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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