Community Members Calling For Meeting With D.E.P. On Piping In Gowanus Canal

Community Activists are asking Community Boards 2 and 6 to set up a meeting between the NYC Department Of Environmental Protection and area residents to explain the aeration pipes that have been placed into the Gowanus Canal by a sub-contractor recently as part of the repairs to the Gowanus flushing tunnel.
The pipes will be sunk to the bottom of the canal with concrete shoes. Oxygenated water will be pumped through them and will be released into the Gowanus through valves.
This process is supposed to replace the action of the flushing tunnel during the time it will be out of commission for repairs.

Though it may be a bit simplistic, the process could be compared to blowing into a giant straw to make bubbles in a glass of water.
However, since the pipes will be sunk right into the toxic sludge at the bottom of the canal, one may wonder if the aeration will not swirl the toxins right to the surface of the water.

Marlene Donnelly of Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus (F.R.O.G.G.) just sent the letter below to CB6 Manager Craig Hammerman, asking for a public meeting with DEP.
She writes:

Please help out in requesting a community meeting with the city's DEP in which they would explain the current installation of pipes in the Gowanus and answer community questions.
This is a request for CB6 (and CB2 at the north end of the canal where this system will be located) to take up a community meeting with the DEP to have them explain the current installation of pipes in the Gowanus. Providing information to the community on this is the best way to assure the community that this action is in our best interest. There are many questions circulating, and many imaginative stories circulating about what is going on here.
The DEP needs to step in with an open community meeting where questions can be asked and answers provided.
Could you make it a priority to hold such a meeting through the community board environmental and public safety committee?

Marlene Donnelly

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Another Carroll Gardens Snow Day!

Sorry, dear Readers, I got a late start this morning. I am enjoying the snowy view out my window and have not even poked my nose out of the house.

I don't remember the last time we has so much snow. Was it 1996?

More photos to come as soon as I take a walk.




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A Late February Snow Fall

This was the scene in Carroll Gardens on Thursday afternoon. Slushy, wet snow fell all day long
and gave way to big white flakes in the early afternoon.
By nightfall, a few inches had piled up.

More photos tomorrow.

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Picture Of The Day: Snowy Mix

I know, I know!
I did say that I like snow.
But...
this morning's wet, snowy mix
was not welcomed.

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Have Your Say On Transportation Issues At M.T.A. Public Meeting

Next week, Brooklynites will have the opportunity to voice their concerns about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority' proposed cuts to service to both train and bus service around the borough. A Brooklyn MTA meeting will be held on Wednesday next week. Please put it on your calendar.

Below is a letter on this matter from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and James Vacca, Chair of the Transportation Committee

Dear Brooklyn Resident,

In December the MTA unveiled a package of service cuts that is a slap in the face to millions of New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Your borough now faces critical cuts in service that will negatively affect the commutes of thousands of Brooklynites each day. Please click here to sign our petition and oppose these cuts! Also, please attend the MTA's public hearing in Brooklyn next month and let your voice be heard. Details are below:

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

6 p.m.

Brooklyn Museum

Cantor Auditorium

200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn

(To view a list of public hearings in the other boroughs, click here.)

Among the proposed cuts to your borough are:

• Elimination of Student MetroCards
• $40 million in cuts to Access-a-Ride
• Buses to be eliminated: B23, B37, B39, B51, B71, B75, B77, X29, X37 and the X38
• Weekend elimination of the B2, B24, B69, X27 and X28
• The following trains face reduced service, which will result in longer waits and more crowded subway cars: D, F, G, A, L and M trains. The M will be replaced by the V train.

Take Action!

• Help us collect signatures for our petition, which we plan to deliver to each of the MTA's public hearings. You can find our petition online by clicking here.

• Sign up to volunteer! If you would like to volunteer, please contact Nick Rolf at NROLF@council.nyc.gov.

• Urge the MTA to find alternative ways to prevent these terrible cuts. To contact the MTA by phone, dial (212) 878-7483. To contact them by e-mail, click here.

The New York City Council and the Straphangers Campaign have proposed an alternate budget solution that will allow us to avoid these painful service cuts. To read more about our plan click here. Or click here to read our Op-Ed in the Daily News.

With your help we can stop these drastic cuts and ensure greater input from Brooklyn residents in the MTA's budget process.

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

New York City Council

James Vacca

Chair, Transportation Committee

New York City Council

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A Moment In Time: Getting A Ride

Yesterday afternoon on Smith Street.

After a long day of construction work,
they got a ride on top of the dump-truck,
which was filled with rubble.

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Best Comment Of The Day: Did You Ever Think?

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "No Carroll Without The Gardens! Help Protect Our Unique Courtyards":

To those who have lived here for over 50 years, by your comments, did you ever wonder why so many people who come to this neighborhood love it so much?...did you ever think maybe people like Buddy or Celia or these "small grass root groups of people" have fought really hard to keep it nice for you for over 50years? Instead of your sarcasms, think before you write....These so-called people you mentioned are the only ones that have fought to keep Carroll Gardens a great place. These so- called people have selflessly and generously spent their valuable time and money to protect and preserve what we have now...a great and wonderful place to live and raise a family. You should be thanking and supporting these so-called people. All it takes is for you to understand and get the facts. These so-called people have done their homework thoroughly. Have you?
There is an old 160yr- administrative code that have protected our signature courtyards/gardens from anyone building on it or making it into a private parking lot. Opening it up for one will set a precedent. Do you really want to lose our signature courtyards/gardens that which is what makes Carroll Gardens a beautiful and unique neighborhood. Williamsburg had very little people fighting for it...the historic beauty of Williamsburg is gone. Do you really want that to happen to Carroll Gardens? There are so many generations of family and great people in this neighborhood. A lot of them are fighting to keep it nice for everyone especially for you.

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Sara Bouchard Performing At Proteus Gowanus This Saturday

photo credit: www.proteusgowanus.com

photo credit: Sara Bouchard

If you don't have any plans for this week-end yet, may I suggest checking out Brooklyn-based singer-song writer Sara Bouchard at Proteus Gowanus this week-end? More info below.

Sara Bouchard performs "Songs of Lewis & Clark"
At Proteus Gowanus
This Saturday, February 27,
7-9 pm
543 Union Street
down the alley off Nevins www.proteusgowanus.com
Fee: $5 RSVP at info@proteusgowanus.com

Due to popular demand, Proteus Gowanus is pleased to announce that Sara Bouchard is returning to perform "Songs of Lewis & Clark", her song cycle setting to music the Journals of Lewis & Clark. As part of our continuing exploration of this year's Transport theme, Sara's 45-minute performance will feature an enhanced set of songs revealing in the expeditioners' own words their moments of awe, reflection, humor and joy as they journeyed from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

The Lewis & Clark expedition, 1804-1806, lay much of the groundwork for the westward expansion of the United States. A small library of images, books and other materials relating to the expedition will be available at the gallery for our guests to explore during this event. Sara Bouchard's lyrical voice, accompanied by her subtle, unique style of fingerpicking on guitar and mandolin can be previewed at http://www.myspace.com/sarabouchardmusic.

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Picture Of The Day: Dark Sky Over Court Street

Could it really be,
that after torrential rains
more snow is in the forecast?

This winter seems endless.

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EPA Invites Community To Third Public Meeting Regarding The Gowanus Canal

UPDATE:
Please Note The Change Of Venue
The meeting will now be held at PS 58

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 office just invited the Carroll Gardens/Gowanus Communities to attend a public information meeting regarding the Gowanus Canal.

This will be the third such meeting pertaining to the agency's proposal to place the Gowanus on its list of Superfund sites.

According to the flier, the meeting will include a brief presentation on the EPA's activities on the canal, followed by a question and answer period.

UPDATE: Please Note The Change Of Venue

EPA Public Meeting
PS58
33o Smith Street
Next Thursday, March 4, 2010

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A Must Read Photo Essay On Gowanus Whole Foods Site

photos by Nathan Kensinger

Photographer, blogger, and friend Nathan Kensinger just published an amazing photo essay on the the Gowanus Whole Foods site. Nate not only chronicles the history of the heavily polluted site starting with its industrial use 125 years ago, but is also critical of the unrealistic, unsustainable revitalization "schemes" of the Bloomberg administration.
It is a must read.

The Whole Foods Lot by Nathan Kensinger

The story of the Whole Foods lot is one of the best examples of how New York City's recent real estate boom and subsequent collapse unfolded. Located at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street, this empty lot is bordered on two sides by the Gowanus Canal. In 2006, it housed an active scrapyard, but this closed when ground was broken for a planned 68,000 square Whole Foods Market, which promised "Brooklyn residents a wide array of natural and organic foods" alongside a public esplanade and community center. The idea of building this market on the banks of a toxic industrial canal struck some local residents as a far-fetched idea, but this was representative of the ambitious yet ill-conceived development projects that were common during the past decade.

Soon after the groundbreaking ceremony, construction came to a halt. Leaking "550 gallon oil drums" were discovered underneath the planned construction site, remnants from the lot's "former life as a petroleum refinery," according to the NY Daily News, "demolishing the company's forecast for a store opening" in 2006. Today, after 4 years of delays, cleanup crews have finally moved in to fulfill Whole Foods' promise to detoxify the property, although the future of their store remains uncertain.

Continue reading photo essay here

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Il Cuntuccio Brick Oven Pizza Coming To Corner Of Smith & 9th Streets

According to a sign in 478 Smith Street's storefront window, Il Cuntuccio Brick Oven Pizza is coming to that location. I haven't ventures to the end of Smith Street for a while, so I don't know exactly how long the sign has up. (Does anyone know?)
The storefront at the corner of 9th Street, was until recently the home of an Uncle Louie G's Ice cream store. It never attracted much business, maybe in part because the building at # 478 has to be one of the ugliest new additions to Carroll Gardens.
The 2007 'step-ladder' building was designed by Brooklyn architect Henry Radusky, of Bricolage Designs. Back then, Brownstoner called it "butt-ugly and " a "Bricolage Piece o'Crap". I couldn't agree more. Maybe the glow of Il Cuntuccio's brick oven fire will give this austere-looking building a wee bit of warmth.
Oh, and if you want to own this Carroll Gardens' unique piece of ugliness, you can currently buy the entire building for $2,099,999 here.
Or you can save and buy it for $100,000 cheaper here.

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Donate Your Unused Sewing Machine To Local Crafts Cooperative

(photo credit: Amanda Panda Pants On Flickr)

Renée Orser Adult Education Associate at the Arab-American Family Support Center at 150 Court Street wrote in to say that their women's craft cooperative is in need to a few sewing machines. She writes:

The Arab-American Family Support Center at 150 Court Street is pleased to announce the start of an eight week sewing institute in our women’s craft cooperative, Another Dawn. Instructed by a local Cobble Hill resident, the institute will work to teach basic sewing, quilting, and tailoring skills to students in our women’s literacy program, with the intention of developing a sellable product by the end of the semester. All proceeds from products purchase Metrocards for the student’s transportation needs to and from the center.

AAFSC is seeking sewing machine donations for the co-op. We need 2 or 3 more machines in order to successfully run the small sewing classes. As with all New York apartments, we always have old items like sewing machines taking up precious corners and shelves. Please consider donating these gently used but functional machines to Another Dawn at AAFSC. Donations will be tax-deductable, and very appreciated by a large group of women learning English, business, and practical crafting skills.

If you have a machine to donate, please contact Renee Orser at AAFSC (renee@aafscny.org or 718-643-8000 ext. 17).

Thank you!

As I mentioned here before, the Arab-American Center is a wonderful resource for immigrants right here in our neighborhood.
About 8 years ago, I had the great pleasure of volunteering my time at the center. I met with a small group of women to teach them English. Since I am an immigrant myself, I knew what they were facing and how difficult it is to communicate in a new language. It was a wonderful experience.

I hope you will consider donating your unused sewing machine. The women at the Center will be very thankful.

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Best Comment Of The Day: Planning Laws Can Be Flouted

TC has left the following comment on the post "No Carroll Without The Gardens! Help Protect Our Courtyards":

As a new resident of Carroll Gardens and having previously lived in the UK, frankly I am stunned at the slapdash way in which planning is dealt with here. The building on 2nd and Smith would never have made it past first base with the amount of people adversly affected by the sheer size of it. As for the proposed Hannah Senesh School extension, it matters not that it is presently a carpark and not a garden, what matters is, if an extension is built, the building line is moved forward and sets a precedent for other applications to be made in the same vein. It seems that here, with money and the right connections, planning laws can be flouted with impunity.

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Brooklyn At Work: Pickle Delivery

Mr. Pickle Delivery on Court Street

The red delivery truck was filled with barrels of pickles,
two of which were being delivered
to the Cobble Hill Diner.

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No Carroll Without The Gardens! Help Protect Our Unique Courtyards

The letter below (for you to COPY/PASTE/SEND) went out to the Hannah Senesh Day School on Smith Street between Second and First Place last week, and was signed by numerous Carroll Gardens community members, both leaders and residents, including me and my husband.

The recent request of the Hannah Senesh School to make an exception to our 160 year old law protecting our public, front gardens, in order for them to expand their new school building by developing the front garden on First Place and Smith Street, is an absolutely AWFUL idea for Carroll Gardens.

Such a development would destroy yet another signature, front garden block in Carroll Gardens, stand kitty corner to one of the very few streets in Carroll Gardens in our historical district, and set a very dangerous precedent for more of the same in our future!

Our front gardens, which are public, have been protected from development for all these years for a very good reason!
Carroll Gardens' sense of 'sunny, airy, openess' is a direct result of the far-sighted planning of Richard Butts, a surveyor in the 19th Century who carefully designed the blocks we now inhabit. His work and the legacy he left us in Carroll Gardens must be protected, for it is this legacy that sets us apart from being just another brownstone neighborhood. Carroll Gardens is UNIQUE!

Granting Hannah Senesh their wish would set a very dangerous precedent for the future of our community in Carroll Gardens, diminsihing its appeal and value as a one of a kind historical, front-garden, architecutural treasure that can not be found anywhere else in NYC or the USA! We must defend ourselves against inititiatives which are not in the best interests or our own neighborhood.

We need to stop this now! And, we ask for your help!

It is also imperative that we let our Councilman, Brad Lander, know that we need to protect our unique history and heritage and that our front gardens can NOT be developed and destroyed. Period!

Thank you.
Carroll Gardens Coalition For Respectful Development (C.O.R.D.)

PLEASE COPY PASTE THIS LETTER, SIGN AND SEND ACCORDING TO THE DIRECTIONS THAT FOLLOW THE LETTER:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

342 Smith Street

Brooklyn, New York 11231

sent and emailed February 19, 2010

Dear Hannah Senesh Neighbors,

We are some of the people who live on the blocks that surround your school. Some of us have been here for generations. Some are more recent transplants. What we all share is a deep affection and appreciation for this place which we call home.

When you opened your doors in September, 2007, your school community quickly revealed itself to be a very welcome presence and happy addition to our Carroll Gardens neighborhood. We were and are delighted to have you here.

Back in December of 2009, you held a meeting at your school and had your attorney address a small group of neighbors regarding your plans to expand. Although pleased with your success, we expressed our disapproval for your plan which called for your expansion to take place upon a publicly owned area, the courtyard located on the corner of First Place and Smith Street.

As we are sure you are aware of by now, the courtyard area is protected by Old Brooklyn Law. This law, which has served this community very well for over one hundred and sixty years, prohibits, among other things, construction of any type upon it.

Carroll Gardens is defined by its signature Place Blocks’, deep set front yards. This community has, over the last several years taken many painstaking steps to protect our neighborhood from the types of over development which has marred much of New York City and to our great dismay, parts of Carroll Gardens as well.

The residents of Carroll Gardens have and continue to work long and hard to preserve and protect this neighborhood from losing its historic architectural flavor, relevance and human scale presence in the midst of this great city. We believe that these qualities are a great part of what makes our neighborhood both desirable and special.

As we hope you have noticed by now, we Carroll Gardeners have passionate pride and deep heartfelt love for our neighborhood. We wish that you and your students will become as deeply appreciative and caring for Carroll Gardens as we are, as this is your community now too.

Your intention to proceed with plans that must include a change to our single most powerful protection is simply unacceptable.

Although we know our local elected officials have asked to meet with you to discuss your plans, we understand that you have refused to do so at this time.

We implore you to meet directly with us. Let’s sit down and have a frank and honest discussion about your needs, your plans and what you see as the future of the Hannah Senesh School within the Carroll Gardens community.

We are your neighbors. Let’s try to find a solution that works for all.

We hope that we hear from you very soon.

Sincerely,

XXX

(Sign your name here)

EMAIL TO: info@hannahsenesh.org
MAIL: 342 SMITH STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11231
Fax:718-858-7190

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



For further information on the issues, click here


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Brooklyn Enjoying A Sunny (And Warmer) February Sunday

It was a glorious Sunday, wasn't it? It almost felt like spring,no?

Though there was so much to do at home, Mr. Pardon Me and I dropped everything and enjoyed the milder weather by walking from Carroll Gardens to Brooklyn Heights and to the Fulton Ferry Landing.

Obviously, we were not the only ones who spent time outdoors. Everywhere, Brooklynites were sitting in front of cafés, bookstores and soaked up the sun. Some even got their wedding pictures taken and everywhere, tourists were obviously having a grand time exploring the borough.

Did you get a chance to enjoy the balmy weather as well, dear Reader?



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Yet Another Nail Salon To Open In The Neighborhood

What is it with nail salons? How can they all survive?
Yet another one is to open in the neighborhood, this one at 143 Court Street, right off Atlantic Avenue.
Until very recently, the location was home to Abu Yasser & G Travel Services.

Not far away on Smith Street at the Corner of Pacific Street, Iris Nails is about to open (if it hasn't already.)

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UPDATE: Large Section Of Eroded Whole Foods Bulkhead Floating In Gowanus Canal?

photo credit: From the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy

This just in from Ludger K. Balan, Executive and Environmental Program Director of the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, a non-for-profit organization dedicated restoration, revitalization, restoration, protection for our waterways and watersheds.

Ludger has spent countless hours not only boating in the Gowanus Canal but also diving in its waters, studying and observing the changes along the heavily polluted waterway.

His organization just alerted to the fact that a huge section of the bulkhead along the Whole Foods section has broken off. Here is his email:

Whole Food for Thought!

"A large section of bulkhead ( approximately 20-25ft span) broke off Whole Foods site and is floating in the Gowanus Canal. The on-going erosion and this level of exposure, which has been occurring for over a year, is contributing to further migration of  toxins between the Gowanus Canal and the uplands section at Whole Foods site."

Ludger K Balan, Executive, Environmental Program Director

The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy

WWW.URBANDIVERS.ORG

***UPDATE***

On Friday, I received the email below from Josh Verleun, Chief Investigator for Riverkeeper, New York's #1 clean water advocacy group.

Josh, who, like Ludger, spends many hours investigating the Gowanus Canal in a Riverkeeper boat, reported to me that Ludger is mistaken. Apparently, the big floating object in the Gowanus is a boat that sank.
Josh writes:
"What is floating in the canal is not a piece of bulkhead, but is in fact the sunken remains of a houseboat that was once tied up close to the Carroll St. bridge.

I have been working on investigating the circumstances of this boat’s sinking for a number of months. The sinking of this vessel has been passed on to the Department of Environmental Conservation and other law enforcement entities as well. Here are some photos of the boat before it sunk, after it was sunk and the top was chopped off, and after it floated to where it is now.

The large piece labeled A1 (on Ludger's Photos) is the sunken boat. The other pictures of the Whole Foods bulkhead/shoreline look very similar to how they have looked the 8 or so times I was in front of the property in a Riverkeeper boat over the course of the summer and fall. The shoreline in that area is very unstable looking—dirt has eroded from underneath concrete that hangs out over the edge, so I certainly could imagine chunks of debris falling into the canal. But as far as I can tell nothing major appears to have changed since I was last there in November.

The bulkhead situation as well as the sunken boat will certainly be addressed at Monday night's meeting with Executives from Whole Foods.

Information about the meeting here.  I hope you will be able to attend."

(photo credit: Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper)

Houseboat before it sank

partly submerged houseboat

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