Pardon Me For Asking, But Did You Get This Slick Piece Of Misinformation From Anonymous Anti-Superfund Group In The Mail?

Anonymous Group Sends Slick Anti-Gowanus Superfund Mailer To Local Residents

Dear Reader,
If you live in the Gowanus/Carroll Gardens neighborhood, you have most probably received the above mailer in your mailbox on Saturday from an organization called 'CleanUpGowanusNow.'

Who is this mysterious organization? Who can tell. There are no names attached to the flier, nor are there any names on the web site. Only Debbie Scotto, a local developer who is fiercely opposed to the EPA Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal, is quoted on the flier.

However, this 'mysterious' organization is most likely funded by developers such as the Toll Brothers who are more interested in lining their own pockets than in a thorough cleaning of the Gowanus Canal before they build their projects.

The flier and the website is full of misinformation about the Superfund. Using scare tactics, it just proves that developers will do anything to get what they want. After all, they have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby our elected officials and have hired P.R. firms to help spread their message.

Those lobbying dollars so far have had little effect on the Pro-Superfund sentiments of local residents, a majority "made up of people who welcome the intervention of the federal government after decades of city neglect." (Mike McLaughlin, The Brooklyn Paper Friday, May 29th, 2009)

Which makes me wonder why our City Councilman Bill De Blasio and Assemblywoman Joan Millman aren't representing this majority instead of representing the interests of developers.

As a local resident stated
"It is becoming clear that the reason that Bill and Joan put in a request for an extension on Superfund comment period was, not to allow the city time to put together an alt-plan, but to all the public relation firm (probably Toll's) to put together a campaign against Superfund."

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Hey, Neighbor! Pardon Me For Asking, But...

Oh, I know that you have been waiting for this all week: it's Friday and its time for the question of the week. I hope you will weigh in by leaving your comment. So here it is....

The question of the week!

Get set, ready, go!

Which is your favorite gourmet food store in the area?
Fairway, Trader Joe's, Sahadi, Garden Of Eden or .....?

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A Moment In Time: Best Friends

In a moment of pure joy,
she began to skip down the sidewalk,
trying to get her friend to do the same.

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Superfund Gowanus: Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus (F.R.O.G.G.) Release Video

Dear Reader, I hope you will take a few minutes to view this incredibly well done and informative video on the proposed Superfund Site designation for the Gowanus Canal.
The members of 'Friends And Residents of Greater Gowanus', or F.R.O.G.G., urge you to support the designation.

Bravo!!!
Great job, Margaret, Marlene, Lisanne, Bette and Mike. I am proud of you!

Sign The Superfund Now! petition
Here

Please also go to Found In Brooklyn for further information

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Council Candidate Josh Skaller To Kick Off "SkallerThon" In Carroll Park

This just in from Josh Skaller's campaign:

Skaller Council Campaign Kicks Off Summer With "SkallerThon"

The Josh Skaller for City Council campaign will exercise its grassroots muscle this weekend by launching "SkallerThon." On Saturday, Josh Skaller will join supporters in a bike ride through the district, starting and ending in Carroll Park; meanwhile, over 40 volunteers will knock on more than 3,000 doors. The bike ride will start and end in Carroll Park, and will feature stops at several local events in route. Contact the campaign for a full itinerary. SkallerThon will highlight the grassroots nature of Josh Skaller's Council campaign. The Skaller campaign has over 200 volunteers and more donors than any other City Council campaign in Brooklyn. Skaller was the first candidate in the race to refuse money from lobbyists and developers. Josh Skaller, a community organizer, is past president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, a field director of Democracy For New York City, and co-founder of Brooklyn for Barack. A Democrat, Skaller is running for the City Council in Brooklyn's 39th District, which includes all or parts of Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Boro Park and Cobble Hill. Public events such as debates and forums are only the tip of the iceberg. Press is invited to attend to get a sense of the true grassroots nature of the Skaller campaign.

HOSTED BY: Josh Skaller for City Council DATE: Saturday, May 30 TIME: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. LOCATION: Various locations in Carroll Gardens

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'Ting Hua' On Smith Street Closes ***Update: And Opens Again***

A few days ago, I received an email from reader Tamar, who wanted to know if I had noticed that Ting Hua, the Chinese restaurant at 351 Smith Street, between Carroll Street and Second Place, had closed late last week. That was news to me, so I walked by to check it out. Sure enough, the gate was rolled down during lunch time and has remained closed. A quick telephone call to the restaurant's number remained unanswered.
This place was hardly one of my favorites in the neighborhood. However, it has been a fixture on Smith Street for at least 10-12 years.
I asked the deli owner next door if he knew what had happened. He seemed as surprised as I was.
Does anyone have any info?

****UPDATE****

Sunday May 31st
A FOR RENT sign appeared on the storefront on Friday, but by Sunday, there were two people cleaning the take-out restaurant and there was a sign in the window that Ting Hua would re-open by Monday, June 1st.

Weird!

Related Reading:
Major Yuck Factor At Ting Hua On Smith Street


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A Moment In Time: Sitting And Waiting

Nothing could avert his eyes
from the glass door
at Mastellone's on Court Street,
not the loud siren of a police car,
not a group of loud school children.
No,
he was going to sit
and wait,
till his owner came out again.

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The People In My Neighborhood: Louie "Balls"

Louie was standing in front of Joe's Superette at 349 Smith Street. The lunchtime rush was over and he was taking a break from making those delicious sandwiches for which Joe's Deli is famous.
"The kids sometimes call me Louie Balls" he told me.
I smiled.
Of course they would. Anyone who has ever eaten the delectable Prosciutto balls, or the rice and cheese balls which are the deli's specialties, would give Louie that nickname.

If you haven't had one yet, make sure to stop by. Louie will set you up with a few balls. And tell him Katia sent you!

More people in my neighborhood:

The People In My Neighborhood: Tony, The Carroll Gardens Bird Man

The People In My Neighborhood: The Stylish Lady


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Columbia Waterfront: Important Port Authority Meeting Tonight

I received the email below from fellow blogger Adam over on the Columbia Street waterfront. There is an important Port Authority meeting tonight that we should all know about. Read his email below.

There is another important issue regarding port pollution about which I have been attempting to raise awareness on my blog - aviewfromthehook.blogspot.com

I think it ties into the shared issues of livability and pollution in our neighborhoods.

Regarding this matter, there is an important meeting today at the Port Authority (last minute notice from them!) which will affect our neighborhood for at least the next 20 years. I have sent an email to alert people to this situation - perhaps you could link to it via my blog, where I have it posted.

Thanks for your work on these important matters,

From: aviewfromthehook.blogspot.com
A decision is being made at the Port Authority tomorrow in regard to the future of the Atlantic Basin and Pier 11 on the Red Hook Waterfront.

What is being proposed and decided upon tomorrow is essentially the expansion of the operations of the Red Hook Container Terminal, a stated goal of representatives of the NYC Economic Development Corporation.

This expansion is being proposed without any environmental impact study, nor promise to implement any pollution mitigating practices at the port. For example, "Cold Ironing", the hooking up of container ships to shore power when in port, allowing them to turn off their carcinogenic fume emitting engines.

This practice of Cold Ironing has been promised at the Cruise Ship terminal, with investments already committed by Carnival, who operate the cruise ships, and the Port authority, who control the land and terminal itself.

The only obstacle is getting a power rate which makes this practice viable for the ships. On this matter, a case was put to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to decide on whether they should mandate a tariff (rate of supplying power) to Con Edison, to make this happen. The PSC decided that this case was not able to be resolved by them, as the Port authority got its power from the New York Power Authority, and the decision on rates should be theirs.

To continue reading, click here



The matter of the Atlantic Basin and Pier 11 will be decided at the offices of the Port Authority, 15th Floor, 225 Park Ave South, NY.

There is a committee meeting with (it seems) the opportunity for public comment at 10:30am, and a board meeting, again with the possibility for public comment at 1:30pm. They are listed listed as "Update on New York Marine Terminals".



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Reader Comment Of The Day

Reader comment left on:
Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Superfund Meeting: The Pros Vs. The Amateurs

I was glad that Bob Zuckerman asked the city's reps what exactly they meant by their flogging of the vague term "powerful incentives" to get the potentially responsible parties to willfully - nay, happily - step up to the plate and pay a portion of cleanup costs. Of course, the answer was simply that they'd possibly have to pay less IF (and ONLY if) the city's multi-faceted plan came together without a hitch (including four years worth of the TOTAL funding for this kind of project nationwide). Nonsense. Why do I get the feeling that their little bag of tricks would also include tax breaks equal to or greater than the sum total ponied up by these PRPs?

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39th Council District Candidate Bob Zuckerman Endorses Gowanus Superfund

click image to enlarge

Just yesterday, State Senator Daniel Squadron came out in favor of a 'Superfund Site' designation for the Gowanus Canal.
Today, District 39 City Council Candidate Bob Zuckerman announced "his strong support" for the designation. That is great news.
Below is the official press release from Zuckerman's office.


CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE BOB ZUCKERMAN ENDORSES
SUPERFUND DESIGNATION FOR GOWANUS CANAL

Bob Zuckerman announced his strong support today for the nomination of the Gowanus Canal for the National Priorities List, otherwise known as Superfund. Zuckerman, the former Executive Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC) and Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC), has long fought for the implementation of environmentally sound strategies to cleanup the Canal. The announcement of his support comes after careful deliberation of the issue and a recent letter from Zuckerman to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) (attached) seeking assurances of proper coordination among Federal, State and local authorities, the development of a timeline and benchmarks to ensure accountability and adequate funding to complete the enormous cleanup task.

"My priority is for the Gowanus Canal and its surrounding area to be cleaned up as quickly and efficiently as possible. After hearing the EPA's responses to the questions I raised in my letter and comparing the EPA's approach to the City's, I am confident that a Superfund designation will result in a more comprehensive and coordinated cleanup of the Canal." Zuckerman said. "As Chair of Community Board Six's Environmental Protection Committee and as a future City Council Member, I will work to ensure that the cleanup is adequately coordinated, fully funded and always undertaken with an understanding of the needs of the community. While I
fully support responsible mixed-use development and the re-zoning of the Gowanus Corridor, the environmental and health concerns of the community must be our number one priority"
Zuckerman's support comes following last night's special joint session of Community Board Six's Executive Committee and its Environmental Protection, Public Safety, and Permits and Licenses Committees. Zuckerman became Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee earlier this year. The presentation featured representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and from the City of New York.

"Being a leader is about not being afraid to take a position on controversial issues even if some of your friends and supporters disagree, and some of them do," said Zuckerman. "My decision-making process was careful and informed. After the concerns I raised to the E.P.A. were adequately addressed, I believed it was the right time to voice my support and to get to work on moving the project forward."


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This Saturday, Tag Sale To Benefit Summit Street Community Garden

Tag Sale To Benefit The
Summit Street Community Garden
Saturday, May 30 from 8:30 - 2:00-ish
Rain Date: Sunday, May 31st.
Location: Corner of Summit and Columbia Streets, Brooklyn

Check out the Summit Street Community Garden Tag Sale this Saturday.
It's a multi-family/neighbor tag sale. All proceeds go to benefit the Summit Street Community Garden.



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A Moment In Time: Playfulness

In a moment of pure playfulness on Court Street,
she pretended to be a child again
by sitting on the little bike
to make the children smile.

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Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Superfund Meeting: The Pros Vs. The Amateurs

Walter Mugdan, US EPA Director of the Emergency and Remedial Response Division

Angela Carpenter, EPA

EPA Presentation

EPA Presentation

EPA Presentation

For New York City, Caswell Holloway,Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler


Dan Walsh, Head of NYC Office Of Environmental Remediation

The City's Caswell Holloway, foreground, with Dan Walsh

City's Alternative Plan presentation

City's Alternative Plan presentation

After last night's Community Board 6's informational meeting, at which the Environmental Protection Agency and representatives of New York City proposed their different plans for a Gowanus Canal clean-up, CB'6 Chairman Bashner concluded by saying that "it was a pleasure to be sitting here watching the City and the EPA fight over who gets to clean the canal."

Yes, indeed, it was a pleasure, though the meeting confirmed once more that the EPA has a clear, well-thought out plan and the experience to clean the canal, and the city, frankly, is winging it. Whereas Walter Mugden of the U.S. EPA gave a thorough and clear presentation of why a clean-up is necessary and how his agency would proceed under Superfund, the City's presentation, given by Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler and Dan Walsh, Head of NYC's Office Of Environmental Remediation, seemed confusing, overly complicated and seemed to be a work in progress with many variables, held together with hopes and a prayer.

Water Mugden did such an excellent job that he outlined the difference of the two approaches rather thoroughly before Mr. Holloway even took the microphone. From the beginning, it was clear that Mr. Mugden had serious doubts about the viability of the city's plan. One thing is for sure: The Gowanus Canal is highly polluted and needs a thorough clean-up which involves not only dredging the bottom of the waterway, but also cleaning the surrounding land to make sure that contamination of the canal is stopped.

The EPA Plan

The EPA outlines that the following contaminants were found in very high concentration all along the length of the canal are:
*Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): up to 4.5% in the canal sediment *Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): up to 43 parts per million in canal sediment *Heavy Metals ( Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic and Zinc)
*Volatile Organic Compounds

These contaminants are the result of the canal's industrial history and stemmed from the former Manufactured Gas Plants, Coal yards, cement makers, paint and ink factories, oil factories as well as the city's sewer overflow.

The EPA proposed the inclusion of the Gowanus on its National Priority list which currently includes 1,264 sites, because the canal's downstream areas are used for fishing, recreation such as kayaking and canoeing, and because the area has been designated an 'Estuary Of National Significance' and because the area floods on a regular basis. Evaluating the risk of direct human contact with sediments and surface water, the EPA gave the Gowanus Canal a score of 50 out of a possible score of 100. The minimum score for eligibility to be included onto the list of Superfund Sites is 28.5.

The EPA is planning on working fully with The City of New York, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservancy and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. The EPA would address the FULL length of the canal and would evaluate and address onshore facilities that continue to leak hazardous contaminants into the canal. The agency estimates that 330,000 cubic yards of mud will have to be dredged from the canal. The cost will be in the hundreds of millions.

Funding will come from Potentially Responsible Parties Or PRP's, such as, in this case, National Grid, which is the biggest polluter along the Gowanus. But there are many others which will be identified by the EPA, which has extensive information gathering and enforcement authorities. For cleanup of sites for which no responsible parties can be identified, so-called 'orphaned' sites, the EPA uses its own funds from its annual budget.
It is highly unlikely that individual residential home owners will be held responsible, Walter Mugden stated. This happens" in almost no case."

CLEAN-UP of the canal WILL HAPPEN FIRST, litigation against the PRP's will come later.

The Superfund nomination will NOT DELAY the actions of New York City's $ 178 million project to rehabilitate the flushing tunnel and the pumping station as well as divert 1/3 of annual Combined Sewer Overflow away from the Gowanus Canal, an action that is required under a Consent Order with the NYS Department Of Environmental Conservancy.

The listing WILL NOT DELAY the rezoning of the Gowanus Area from manufacturing to residential. The EPA will continue to monitor and maintain the canal after the clean-up, and issue 5 year reports.


The City's Alternative Plan

Why the city is hell-bent on keeping the EPA out of the clean-up process, though the agency is the expert and the city has never undertaken a project of this magnitude is a puzzle. However, it became clearer rather quickly when Caswell Holloway mentioned Public Place, The Toll Brothers and development and the city's concern that these projects will be indefinitely delayed, within the first few minutes of his presentation. Holloway stated that the goal is that "those developments should go ahead as planned." He also mentioned that the Superfund designation "is making lenders nervous."

The city touts its plan as every bit as thorough at EPA's, but faster and more efficient. The process will be managed by the EPA, the same as under the Superfund. But the city's alternative would ask identified polluters, such as National Grid, to voluntarily step to the table and pay up, an approach that has rarely been used on sites like the Gowanus, where many Potentially Responsible Parties will be identified. According to the city, "the voluntary process is faster than the Superfund's adversarial process."

However, so far, no PRP's have stepped forward voluntarily to work with the city.

The city plans to work in close association with the Army Corps Of Engineers, who have studied the Gowanus canal for years. However, no representative of the Army Corp Of Engineers was present to confirm or talk about their involvement. As far as funding for the city's alternative, it relies on the inducement of a cleanup discount to the PRP's. This is possible (but not guaranteed) through a government program which allows some funds to be accessed by the Army Corp of Engineers to perform a cleanup and dredge of Federal navigable waterways. This proposal, in my view, adds significantly to the complexity of the project and is more likely to delay, rather than speed the process.

There was no mention of long-term monitoring after a clean-up.

Mr. Holloway also stated that the City has stopped the ULURP process for the rezoning of the Gowanus area from industrial to residential.

It was also stated that the 1/3 reduction of the Combined Sewer Owerflow by the City will be achieved by diverting the raw sewage into other bodies of water, NOT by finding a more permanent solution for managing the waste.

If the city fails with its alternative, Mr. Holloway seriously suggested that the city can then go back to the EPA to ask for the canal to be placed on the Superfund List. Which begs the question, why don't we go with the experts in the first place?

At one point during the meeting, a local residents sitting behind me murmured: " Does the City think we are stupid?" Indeed, after last nights presentation, it is amazing to thing that the city is gutsy enough to go against the science, know-how and experience of the EPA.

I say, Superfund Gowanus Now!

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State Senator Squadron Announces He Is FOR Gowanus Superfund Designation!

State Senator Daniel Squadron at last month's EPA Superfund meeting

Great News! Yesterday, State Senator Daniel Squadron announced that he is for the Gowanus Canal Superfund designation.

Daniel Squadron and his staff had hinted last week that the State Senator was about to issue a statement regarding the EPA's proposal to include the Gowanus Canal to its list of Superfund sites. After meeting with the city as well as with the EPA, the State Senator came to an informed conclusion. Here is his statement:

On April 8, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it had nominated the Gowanus Canal for consideration to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL), more commonly known as the Superfund list. If added to the NPL, the Gowanus would be entered into the EPA's cleanup program, which would include intensive study and analysis of the nature of the hazardous materials and pollutants within the canal, identification of the parties that have been responsible for the pollution, and a supervised cleanup.

Though the pressure to immediately announce a position on this issue was great, this is an enormously complex issue that cannot be decided based on headlines alone; the decisions we make now will have profound, long-ranging consequences for the local community and the effort to clean and revitalize the Gowanus. Given the gravity of such a designation, my staff and I have been working to fully understand the impact that Superfund designation would have for the canal, including the water, the silt and upland portions, and the health and welfare of the community. I investigated sites from around the country, evaluating where a Superfund designation has led to progress and where communities have succeeded with the Superfund Alternative Approach. I met and spoke with the relevant agencies, as well as Gowanus area residents, community organizations and Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).

Over the course of these meetings, several parties indicated their belief that the Superfund Alternative Approach (SAA) program, also administered and managed by the EPA, might better achieve a positive outcome. I have concluded that while the SAA has proven to be a useful alternative for sites where there are one or two PRPs, in the case of the Gowanus it is highly unlikely that all of the PRPs will be easily identifiable, or will voluntarily accept responsibility. I also am not convinced that the SAA will guarantee the same transparency, leverage and long-term comprehensive outcomes as the Superfund program. Of course, any scenario, including the SAA, that offered additional federal dollars while meeting the standards of Superfund would be ideal. However, the burden in ensuring that such an alternative would in fact match Superfund's benefits, and bring added value, is high.

For this reason and others, I support listing the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. Based on the conversations I have had and the commitments that have been made, I have concluded that listing the Canal on the NPL is the best strategy for achieving a comprehensive and timely cleanup of the canal and the sources of its contamination. Superfund designation would deliver appropriate oversight to the EPA, which has a unique ability to work with other levels of government, PRP's and the community to address a complicated site like the canal.

To continue reading statement, click here

Well done, Senator Squadron!

Let's hope that some of our other elected officials will finally come the fence or change their minds regarding the Superfund designation as well. How about it, Councilman De Blasio?


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A Moment In Time: Guarding The Door

Sitting right in the door of
a bar on Smith Street,
he stared at passers-by,
daring anyone to enter.

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A Quiet Week-End In Carroll Gardens, Empty Streets And All

Pssst! I'll let you in on a little secret, dear Reader. It is actually a lot of fun spending a long week-end right in one's own neighborhood. None of the hassles of bumper-to-bumper traffic getting out of town, none of the frustrations of getting back in...

For those of you who escaped for Memorial Day week-end, let me say that it was so very nice and quiet here in Carroll Gardens. The streets were incredibly empty. Take a look at Smith Street above. Can you believe it? NO TRAFFIC and plenty of parking.

Maybe I shouldn't advertise it too much. You may get the idea of staying here yourself next year. And then, it would just be like any other week-end. But no matter where you were this Memorial Day, I hope had a great time!




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Tomorrow!!!!!! E.P.A. To Come Back To Gowanus Community To Answer Superfund Questions

Reminder
**************

The E.P.A. has been invited back to the community by C.B.6 to answer questions regarding the proposed Superfund Site designation for the Gowanus Canal. This will be the second time that the agency's representatives will address local residents. Last month, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke held a public information forum on the nomination. Since then, the City and our local officials have been hard at work coming up with an alternative plan to the Superfund designation. With little success, if one were to judge by the city's pitiful presentation of the alternative by Caswell Holloway, Chief of Staff for Deputy Mayor Schyler at this month's Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association meeting.

Just yesterday, CB6 sent out a notice that the agenda for the May 26th meeting has been revised and expanded to reflect that the City of New York will be attending as well.

This is the meeting notice from C.B.6

Presentation and discussion with representatives for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a proposal to designate the Gowanus Canal and environs as a Superfund site, what a Superfund designation would mean for our community, learn more about the process used to make such a determination, and hear from representatives for the City of New York on the City’s plans to address Gowanus-related environmental conditions.

Superfund Informational Meeting

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
P.S. 32 Auditorium
317 Hoyt Street
(between Union & President Streets)

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Reserve Your Space At Carroll Park's Annual Flea Market

Reserve Your Space Now:
130 out of 150 spaces have already been reserved.
So get yours now!

Have you gotten your space yet for the Carroll Gardens Flea market. They are going fast. This is one of the funnest events in Carroll Park. It is both a way to empty those cluttered closets as well as a way to meet your neighbors.

Carroll Park Flea Market
Saturday, May 30st
10 Am- 5 Pm
Rain date- Sunday, May 31

To reserve a space, call 718 522-5259

$ 30.00 for a 10x10 foot space
$40.00 for a spot against the fence

Crafts,original art, toys, games, housewares,and more

All proceeds and donations support The Committee To Improve Carroll Park



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Picture Of The Day: Clinton In The Afternoon

I was late coming home,
and should not have stopped,
but how could I have resisted
capturing the late afternoon light
playing on the façades of these brownstones
on Clinton
on that day in May.

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Hey Neighbor! Pardon Me For Asking, But...

It is Friday again, dear Reader, so, of course, it is time to pose the question of the week. I know you have been waiting patiently all week.
Won't you please, please answer this question for me:

Are you ready?

What is your favorite way to spend Memorial Day Week-End in the neighborhood?
Where will you go, where will you eat and where will you play?

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39th Council District Candidates React To IND Endorsement

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at last night's Independent Neighborhood Democrats' vote to endorse John Heier as the club's candidate. Their endorsement of the most conservative contender in the race to replace Councilman Bill DeBlasio seems to be an indication that they are a bit out of touch, to say the least. Below are the statements released by candidates Josh Skaller and Bob Zuckerman after the IND vote.

Statement From City Council Candidate Josh Skaller Regarding IND Endorsement

"It is sad that a majority of IND's voting membership insulted many IND members and community residents by choosing to support a conservative Democrat for City Council who opposes Superfund relief for the Gowanus Canal and whose opinions on choice and marriage equality are confusing, at best. The residents of the Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Gowanus communities want progressive leadership committed to reforming City government and unafraid of marriage equality, a woman's right to choose and a real, federally-supported clean-up of the Gowanus Canal. That is why organizers of a recent candidates' forum decided to endorse my campaign for City Council. I welcome grassroots support from all over the 39th Council District, but I will always prefer the support of community residents whose perspectives are free from the developer dollars and entrenched business interests."


Statement From City Council Candidate Bob Zuckerman Regarding IND Endorsement

“I am deeply troubled that the Independent Neighborhood Democrats decided to endorse a conservative candidate who is anti-choice and anti marriage equality. This club is in danger of becoming an irrelevant voice because of its endorsement process over the last few years. IND is made up of many wonderful and smart people who are committed to the progressive values it was founded on over thirty years ago. But the actions of some have continued to tarnish the progressive reputation of this club and it saddens me to think, as last night’s vote demonstrated, it’s no longer independent or reform.”

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'Why The Gowanus Should Be A Superfund Site' By Tom Angotti, PHD

Dear Reader, please take a moment to read this excellent analysis of the Gowanus Canal by Dr. Tom Angotti, Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College. It is a chilling account of the many problems that plague the area.

Why the Gowanus should be a Superfund site

Submitted by Dr. Tom Angotti

I am a Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College, City University of New York, and Director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development. I am a native of Brooklyn, and as a senior planner with the New York City Department of City Planning was responsible for studies of land use and zoning along the Brooklyn waterfront, including the Gowanus Canal. I have written extensively on community planning, environment and sustainability in New York City and beyond.

I am deeply concerned about the future of the Gowanus area. It is one of the most contaminated in New York City and I find it troubling that after so many years of concern by residents and workers in the area, city government has yet to carry out a thorough study that looks at the long-term effects of the contamination on the health of people who live and work in the area. Nor does the city have an adequate strategy to clean it up the Canal. Designation of a Superfund Site would bring to bear the missing attention and resources and while it will not resolve all environmental and health problems it will bring us much closer than New York City’s limited efforts.

The proposal to rezone the area advanced by New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) can derail efforts to improve the environment. It is not based on any careful scientific study of contamination, the long-term effects of climate change and sea-level rise, or existing and future impacts on human health and local ecosystems. The rezoning responds to proposals for new residential development and would limit existing and potential industrial uses. DCP claims that as sites get redeveloped property owners will be required to clean them up. However, environmental impact statements (EIS) for individual sites, even large sites, will not produce the kind of remediation needed to make the Gowanus safe for residents and workers. First of all the EIS is a disclosure document. Applicants are required to disclose potential impacts; they are not required to remediate pre-existing conditions, nor are they even required to mitigate unhealthy conditions that are created by their own projects. And site-specific mitigation may very well lead to the migration of toxic waste to other sites and increase public exposures to unhealthy conditions. The EIS is so inadequate as a tool for environmental improvement that specialists at both the conservative Manhattan Institute’s Center for Rethinking Development and my Center, on the opposite end of the philosophical spectrum, agree that it needs a major overhaul.

Even as shipping declined and industries continued operating in the Gowanus area, residual wastes have became part of a vast pool of contamination that does not obey the boundary lines of the multiple property owners in the area. Currents shift and waste migrates below the surface, and the Gowanus has become one large toxic wasteland. This is why any effort to remediate the Gowanus cannot be simply based on site-by-site remediation. And this is why remediation of the world’s largest oil spill below our very own Greenpoint in Brooklyn is based not on site-by-site remediation but on a comprehensive cleanup. The Gowanus deserves no less.

City government also wants us to believe that the current plan by its Department of Environmental Protection to flush out the Canal, once it is fully implemented, will constitute an adequate cleanup. However, flushing out the canal will not remove the toxic sediment in the canal or prevent leeching into surrounding properties. It will not resolve the long-term problem of contaminated Combined Sewer Overflows. It will not make further development around the Gowanus Canal safe for people who live and work there.

We hear the argument that even if Superfund cleanup might be better if will take too long and in the meantime prevent new development, which is supposed to mean more jobs and housing units. This is a reckless way of treating public health hazards. It can also result in a net loss of jobs as residential uses replace industry. New residential development within breathing distance of the Gowanus Canal will place many more people at risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and respiratory illnesses. Government has not adequately studied existing levels of exposure or projected future levels of exposure. This is needed so that the public can make informed judgments about whether or not to develop, where to develop, and the precautionary measures that need to be taken.

Mayor Bloomberg’s long-term sustainability plan, PlaNYC2030, is a major challenge to short-term thinking which does not take into account the long-term quality of our environment and the health of the public. Rezoning the Gowanus now is a short-term tactic at a time when we need the 2030 plan’s long-term thinking. We have seen what short-term thinking has done in the past. It created contaminated industrial waste sites in the first place. It created a major financial crisis that left many neighborhoods with foreclosed properties and empty apartments.

Now global warming and sea-level rise are forcing all of us to think long-term and to re-think the way the city grows. That is yet another reason that the Gowanus should not be developed as proposed. Our best science suggests that much of the area targeted for new development could be under water by the middle of the century. The cost of building above the future flood level – whatever that might be -- would no doubt be daunting and surely limit affordability. Common sense dictates that we plan for future development in areas less vulnerable to natural disasters and better able to support development.

Finally, this is perhaps a time to put an end to the bleeding of industrial jobs in New York City at the hands of rezoning for large-scale real estate development. With the flight of financial sector jobs and real estate capital, our city’s economy would be much stronger if we had more industry to fall back on. Only 3% of our work force is in manufacturing, one of the lowest of any major city in the United States. If our industrial and mixed-use communities had not been rezoned for residential development and we had retained our historic economic diversity, we might have retained more jobs.

In the 1980s DCP acknowledged in a major study that the Gowanus area was one of the most vital industrial zones in the city and in the 1990s designated it a Significant Maritime and Industrial Area. The March 11, 2009 statement of the Municipal Art Society summarizes existing evidence and makes a strong case for a more careful and cautionary approach to rezoning and planning.

In conclusion, I support nomination of the Gowanus as a Superfund site and oppose DCP’s proposed rezoning proposal.

Tom Angotti, Ph.D.

Director, Center for Community Planning & Development

Hunter College, HW1611

695 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10065

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