Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group's Operating Procedures Committee Submits Charter Draft

For the last few months, the Operating Procedure Committee of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) has been working incredibly hard on drafting a charter, which will serve as a framework and guide for the CAG.

Craig Hammerman (Community Board 6), Rita Miller (Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development), Steven Miller (Member-At-Large), and Maria Pagano (Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association,) the four members of the committee have just submitted their draft of the Charter for consideration to the full CAG and hope that it will be ratified at the next meeting on April 26th.

Members of the public are welcome to comment on the draft charter and /or to attend a meeting on Thursday, April 21st at 6:15 PM, 250 Baltic Street (CB6 Conference Room.) If you would like to attend, please RSVP to: edelstein@psouth.net

The Committee issued the following statement:

"We have crafted this charter with care and diligence. We hope you will recognize the strength of the basic structure, the thoughtful design of the overall framework and the breadth of our consideration."

Below is the opening statement of the Draft Charter's Vision statement for the CAG:

We, the CAG members, believe that this is an historic opportunity to not only restore a long neglected and abused waterway, but to set an example of what we are scientifically, morally, and environmentally capable of as a great nation – an example of a community that cares about our impact on our small portion of the planet. A community that is committed to showing what we can do when driven by science and conscience, as well as, but not only by, dollars and cents. A community that takes seriously the monetary investments being made in the canal and demands the best results for that investment. A community that expects all of the government agencies to take the investments in the canal - both financial and emotional - as seriously as we do. A community that expects the government agencies to work together, and with us, toward the same ends: adhering to the highest standards and achieving the best environmental results for the canal and our community.

The clean-up of the canal presents a remarkable opportunity to realize the hopes and dreams of the community for its future. We recognize that these aspirations are as diverse as our community. Our vision for the CAG is to advance these hopes and dreams by working together in ways that build trust and utilize intensive transparency, collaboration, and leadership.

To read the draft in full, click here

Since I am a GAG member and will attend the April 21st meeting, I will gladly bring any of my readers' questions or suggestions on the Draft Charter to the committee. You can leave them as comments on this post or email them to me at pardonmeinbrooklyn at gmail dot com.

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