Notes On EPA's Presentation Of Gowanus Canal Feasibility Study To Members Of Community Advisory Group

Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal

Jeff Edelstein, Gowanus CAG facilitator

Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer

Victoria Hagman(l) and Natalie Loney,

EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator

Hans Hasselein, Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Eymund Diegel, Proteus Gowanus

Michelle De La Uz (l), Fifth Avenue Committee and Ludger Balan, Urban Divers

Christos Tsiamis, Environmental Protection Agency's site manager for the Gowanus Canal Superfund, presented the just-released Feasibility Study to the Community Advsiory Group (CAG) at a meeting on Monday night.
Many CAG members had also attended the EPA's presentation on the FS to the general public at PS 58 last week, so they were already quite familiar with the options available for cleaning and containing the highly toxic sludge that has been accumulating on top of the native sediment at the bottom of the canal. This allowed Tsiamis to take more time to take questions and to explain specifics, especially addressing the issue of re-contamination after the clean-up.
As Tsiamis pointed out, the Gowanus Canal cannot be cleaned effectively without eliminating the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) discharges from New York City's sewer system as well as the coal tar oozing from National Grid's three  MGP sites lining the canal. This, of course, involves a tremendous amount of co-ordinate with New York City's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is responsible for the CSOs and with NYS Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC)  under whose supervision National Grid will clean up the MGP sites.
"This is an issue that has to be addressed. We need to curtail those sources of contamination," Tsiamis stated.
Quite a few CAG members seemed concerned that NYC DEP has, until now, not shown a willingness to take responsibility for their part in the clean-up. After all, Farrell Sklerov, a spokesperson for DEP told the Brooklyn Paper: “The evidence clearly indicates that the primary sources [of contamination] are the former industrial plants on the canal, and not ongoing sewer overflows.”

That seems laughable since most residents of the Gowanus area have witnessed CSO events such as this one.
"The CS0s have to be dealt with so that we have a sustainable remedy. That's a statement in the Feasibility Study." Tsiamis told the CAG. "We have been in talks [with the City] about ways that can be implemented to address this particular matter." 

A meeting has been scheduled between the EPA and DEP for February 2 to discuss specific technical possibilities.
One way to control CSOs within the framework of the Superfund would be to construct a retention basin to retain discharges after heavy rains, much like the facility completed by DEP in Perdegat Basin,

As a community, we should let the City know that its denial and delay mechanisms are not going to fly in this community.

Perhaps a letter writing campaign to Mayor Bloomberg and to our own city representatives, Councilmen Brad Lander and Steven Levin, is in order?

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Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Area Contextual Rezoning Moves To City Council

It has been a long road, from Community Board 6, to Borough Prez Markowitz's office, to the New York City Planning Commission, but the Uniform Land Use Review Process (U.L.U.R.P.) for the Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Re-Zoning has reached its final step.

On Monday, October 26th, the Brooklyn Office of the Department of City Planning will present an amendment to the neighborhood zoning map before the Zoning and Franchises Committee of the City Council. This is the last opportunity the community will have to show their support or express their concerns. At every step, the community has voiced their doubts about the R6A zoning pockets along Columbia Street, Henry Street and Clinton Street. R6A zoning allow buildings that are 70 feet tall.

The Office Of City Planning claims that the R6A is needed to bring the buildings on those blocks into compliance, since they are already bigger than brownstones on surrounding blocks. Local residents feel that R6A represents an up-zoning, increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 2.2 to 3.00. This may create an incentive to homeowners on those blocks to use the extra FAR to build roof additions.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Office of City Planning does not possess the tools to properly deal with a case such as this. What is needed, in essence, is a special zoning in between an R6A and R6B to not only bring the out of scale buildings into compliance, but also to limit any additional height. I am sure the same concerns will be expressed by Carroll Gardeners and Columbia Waterfront residents on Monday, but it seems that once the ULURP process is set in motion, no adjustments can be made to the zoning proposal, no matter what the local community says.

Kind of makes you wonder why they have a public comment period in the first place. It still is very important to show up for the hearing, so please make every effort to attend:

Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 at 9:30AM Council Chambers at City Hall
If you wish to speak, sign up at the entry desk.
Speakers are allowed 3 minutes each.

For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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