"It Only Takes 1/10th Of An Inch Of Rain": Flyer Spotted On Smith Street Warns Of CSO Events

I spotted the flyer above, taped to a pay phone on Smith Street, last Friday. It seemed appropriate since Tropical Storm Andrea was dumping upwards of four inches of rain on the Metropolitan area that day, and breaking previous rainfall records all along the Northeast.
No doubt, the heavy rains flooded quite a few basements in the area, especially in Gowanus,

And today, it's raining heavily once again.

No group or individual took credit for the flyer and it was the only one I spotted on Smith Street.

Its message, however, is relevant and important for this area. As many of you know, New York City has an antiquated combined sewer system, which means that rain run-off from streets and roofs get collected in the same pipes with domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater, which lead to a waste water treatment facility.

The Red Hook and Owls Head Wasterwater Treatment Plants are responsible for our area. However, when the facilities exceed their capacity because of flash floods or heavy rainfall, the excess waste water is discharged into the Gowanus Canal.

There are currently 10 active Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) and three storm water outfalls that dump directly into the canal.
The largest and most significant outflow is RH-034, which is located at the head of the canal. RH-034 contributes an annual discharge of roughly 121 million gallons.

(Who can forget the 2010 video of the CSO event at RH-034 )

The CSOs aren't just an embarrassment to New York City, they represent a significant risk to human health and to wildlife.

Though the City is currently working on upgrading the Gowanus Canal Flushing Tunnel and Waste Water Pumping Station, the upgrades will only reduce Combined Sewer Overflows into the canal by approximately 34%.

The Environmental Protection Agency has declared the 1.8 mile man-made canal a Superfund Site. The Agency has proposed a comprehensive cleanup plan to address the many decade’s worth of toxic sludge at the bottom at the canal as well as the ongoing pollution from upland sites adjacent to the waterway. In order to ensure continued protection of the canal once it has been remediated, the EPA has determined that future permanent CSO sediment controls are required. The agency has roposed in-line retention tanks be constructed near outfalls RH-034 and OH-007, the two largest contributors of CSOs and solids into the Gowanus.
These retention basins would go a long way towards finding a real solution to the CSO problem.

Mayor Bloomberg and NYC's Department of Environmental Protection Agency's Commissioner Carter Strickland have poo-pooed the idea so far.

What can we do as citizens besides advocating for 100% cessation of CSOs into the Gowanus Canal?
On a rainy day like today or last Friday, don't contribute more waste water to an already overloaded system. Wait till after the rains to run your washing machine or your dishwater. That would already help a tiny bit.

The result of a CSO event on the Gowanus Canal

A visual of CSO sludge accumulation from Outflow RH-034 at the head of the Gowanus Canal, clearly visible during dry weather during a low tide

Gowanus Canal CSO Outflow Locations.

(EPA Map)

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Upcoming Meeting Of EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group

The EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) will be meeting on Tuesday
Feb. 26 at 6:30 PM at Mary Star of the Sea Senior Housing, 41 1St Street.
The meeting will focus on the Proposed Remedial Action Plan (PRAP), which was released in late 2012.

Just a reminder: the EPA will be accepting public comments on the PRAP till the end of April 2013.
Written comments on the proposed plan should be addressed to:

Christos Tsiamis

Project Manager

Central New York Remediation Section

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway, 20th Floor

New York, New York 10007-1866

e-mail: GowanusCanalComments.Region2@epa.gov

OR, contact Natalie Loney, Community Involvement Coordinator, at 212-637-3639,

Also, for those interested, the CAG Archaeology Committee will meet on February 27th, 6:30 pm at Proteus Gowanus, 543 Union Street, Brooklyn
On the agenda: Review of PRAP and EPA archaeology documents.

All CAG meetings are open to the community.

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US Environmental Protection Agency Releases Hurricane Sandy Sampling Results For Gowanus Canal

After the Gowanus Canal, an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site, flooded the surrounding area during Hurricane Sandy exactly two weeks ago today, many residents and business owners expressed concern. Did the sludge left behind when the waters receded contain any of highly toxic compounds from the canal? Did they have to be concerned about the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) that is dumped into the Gowanus during storm events?
The EPA came out to the community and took samples from two businesses on Douglass Street, located on the banks of the canal and near the flushing tunnel.
The results were just posted on EPA's web site:
Here is the statement:

US Environmental Protection Agency

Hurricane Sandy Sampling Results

On October 31, 2012, EPA took 4 samples in the Gowanus Canal area. Samples were taken from the ground floors of two buildings that had been flooded as well as directly from the canal. One of the buildings is located at the head of the canal, and the other near the 3rd street turning basin.

Samples of flood water from the ground floors of the two buildings were analyzed for bacteria and 139 different chemicals within the following categories: metals, volatile organic compounds, petroleum related compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds. Semi-volatile organic compound include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs, which are the primary contaminants in Gowanus Canal sediment.

Levels of bacteria were high. While this type of bacteria becomes inactive over time, these findings reinforce the need for people to protect themselves when cleaning up flood waters that contain sewage and therefore contain bacteria. Fact sheets detailing the precautions people should take when cleaning flood waters can be found at http://www.epa.gov/sandy

The remaining four categories of pollutants were compared to health based values of drinking water quality. Chemicals that were tested were below levels of concern or not detected. Low levels of gasoline and diesel derivatives were found, consistent with road run-off which often contains traces of fuel.

Levels of semi-volatile organic compounds were very low or not detected. These compounds include PAHs, which are a primary contaminant in the sediments at the bottom of the canal. The presence of some PAHs at low levels may also be related to spilled fuel and run off from asphalt.

Levels of most volatile organic compounds and metals were very low or not at levels that could be detected.

Levels of metals included some slight exceedances of drinking water standards. In the case of lead, its presence may be related to past lead usage in gasoline, typical to an urban environment.

Here are the complete results of the sampling.

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Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Takes Position That Total Elimination Of CSOs In Gowanus Canal Is Only Acceptable Solution To Problem. Passes Resolution.

At last night's US Environmental Protection Agency's Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group's (GAG) general meeting,  members voted to adopt a resolution that asks for a total elimination of New York City's Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) into the waterway.
The resolution was drafted by the CAG's Water Quality/Technical Committee after an informational meeting with NYC Department Of Environmental Protection on April 3rd, 2012.  At that meeting, DEP, which has been names a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) by the EPA for its role in contributing hazardous toxins to the canal and for allowing CSOs to continue to discharge into the Gowanus,  had refuted EPA's findings.

Despite DEP's best effort, the agency failed to convince the Committee members that more testing was necessary and that it had not yet been proven that the CSOs are contributing chemicals to the canal at levels that constitute unacceptable human risks under Superfund.

So last night, the Water Quality/Technical Committee put forth the following resolution:

The Gowanus Superfund Community Advisory Group fully supports the United States Environmental Protection Agency in its finding that New York City's Combines Sewer Overflows are a significant contributor of harmful sediment and Superfund regulated PAHs and metals to the canal. The CAG takes the position that the total elimination of the CSOs in the Gowanus Canal is the only acceptable solution to the problem.     The CAG asks that the EPA, under their Superfund authority, take the necessary measures that will insure protection of the proposed remedy from ongoing CSO sediment solids deposits and the release of PAHs and other toxics.

However, before a discussion or a vote on the resolution could take place, Jeff Edelstein, the CAG's facilitator, informed its members that DEP, represented by Jim Mueller, would like to present its position on the CSO resolution and wanted the opportunity to give members of the CAG a presentation.

Many CAG members strongly opposed.  Though some wanted to hear what the DEP had to say, the  prevailing sentiment, especially amongst members of the Water Quality/Technical Committee, was that this was neither the time, nor the place for DEP to argue its, as one member put it, its "PRPness"

CAG member 

Marlene Donnelly,  representing F.R.O.G.G. argued:

"The DEP did just have a lengthy meeting with the community. There was no representative from the EPA there to present an alternate perspective at that meeting. If we give DEP five minutes for a presentation tonight, we also need  to give EPA five minutes to present their perspective. Since they are not here to present. I think that it is inappropriate at this time to allow DEP time to present just their perspective without a counter- perspective."

Josh Verlun,  Riverkeeper's representative, agreed:

"I believe that it is inappropriate for DEP to impose their perspective on the resolution at this time unless we have representatives from both EPA and from all the other PRPs give their perspective as well. At last count, that number was 30 or so. It is not appropriate for one PRP to voice their opinion, when there are other agencies and stakeholders that are nor represented here tonight. "

Rita Miller, C.O.R.D. representative added:

"The DEP came before the Water Quality/Technical committee, and out of that discussion, I think it is fair to say that this resolution was born.  I think that our committee should be able to present the resolution to our fellow CAG members. We have the interest of our community at heart. There is no further presentation by the DEP necessary."
And Steven Miller, member-at-large concluded:
"I want to remind everyone here tonight that the City of New York is a PRP and that their interaction with us should be held within this context."

At the end, the CAG voted to not allow DEP to give its presentation and to move forward with the vote on the resolution.
The resolution passed easily.

It was so transparent that the DEP wanted to influence members of the CAG last night and was trying to prevent this resolution from passing.  Pretty low, I say.

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On Wednesday Eve, Come To Meeting With DEP Regarding Gowanus CSOs And Tell The Agency To Stop That S**t From Flowing Into The Canal

Community Board 6 is holding an informational meeting with Representatives of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection on "the findings from the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund Site investigation and Feasibility Study relating to the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO's) at the Gowanus Canal."
Members of the community are invited.

It is important to note that New York City has been named a Potencially Responsible Party(PRP) by the EPA for its role in contributing to the toxins in the canal and for allowing CSOs to continue to discharge into the Gowanus.

However, rather than to work with the EPA to find a real solution that would address the CSOs in conjunction with the Superfund clean-up, the City has been trying to stall and kick the problem down the road. The DEP has even refuted some of EPA's finding, obviously eager to re-invent science.

As community members, we should all attend to tell the City and DEP that we want them to work with the Federal Government to give us the clean-up we all deserve.

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EPA Region 2 To Hold Public Information Meeting In Red Hook Regarding Gowanus Canal Superfund Site

map courtesy of Google Maps

The Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 is reaching out to Red Hook residents by hosting a community meeting to discuss the Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus Canal.

The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 7 PM at the Red Hook Miccio Community Center, 110 West 9th Street.

In addition, there is a site tour planned today at 5:30PM of the area known as the Gowanus Industrial Park or the Columbia Street Grain Terminal, near the Red Hook Ikea.

As Port Side New York writes on their site:
"The site has been discussed as a barge staging area, site where the dredge remediation plant could be installed, and a place where remediated dredged [material] would be used as landfill (which could fill out to where Columbia Street makes the right angle turn to the SW for it's final stretch by the NYPD evidence lot)."
The possibility of using this specific Red Hook Site as a Confined Disposal Facility was mentioned when the EPA presented the Gowanus Feasibility Study in January 2012.

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National Grid And DEC To Update Public On Remediation Plans For Heavily Polluted Public Place

This coming Monday, August 29th, representatives of National Grid and NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation will give an update on the development of remediation plans for the heavily polluted Public Place site at a Community Board 6's Public Safety/Environmental Protection and Permits & Licenses Committee meeting.

Public Place is the six acre brownfield tract bordered by the Gowanus Canal and Smith Street south of Fifth Street. It was once the site of the historic Citizens Gas Light Company's 12th Ward Gas Work. The company's plant used coal and petroleum products to create flammable gas for surrounding neighborhoods. Citizen later sold to Brooklyn Union Gas, which became Keyspan, which is now National Grid.

The plant was decommissioned in the early 1960's and the site was given to the city by condemnation in 1975 as public land. (Therefore the name "Public Place").

There has been talk of remediating the site for more than twenty years now. The responsibility for the clean-up falls on National Grid under the supervision of NYS DEC. The results of the Remediation Investigation showed contaminants like coal tar in depths up to 150 feet in the ground.

In addition, some of the coal tar has been found to ooze into the Gowanus Canal, which means that the US EPA has gotten involved as part of its own Superfund clean-up of the waterway. (National Grid has been named one of the Potential Responsible Parties [PRP] by the EPA and will have to contribute for the Gowanus Canal clean-up.)

Recently, Public Place has been slated by the city for public development. The Gowanus Green project, as it is ironically named, would bring 770 units of affordable housing to the shores of the Gowanus.

One has to wonder how prudent and realistic it is to build housing on such historically polluted land.

Many in the community are sceptical that the site will ever be safe for human habitation.

No matter the future of the site, I urge everyone in the neighborhood to attend Monday's meeting. The clean-up of Public Place is of concern to everyone and it is imperative that we make sure that it is done safely, thoroughly and permanently.

Update and presentation by representative for National Grid and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

on the development of remediation plans for the Public Place

CB6 PUBLIC SAFETY/ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION/PERMITS/LICENSES

DATE: MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 2011

TIME: 6:30 PM

PLACE:

ST. MARY'S STAR OF THE SEA

41 FIRST STREET

(BETWEEN HOYT/BOND STS)

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EPA Invites Community To Discuss Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation Report

I have slowly read my way through the Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation Report, which was released by the Environmental Protection Agency just last week. The report confirmed the widespread presence of contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sediment also included high level of metals including mercury, lead and copper. These contaminants are dangerous to human health, especially if they get in contact with the canal water and the sediment, or if they eat fish and crabs from the Gowanus.

What keeps on going through my mind while I read the report is how New York City was willing to rezone the shores of the Gowanus Canal to include residential housing before a comprehensive clean-up like the one which will be designed by the EPA to address these dangerous contaminants. And my mind goes back to all the public meetings involving the Toll Brothers' spot rezoning for two blocks on Bond Street, which was eventually granted to them by the New York City Council.

For many in the community, the results of the EPA's in-depth investigation just confirmed what they already knew. The contaminants in the polluted waterway pose a risk to humans and need to be removed before more residents move to the shores of the Gowanus.

The EPA will explain their findings at a public meeting on February 23rd. Read below:

EPA invites you to a public information meeting
on the
Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to attend a public information meeting to discuss the findings of the investigation, conducted by the EPA, to determine the nature and extent of contamination in the canal. The meeting will be held on:

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
in the auditorium of
P.S. 32
located at
317 Hoyt Street, Brooklyn, NY

The RI is also available online here. It will also be available at the Carroll Gardens Library,396 Clinton Street.

°°°°°°°°°

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At Second Gowanus CAG Meeting, CSOs Remain "The Elephant In The Room"

EPA's Christos Tsiamis

CAG Facilitator Jeff Edelstein

NYC DEP's Chris Villari

Last night, the second Gowanus Canal Community Advisory meeting, lead by neutral facilitator Jeff Edelstein, took place at the Old American Can Factory. Since the last time the CAG met, the Operating Procedure, Real Estate/Financing and Water Quality committees had formed and had, in turn, gotten together for an initial work session.

The CAG session started with a brief overview of the Committee meetings by Edelstein.

The Operating Procedure Committee had a very productive initial meeting yesterday morning. The members started the critical work of developing a charter to create a framework for how the CAG will work. Issues such as a mission statement, decision-making, membership and external relations will all have to be hammered out. The group is hoping to be able to propose a charter to the full CAG by February, with ratification of the charter by April/May.

The Real Estate/Financing Committee met on November 23rd to discuss core issues directly related to the Superfund process. Among the issues that will be investigated are financing, insurance, bulkheads, property rights, zoning, the 100-year flood levels and most importantly, the link between development and public health on the uplands. 

Christos Tsiamis, EPA's Gowanus Canal Project Manager, answered some of the committee's questions at last night's meeting. See video below.

The Water Quality Committee had their initial meeting on November 29th. The members identified several issues that relate directly to the water quality. Amongst the more important concerns are the flow between the upland sites and the canal, potential re-contamination of the canal after clean-up, water quality classification, and the Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that continue to flow into the Gowanus.
Most of the committee's discussion centered on the need to address the CSOs as part of a comprehensive clean-up of the canal. Whereas the EPA Superfund will address the toxic sludge at the bottom of the canal, the CSOs that continue to pour into the Gowanus are the responsibility of the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. The committee questioned if the EPA could take over the clean-up of the CSOs as well.

At last night's meeting, the working relationship between the EPA and the DEP came up again. Asked by Jeff Edelstein if he wanted to address some of the questions about CSOs that had come up at the Water Quality Meeting, DEP's liaison Chris Villari ruffled quite a few feathers and certainly got off to a rather bad start by declaring: "We are not here to talk about the CSO issue, but the Superfund issue." (Great Job as a liaison, Mr. Villari!)
You can see the video clip of response below.

Christos Tsiamis took the opportunity to clarify that the EPA is very much involved in a discussion regarding the CSOs and that there has been much communication between agencies. In fact, the EPA, the DEP and NYS Department Of Environmental Conservancy will be meeting to discuss the issue on December 15th. See his response below.

Christos Tsiamis announced that the Gowanus Canal Remedial Investigation (RI) will be published in January 2011. The EPA will then hold a meeting for the wider community to give a comprehensive presentation of the findings.

**For full disclosure, I am a member-at-large of the Gowanus Canal CAG, as well as a member of the Water Quality, Real Estate and Archeology committees.

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Reminder: Tonight, First Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Meeting

Final Gowanus Canal CAG Organizational Members

Final Gowanus Canal CAG Members At-Large

Reminder!

The final member list for the first Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG) has just been released by Jeffrey Edelstein of Edelstein Associates who was chosen in May by the Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Canal Area residents as a Neutral Facilitator. After meeting with neighborhood organizations and individuals who wished to be on the CAG and after addressing comments from the public, Edelstein has come up with a group that is representative of the community.

A Superfund Community Advisory Group is designed to serve as the focal point for the exchange of information among the local community and EPA, the State regulatory agency, and other pertinent Federal agencies involved in cleanup of the Superfund site. As its facilitator, Mr. Edelstein will serve as a representative for the CAG and will help its members understand the technical and scientific information put forth by the EPA.

A first meeting has been scheduled facilitator Edelstein for:

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010

from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

at the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street. 

The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting room will be open at 6:15 p.m. (with snacks and beverages) to provide the opportunity for informal discussion and to meet other CAG members. Please find the draft agenda below.

Draft agenda:

7:00 – 7:30           Welcome, opening remarks, and CAG member introductions

7:30 – 8:00           Superfund timeline, decision points, and CAG roles

8:00 – 8:30           Superfund site updates

8:30 – 8:45           Break

8:45 – 9:25           CAG structure – committees and operating procedures

9:25 – 9:40           Updates on Superfund-related community activities

9:40 – 9:55           Public comments

9:55 – 10:00        Next steps

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Marty Markowitz's Press Secretary Writes To PMFA Regarding Blog Fest 2010 Post

This morning, on my wrap-up on last night's Blogfest 2010, I wrote about the fact that I felt uncomfortable with politicians showing up at the event. I said:

Borough President Marty Markowitz stopped by for a few minutes, but honestly, appearances by politicians at this event have always made me squirm. (Marty's Brooklyn cheerleading schtick makes me gag these days, especially because of his pro-Atlantic Yards stand and since he yelled at me openly once, when I asked him politely where he stood on the EPA Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal. I took that to mean that, like Mayor Bloomberg, he was against it. Shame on him, I say.)

Well, Marty stated yesterday that he reads blogs. Obviously he (and his staff) do, because

I just got an email from his press secretary Mark Zustovich.

Here it is:

"Just to clarify, our office was a partner in the event, and we provided volunteers and resources. As for Marty being there, he was invited by the organizers – he didn’t just show up. In addition, Marty has been supportive of the blogging community and views Louise Crawford as a visionary who is moving Brooklyn forward.

Mark

Thanks for the clarification Marty and Mark.

Any comment on why Marty felt it necessary to yell at me at the Atlantic Antic when I politely asked if he had issued a statement for or against the EPA Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal?

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Big Dreams Of Development Along The Gowanus: Realtors, Developers And Politicians Gathered To Discuss Future Of Gowanus Canal Area

Borough President Marty Markowitz

Councilmember Brad Lander

Harry Schwartz

John C. Muir

At yesterday's Baruch College - Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute

Forum on the Future Of Gowanus Canal Area

Real estate developers, business and civic leaders and elected officials gathered on a Wednesday morning at Brooklyn Borough Hall to "reconsider the Gowanus", now that the Environmental Protection Agency has placed the long neglected, highly polluted waterway on its list of Superfund sites.

Those who cried foul or tried to derail the nomination, because it meant that development along the Gowanus would have to wait until the EPA's clean up of the toxic canal was completed, now seem to have at least moderated their view.

More than once, speakers at the Forum mentioned that the delay is an opportunity to rethink the future in the area. There is no doubt though, that most of the attendees at the forum were envisioning that future to include housing developments and lots of them.

To developers and realtors, the shores of the Gowanus represent a huge underused tract of land, ideally located between some of Brownstone Brooklyn's most desirable neighborhoods.

The area has "huge potential" and "offered excellent opportunities" according to many speakers. Harry Schwartz, a planning and development consultant, felt that revitalization of the Gowanus would allow for about 3,000 new dwellings and would increase housing in the area by 30%, "without displacing people".

Many of the speakers remarked on the Gowanus area's good transit and road connections to the rest of the city and the region. They commented on its strong economic and social connection to New York City's major business districts.

Borough President Markowitz stated that "Gowanus is already poised to be Brooklyn's newest hip address, but we need to be extra vigilant about making sure that the new Gowanus is home to everyone". He is urging any new development to set aside 30 % affordable housing units as opposed to the more common 20%. He also addressed the issue of height limits, saying that "no building along the canal should exceed eight stories and no buildings in the neighborhood should exceed twelve".

Our Councilman Brad Lander was thankful for the extra time created by the EPA's Superfund designation so that the original plan, which was conceived during the heat of the real estate market, could be improved upon. He called for a genuine mix of uses for the Gowanus area, and felt that in order to achieve such a mixed-used district, new zoning tools will be needed by the office of City Planning. In current M1 zoning districts, he said, hotels and big boxes all too often replace manufacturing after a time and in current mixed use zones, usage usually goes to the highest bidder: residential development.

The call for affordable housing was heard quite a few times during the morning. Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of the 5th Avenue Committee spoke of the Gowanus Green project on Public Place and the 774 units that are planned there.

Of those units, 70% are slated to be affordable.

But de la Uz was quick to add that any plan to revitalize the Gowanus area would need to protect the existing affordable housing. Citing new development along recently rezoned 4th Avenue, she commented that "Brooklyn Boulevard" (as our Borough President prefers) now has less affordable housing than before the rezoning. Occupants of older buildings that were slated to make room for luxury condos were harassed, threats were made to call immigration, they had their heat turned off, fires were set and drug dealing activity actively allowed in their buildings.

One speaker reminded everyone of an important fact: The Gowanus area is a filled-in swamp and as such, will always be prone to flooding. The speaker was John C. Muir, Vice Chairman of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, though he was quick to point out that he was representing his own views at this event and was not representing the Conservancy.

It is important, he stated, to remember that with the increased rise in sea levels due to global warming, flooding will increase. He said: "the Baruch College study makes presumptions - Question those presumptions!".

There were very few members of the Gowanus community present at the meeting. Not surprising. The 8:30 Am timing of the forum was an assurance that mostly 'suits' would be in attendance.

The one member who had been invited to represent local residents on one of the panel discussions by Baruch College was Maria Pagano, the president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. However, Ms. Pagano failed to clearly communicate how the community envisions the future of the area. She spent most of her allotted time explaining that her organization prefers to let organizations such as CORD( Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development) and FROGG (Friends And Residents Of Greater Gowanus) take on the hard issues and advocacy.

In the end, no glossy brochures, plans or speeches about the future of the Gowanus Canal area will matter much if it is impossible to adequately clean the land surrounding the canal and to insure the safety of any new residents on that land.

Also not resolved is the danger of the rise in sea level and how it will affect this fragile lowland area.

And then there is the problem of the Combined Sewer Overflow (C.S.O.). New York City still dumps raw sewage into the canal every time it rains and has no immediate plans to stop doing so.

While great ideas and a desire to "get this right" were expressed at this forum, there is concern that the theme of the forum was development and that much more than lip service is needed here. This was, after all, an event organized by Baruch's Real Estate Institute and sponsored by National Grid (formerly known as Brooklyn Union Gas), one of the largest polluters of the Gowanus Area.

We must be vigilant so that the people will ultimately decide the future of the Gowanus corridor, not the developers and the polluters.

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