barrier with 1" diameter openings at the opening of the existing Flushing Tunnel intake. Approximately 2,500 linear feet of 24-inch diameter high density polyethylene oxygenated water discharge pipe would be installed with discharge nozzles spaced approximately 50-feet on center and and secured to 750 pound concrete anchors spaced every 10-feet. . . The pipe would be suspended in water depths ranging from 0 to 12-feet below the plane of mean low water. . . ."

The purpose of this project is to maintain dissolved oxygen levels for about two years while the flushing tunnel is closed down for upgrading."

So, it looks that the pipes will be there for a while.

"Hall of the Gowanus" at Proteus Gowanus

F.I.B popped into the reading room/gallery Proteus Gowanus last Sunday and checked out the newly opened "Hall of the Gowanus". The hall features all things Gowanus, from found artifacts, pressed botanicals, books, maps and art inspired by the canal itself. In the hall of the Gowanus you will notice a large jar containing a murky watery substance. What is it? Why it's a sampling of the Gowanus, coal tar on the bottom (that's the black layer on the bottom) and all! It's one thing to gaze upon the waters from above on a bridge but this sampling is another thing all together. It looks like it is from another planet.

There is much to loose yourself in at Proteus Gowanus,an apt description from their website says:

"Proteus Gowanus is a gallery and reading room located on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, NY. A collaborative project, the gallery develops exhibits of art, artifacts and books that revolve around a yearlong theme linking the arts to other disciplines and to the community. Proteus Gowanus incorporates the rich and diverse cultural resources of several non-profit organizations into its exhibits and programming."

They have several things going on at the moment, this year the gallery has a Transport theme show up with loads of transport themed books, artifacts and art, the monthly Fixer's Collective where you can go and get help to fix anything you have that needs fixing and to top it off, it is a reading room. If you need a quiet place to work, with wifi, coffee and table space, check out Proteus Gowanus's Study Hall here.

Tucked into the back corner of the gallery is also the fab Reanimation Library, where you will find vintage technical and educational books that are available as reference sources for artists, writers and all you "cultural archeologists”. Read about that here.

And in the Observatory gallery off the main room is Vision Quest a trippy group art exhibit of neo-shamanic paintings and drawings. Be sure to explore the website for all the unique events this gallery hosts on a weekly basis. On Wednesday night there is going to be a shamanic ritual!!

EPA Gowanus Community Meeting Recap

"We sleep, we eat, we dream the Gowanus Canal"

These words by the EPA's Remedial Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis perked me up at last nights informational community meeting with the EPA. It was not the most exciting thing to be doing on a Thursday night, for the most part it was a rundown by the EPA's very congenial Community Involvement Coordinator, Natalie Loney on the EPA's Technical Assistant Programs and how to apply for a TAG grant.

The EPA provides $50,000 to a community group so they can pay for technical advisor to interpret and explain technical reports, site conditions and the EPA's cleanup proposals and decisions. The EPA encourages groups in the community whose health, economic well being or enjoyment of the environment might be hurt by a Superfund site.

One of the criteria that makes one ineligible for a group to receive a TAG grant is if that group has accepted money from P.R.P's (potentially responsible parties i.e.: polluters) or political associations, which seemed to have some people who are in such groups asking questions about how to form new groups at the meeting.

Anyhow you can read all about who is eligible to apply for tag grants and how to apply here.

Things picked up during the last 20 minutes of the meeting when questions from the community were taken. I was surprised at the tone of antagonism that was directed toward Remedial Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis. Many kept asking about the city's alternative plan, which Christos answered for the most part that you'd have to ask the city for those answers. To which, a community member said that the city has been absent on this issue for months. Not the EPA's problem but Christos said he will work on these answers for the next meeting.

People in the community, including myself are getting tired of waiting for a decision. The comment period ended last July and we have been waiting ever since. It's tiring to go to meetings held by the EPA when we are still not sure who the heck is going to end up cleaning it. Is this all a waste of time?

I have never thought so, and have not doubted for a second that the canal will get the Superfunding. Tsiamis said that they have been "gaining a lot of momentum" and have been in discussion with a major PRP, National Grid. They will be meeting with them next week to discuss investing in work on the canal and what they think their role will be.

"We have a plan,a schedule and we will do it on time" said Christos.

If you have any questions about anything about this project, don't hesitate to contact
Natalie Loney
Community Involvement Coordinator
loney.natalie@epa.gov
(212) 637-3639