Bloomberg Comes to Gowanus and LOCKS OUT COMMUNITY!

F.I.B's eyewitness news team showed up this afternoon for Bloomberg's celebration of the start of work on the Gowanus Flushing tunnel finally starting (of course it took the threat of halting development to proceed) and said that no one who really lived in the community was allowed to watch or participate in it! The usual suspects were there for this private celebration. You know, Toll Brothers,our former lame-o Councilman Bill DiBlasio, Buddy Scotto and his crew, Borough President Marty Markowitz, assorted politicians and the people who love them and of course the press.

Can't wait to see what slanted articles appear in the Post and the Daily News tomorrow!

Through the Gowanus grapevine I received this irate email from an extremely involved member of the community.


"Eight members of the DEP Flushing Tunnel Rehabilitation Stakeholders Committee were barred from entering and taking part in the celebration that is going on as I type this email at the Flushing Tunnel Station on Douglass Street. These 8 people and others spent many, many hours of their time freely to review documents and provide input into the planning for this effort since DEP convened the group in 2002.

TODAY BLOOMBERG SAW FIT TO LOCK THESE COMMUNITY PARTICIPANTS OUT OF AN EVENT THAT THEIR DONATED TIME HELPED TO BRING ABOUT.

Just wanted all of you to know how concerned citizens who give their time to better their community and all of New York City get treated by the current mayor of NYC."

Is anyone surprised? I wish I was.

Take Action to Superfund Gowanus

Fund Me I'm Sick!
The canal was having a really bad day on Saturday. After days of rains the surface was amok with visable contaminants. Do you trust that the city should be trusted to clean THIS properly? There are people out there- the Dredgers to name one party who think that the city should be trusted with the money from the federal government rather than the Environmental Protection Agency to clean it! Methinks that all those canoe trips on the toxin ridden waters of the Gowanus has effected their capacity for rational thought. This is RAW SEWAGE not algae!
This was at the other end of the canal on Saturday and all the while canoers were practically sitting on this muck. Yet another reason I think a thorough, comprehensive and scientific clean up should be done by the EPA and not the city!

If you haven't already, PLEASE go to Superfundgowanus.org to submit your comments to the E.P.A and also to sign a petition that is going to our elected officials to show that there are people in the who actually think this is a GOOD thing.

Earth Day or His Community's Health ($$$) Means Nothing to Councilman Bill DeBlasio

SUPERFUND ME! A nice big hunk of Gowanus Raw Sewage!

Bill DeBlasio has finally publicly declared that he is against the EPA's nomination of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. No one is the community is surprised, I can't remember the last the man has been seen at a community meeting, oh yeah I can! He said his spiel about affordable housing (irregardless of the enviromental consequences) and left before listening to his community! While I haven't looked on his schedule I am sure Councilman Bill DeBlasio is probably doing some Earth Day photo op activities with children for a few minutes today. It's all smoke and mirrors, who cares about scientific data and longterm health when the Toll Brothers can surface clean the canal for less money and time.

For more info read the excellent blog Pardon Me For Asking's post "Councilman DeBlasio Advocating For Developers, Not For His Constituents" here and a scathing proclamation of disappointment from C.O.R.D here!

Also!

We are in the midst of the 60 day comment period for the public to have their say about whether the Gowanus should be cleaned up by the Federal Government (should be a no brainer) and I urge you to send your comments. Write down your experiences, send photos, make it personal, maybe the EPA will be more sympathetic than our non existent councilman has.

You can find the form here.

Fishing the Gowanus

I am reposting this from back in September as there has been some comments stemming from the Superfund meeting earlier this week about whether people actually catch fish in the canal. Here is your proof! While I do not advocate the use of the spearing fish Weah caught for use for bait, it just goes to show you, fish are swimming and people are fishing!

From 9/17/2008

Yesterday afternoon as I crossed the Carroll Street bridge I stopped to chat with this guy who was fishing for something in the canal. I was relieved to hear that he had no plans on eating these fish he said were called "spearing fish". These fish are also called Atlantic Silversides which according to Wikipedia are the most common fish in the Chesepaeake Bay. What he does is sell them on the fishing pier of Coney Island for bait at 2 dollars a bag. He was surprised that he was catching so few today as other times he said he can fill his whole bucket in an hour and he was particularly surprised because the tide was high after the rains on the canal. Weah has lived in the neighborhood since he was a child (he went to PS 32 at Union & Hoyt) we chatted about all the marine life and changes in the canal he has seen through the years. It's gotten a lot better but there is still way more toxic sludge, plastic and sewage than there really should be. Apparently they sell spearing fish in Chinatown for over two dollars a pound, hopefully they were not caught in the Gowanus!

Also! If your motorcycle needs a tuneup or fixing, Weah is a Motorcycle Technician. He can be contacted at Robertsreplicas(at)aol(dot)com.

REMINDER! Gowanus E.P.A. SuperFund Meeting this Tuesday Night

Public Information Forum with the U.S Environmetal Protection Agency Regarding the Gowanus Canal Nomination for Superfund
Tuesday April 14th
PS 32 317 Hoyt Street
7pm


If you have any interest at all in the clean up of the Gowanus Canal I URGE you to attend this meeting. There have been a lot of twists and turns regarding clean up and development. Residents tirelessly have dragged themselves to meetings, hearings, have sent comments regarding the rezoning of the canal for the past year. Last month the city gave approval for a spot rezoning to take place so that developers the Toll Brothers could build their condos between Carroll and 2nd Street on the banks of the canal. Any cleanup that was to be done on this site was in the hands of the developers, a frightening thought in this day and age of people being screwed by corporations and banks. There are members of the community such as Buddy and Debby Scotto, who supposedly want a clean canal but are now balking about this highly toxic site receiving Superfunds so that the Environmental Protection Agency can do a proper job before any building takes place. Now, any rational person would think that one would clean BEFORE building but NO! Scare tactics from the developers have quickly occurred. Today I received a press release from the Toll's "public policy consultant's claiming:
Superfund Designation is Wrong Way to Clean Up the Gowanus Canal With No Funding and the Promise of Lengthy Litigation, Federal Involvement Will Only Diminish Property Values, Stunt Development and Muddy the Waters" and a business on Smith Street had a stack of papers published anonymously (hmm i wonder just who it is?) pablum along the same lines. They are inviting people to come to the meeting with local real estate people and other scare tactics. The general theme is all about property values going down with no THOUGHT at ALL about just WHY the EPA feels that this area needs clean up or about health issues or the future.

Judging by the media blitz I am sure in addition to people being for or against this on their own terms, there will also be a ton of paid union guys talking about being willing to endanger their health for a job.

I would like to quote a long time member of F.R.O.G.G (Friends and Residents of the Gowanus Canal, a neighborhood group has tirelessly fought for the clean up of the canal through the correct channels:

"It would be a great loss to this community to pass up the financial help and expertise that the Superfund listing will bring to this area wide Gowanus Cleanup. It may be the only opportunity that will lead to the water complying with the Clean Water Act. (Nothing else could be better for our home values than this, nothing!Nothing else could be better for our health and well being, NOTHING! No amount of affordable housing could take the place of havinga clean waterway for our future! Having a clean waterway that supports planned developments is the only way to go.)

It would be a great loss to the community and the city as a whole if Toll and Buddy put their clout behind stopping this when,it looks like Toll Inc may not be in the financial position to build now anyway. The news on condo sales in the city is that values are to drop for another 4-5 years. With these kind of financial indicators, we should all take a step back. This may be the perfect timing to addressthe Gowanus Canal. The Pump tunnel work is to begin this spring. The Army Corp is part of that whole aeration process that will be put into place soon with much water quality testing going on during this process. The Army Corp has already done much study work--there is good science going on here--not the lopsided science that pops up in EIS's to support one opinion.

Touche!

Important Meeting Tuesday: EPA Is Concerned About the Gowanus!

Some great news regarding the Gowanus. As you have been reading in this blog for over a year, residents have had a tough loosing battle against the Toll Brothers wanting to build a huge condo on the fragile shores. A ray of hope has come and the EPA has decided that toxicity of the canal IS an issue and the Gowanus Canal has been nominated for Superfunds.There will be a meeting on Tuesday to find out more, infomation is below.

It's laughable how much money and profit clouds the thinking of those who think that building should be done, a quote in today's New York Post from one of those. (Thanks Buddy!)

"The sooner we get the listing under way, the sooner EPA can begin its work, so that one day the Gowanus Canal can be used again to benefit the people of Brooklyn," said the agency's acting regional administrator, George Pavlou.

But Carroll Gardens activist Buddy Scotto, leader of an at-times successful effort to clean up the canal for decades, said the EPA's decision stinks.

He said all the designation "would do is tie up development projects off the shore," such as a luxury condo and townhouse project planned by the Toll Brothers developers.

"There's no question the canal is clean enough now to support development," Scotto said.

"This is all political because someone has decided they don't want to see development near the canal, but it doesn't make sense. How can anyone try to kill these projects during such a poor economic climate?"

The project by Toll Brothers calls for 130 of the 577 units to be marketed to low- to middle-income households near Bond, Carroll and Second streets, and the rest would go for market rate.

Other developments planned for the area around the canal include a 68,000-square-foot Whole Foods superstore on Third Street.

Normally, polluters are required to pay for cleanups after completion of an EPA Superfund review, but in the case of the canal, much of the contamination occurred well over a century ago. In these situations, federal dollars are used to pay for a cleanup.

An important meeting will be held regarding this coming Tuesday at PS 32.

Below is the information about the informational meeting regarding the nomination of the Canal for Superfunds

Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke Invite you to a
A Public Information Forum with US EPA Regarding the Gowanus Canal Nomination for Superfund.

Tuesday, April 14, 7:00 PM

PS 32 Auditorium 317 Hoyt Street (between Union & President Streets)

Bring Your Questions!

US Environmental Protection Agency Will explain how the Superfund program works
and nomination process.

Defend Gowanus! NO LOVE CANAL HERE! Please sign!

Even though CB6 approved the Toll Brothers project the community is still fighting, FOR GOOD REASON! I quote the Urban Divers comment on the petition here- because they tell it like it is:
"The Gowanus Canal has historically and continues to be the catalyst for the severe environmental denigration that challenges public health and has caused the economic decline of the community. CLEANING THE GOWANUS CANAL FIRST, before IMPOSING ENCROACHING LUXURY HOUSING and or OTHER HUMAN DENSITY DWELLINGS, is the only way to PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH, and RESTORE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY and SUSTAINABILITY. THE CLEANING AND RESTORING OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THE GOWANUS CANAL FIRST, is the only way that the community, the city and the state will ever reap a REAL BENEFIT, and restore economic viability of the Gowanus Canal community and beyond."

Click here to sign the Defend Gowanus petition.

This petition is targeted at:Mayor Bloomberg, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilman Bill de DeBlasio.

Gowanus? Love Canal? NO! It's the Clap Canal!

The result of the vote on the resolution for the Toll Brothers spot zoning approval that occurred last night at the Community Board 6 meeting was basically a wash as there was no majority rule, it will have to be brung again before the board next month. More people were for the resolution to disapprove the spot zoning than against it. The board members for the resolution had legitimate reason to question this project. Environmental cleanup being number one. Many local residents spoke passionately and with concern about the project, no one I might add, was against something happening along the canal- it’s just that this particular project is not the right one. There are certain board members that have the twisted philosophy that in order to clean the canal you must build first. The ONLY folks in community who spoke on their side were union construction workers who basically used the guilt card that this project means jobs. Well, I have nothing against jobs but I would think that they wouldn’t want to be working on a job where they may be endangering their lives putting their hands in toxic soil. Does anybody recall the after effects of working down at the former world trade center? Hello! Cancer?! There is most likely asbestos and worse in the soil down on the shores of the Gowanus! They did have a representative to answer environmental cleanup questions but he was a tad casual and actually admitted that he “didn’t know much about that project” when someone brought up the languishing Whole Foods site. He stressed that there are broken ceramics in the soil more than heavy metals and other carcinegeous materials. And don’t get me started on their sewage solution. They are going to take care of their own shit. That board member also said that in order for the city to repair the strained sewage system on Bond Street, you must build first. (I want some of her drugs, or maybe the ones the woman who said the “canal has the clap”! and "let's get some "nice" people down there"!)

And again I have to say the most apparent thing about this meeting is that there were no REAL "pro" voices from the community other than members of the Gowanus Canal Development Corporation who for whatever reason have a huge hard on for this project, unknown health issues be damned! And oh yeah, Councilman Bill De Blasio made a brief appearance saying he is for affordable housing but if it’s not cleaned properly he’s not for it. Then he left and didn’t bother to listen to the community speak.

To read a much more detailed coverage of this three hour circus, click here to read the Pardon Me For Asking Blog’s coverage.

CB6/Toll Brothers Meet Thursday 6pm

Recently added to the building on 3rd and 3rd. Very timely.

The Toll Brothers comes before the Community Board 6 on Thursday night for the next round in the rezoning process. Be there if you care and you can speak for or against if you want to. Read the details below for the specifics.

Discussion and formulation of a recommendation on ULURP No. C090047ZMK, an application for an amendment of the Zoning Map.

Discussion and forumation of a recommendation on ULURP No. C090048ZSK, an application for a special permit to modify height and setback requirements, rear yard regulations and inner court regulations at 363-365 Bond Street (Block 452, Lots 1, 5, 15, 19 and Block 458, Lot 1).

Also! Has any one read this pro-Toll Brothers editorial in the Brooklyn Paper? I always knew they were all for it as their journalism has been slanted throughout (under reporting the amount of people that show up for community meetings for one example!) They claim that the Toll Brothers are saving "the soul of the Gowanus"! What a load of raw sewage Batman!

Read the crap here and prepare to roll your eyes.

The meeting is being held at:

P.S. 32 - Auditorium
317 Hoyt Street
(Union/President Streets)

6:00 PM

Photo compliments of Brian Berger.

Gowanus After the Rains.

You might think this a french impressionist painting ala Monet but NO it's really an exceptionally huge hunk of raw sewage drifting down the Gowanus Canal. As our current weather patterns make it clearly apparant here and everywhere, global warming is upon us. More Rain = More Sewage. * Toll Brothers take note! *Also found along the canal, an uber trendy Badgley Mischka stretch metal couture belt. I wonder what the story is behind this being left here. Disco Reveler from the Yard perhaps?

Forum on the "Future of the Gowanus" al fresco * Wednesday Night

Sit down by the Gowanus waterfront and talk to Councilman Bill de Blasio and friends about Gowanus development happenings, not sure if folk guitars will be involved.

COUNCIL MEMBER DE BLASIO TO HOST FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF THE GOWANUS

City Hall— Councilmember Bill de Blasio will host a forum tomorrow night to discuss the future of the Gowanus area. The event will focus on the Gownaus Canal corridor that is outlined in the framework developed by the Department of City Planning and the future development of the Public Place site. With Brooklyn's current state of hyper-development it is important that we plan for the impact that the growing population has on our borough's aging infrastructure. Topics will range from transportation, combined sewer overflow, traffic, schools, affordable housing and more.

The open discussion will include officials from various New York State and City agencies. Co-sponsors include Community Board 6, Gowanus Dredgers, Gowanus Canal Development Corporation and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.

Who: Council Member Bill de Blasio, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Department of Environmental Protection, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYPD, FDNY, NYC Parks and Recreation, and Department of City Planning.

When: 6:30PM-8:30PM, Wednesday, May 7th

Where: 2nd Street at the Gowanus Canal (off Bond- near the public dock). * Take the G/F train to the Carroll Street Stop, get off and walk on 2nd Street in the direction of Hoyt St until you hit the canal. The event will be held outdoors and a tent will be provided in case of rain.

What: Plan For the Future Forum: The Gowanus

Toll Brothers Make the Bad Boy List.

This is the type of house the Toll Brothers have made their fortune on all over the country.

In doing some research on the Toll Brothers I came upon some alarming information about them. Last week, the very same Toll Brothers who want to build the large 577 unit condo development along the Gowanus, made the “Climate Watch” Companies list compiled by a group of leading US investors. The businesses selected to be on this list are companies who have failed to improve their focus and attention to business risks and opportunities from climate changes.

Toll Brothers are joined by Exxon/Mobil, Chevron, CVS, Ultra Petroleum, General Motors, Ford, Bed Bath & Beyond and get this one. WHOLE FOODS!

SO. Are we are supposed to TRUST this developer to take the care to build on an environmentally hazardous swamp land that is chock full of pathogens?! Trust Toll Brothers to build a man-made hill with a 220 car parking garage in it to “fix” its sewage filled flood zone status?!

This is such a no brainer, just why are our elected officials allowing this?

Click Ceres.org to read the whole article.

This is the open sewer where Toll Brothers want to build their HUGE condo complex.

As I mentioned in the last post I wrote about the how the Gowanus Canal floods over when it rains and also that raw sewage is mixed into that flood water. The technical term for that is C.S.O or Combined Sewage Outflow. Here is a photo of the canal area at high tide. The land in the background with the silo is part of the site where Toll Brothers want to build their huge condominium complex.. They plan on ignoring the flooding by building on a man made hill. Now, can you imagine a hill there with a 12-story luxury condo sitting on top? Is it me or is this a band aid solution completely ignorant of the terrain and the forces of nature? The ground gets soft down there by the banks of the canal, probrably because it's full of toxins and chemicals.This is a photo of Combined Sewage Outflow in action. When it rains raw sewage from the toilets in our homes flow into the canal through tunnels into the canal. I received these photos and commentary from a F.R.O.G.G member (Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus), a group that has been a watchdog on Gowanus Environmental Issues.

The following words from F.R.O.G.G will fill you in on the technical details of the issue and how the city is ignoring, oops I mean handling it.

The rehabilitated and improved Flushing Tunnel is expected to flush out this communal toilet with greater force, hopefully moving the crap out at a faster pace, but it will still need to be moved through this community. None of this will be tested until after the work has been completed. The idea of building housing along such a waterway is perverted, perverted!Note the brown current of discharge from the CSO which the city has named OH-005. The city is in denial over the fact that this CSO actually spews anything into the canal. The DEP data shows that OH-005 discharges into the canal but 5 times a year. Those who regularly cross this bridge have observed otherwise--sewage discharges here are more frequent than 5 times a month. Because this CSO serves the Owl's Head treatment plant; the city is clueless as what to do about the sewage overflow along the Owl's Head lines so they are pretending it's not happening.

The Gowanus Canal water quality improvement plans address the CSO flow at the head of the canal. The Gowanus Canal water quality plans are all about raising the dissolved oxygen levels in the water in order to meet the lowest level of water quality standard. While they hope pathogen levels will be at a level that will allow them to up grade the water quality classification to CLASS I, the DEP does not know that pathogen levels will be of a level that would be healthy for those living so close to this water.

There is real question about the control of pathogen levels in this water, even after substantial renovation of the Flushing Tunnel takes place.

In the Gowanus Water body/Watershed Plan (currently under Public Comment Period) section 9.2.4 Future Considerations Synopsis states:
"Although this Water body/Watershed Facility Plan is expected to result in significant improvements to the water quality in Gowanus Canal, it is not expected to completely attain all applicable water quality criteria. .....If either current or potential future “fishable/swimmable” water quality criteria are demonstrated to be unrealistic after a period of monitoring, NYCDEP would request reclassification of Gowanus Canal based on a Use Attainability Analysis (UAA). Until the recommended UAAs and required regulatory processes are completed, the current NYSDEC classification of Gowanus Canal (Class SD) should be temporarily retained. "

And they want people to live on top of this? Shame on our politicians for even considering this rezoning.

To find out even more about what is going on around the Gowanus (including Public Place) read this excellent article by Tom Angotti in the Gotham Gazette.

Found on Bond Street near DeGraw.

I swear I didn't arrange this scenario! I passed by this grecian pogo stick scene (with broom I might add) on my way to that Gowanus Forum which even though representatives from the city, state and federal goverment were there, surprise surprise, not many of the communities concerns were answered. The city is using population and rain accumulation figures from 1987 to conduct their "studies". It's hard to believe this information is given out with straight faces. Nevermind the fact that condos are sprouting all around the Gowanus and the population will grow into the 10's of thousands once the Atlantic Yards are built. Oh and also what about the increase in heavy rain due to global warming? We all know heavy rain brings on the sewage and how about the combination of heavy rain and 1,000's of new residents? None of these issues were addressed by the panel but of course those were the questions that F.R.O.G.G and other local groups wanted to talk about. The general consensus on the panel was that if the Gowanus Canal were in Iraq we might get the funding to clean it up oh and that the City's Enviromental Protection Agency is open to everybody's "out of the box" comments. I'm sure they will be all over them (not!).

Gowanus Canal Public Forum * Thursday

When you're talking Gowanus Canal, you can't NOT mention it without noting its toxic state. If you are curious about what the State, Federal and City representatives are saying about it then go to this meeting. It's brought to you by State Senator Velmanette Montgomery.

"The Future of the Gowanus Canal: A Community Forum on the Environmental Quality"

In attendance: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis. Representatives from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers and a variety of Gowanus Canal advocates.

There will be a question and answer period. The question must be written up on index cards that will be provided.

Thursday December 6, 2007
6-8 PM
Belarusian Church - Atlantic Ave at Bond Street
For details call State Senator Montgomery's Office at 718-643-6140

Sponsoring organizations include Community Board 6, the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corp, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, FROGG, the Urban Divers and many others.

Shootin' the Sh*t about the Gowanus Canal

I went to the meeting regarding the Gowanus Canal Ecological Restoration Study attended by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection and the US Army Corps of Engineers. They spoke about what their studies have shown and just what IS the plan for cleanup of our beloved sewage and industrial waste clogged canal.

Well, they didn’t have a lot to say about what will be done. Because most of it won’t happen until the year 2010. A couple years after the zoning changes and by then the condo’s will probably be built!

There was a lot of talk of about sewage. About “floatables” and lowering “C.S.O’s” which stands for “COMBINED STORM AND SANITARY OUTFALLS”. C.S.O’s are a combination of raw sewage and industrial waste mixed in with things like pesticides and bacteria. C.S.O’s don’t look good and don’t smell good either. Basically, they want to keep the C.S.O’s submerged rather than floating around on top as it is in the above photo which I took after a massive rain storm last month.

In 2010 a new pump MIGHT be installed, which comes at a cost of 125 million dollars to the city and dredging might begin sometime before that happens. Until then, reduction of floatables will be done manually by scooping it up somehow from boats that cruise the canal. Another frightening option to control the sewage runoff into the canal, is to store it in huge containers, but that would take several acres of land, so I don’t think that’s an option.

Many questions were asked and not many were answered. Questions like, “Does anybody monitor the dumping done by the cement companies and the scrap metal yard?’ or “What about storm barriers in case of a highly likely catastrophic storm surge?” or “What if the pump fails like it has in the past but now we have 1.000’s of new residents?”

The stock answer seemed to be “Well, I can’t really answer that.."

Raw Sewage on the Gowanus Today!

Welcome Future 3rd & Bond Condo Dwellers and Whole Food Shoppers! This is what the rain brings on the picturesque Gowanus Canal!! Enjoy the sight of a big hulking chunk of raw sewage! I was privileged to see it (and smell it) as I crossed the 3rd Street Bridge today!

P.S- The Whole Food site has been untouched for weeks, there is now a lake in the middle of the site. Keep dreaming Baby J condo people, it will be years before the Whole Foods site is cleaned up and built, you should really take that perk out of your ad campaign!