Hurricane Sandy, Flooding, Sandbagging And Evacuating In Gowanus

The Gowanus Canal yesterday afternoon, before the storm

photo credit Mary P.

Before the storm

Photo credit: Mary P.

The Gowanus Canal last night

photo credit: Lisanne at Found In Brooklyn

Sandbags in front of The Satory on Bond Street

photo Credit: Lisanne at Found In Brooklyn

 photo Credit: Lisanne at Found In Brooklyn

For the second year in a row,  New York City is feeling the effects of a hurricane and the flooding that accompanies these massive storms.  While Irene caused plenty of problems last August,  it would appear that Sandy will be  the "most catastrophic event in our lifetime."   Some predictions show that this particular storm will hammer the coast with 11 foot waves.  In our immediate area, Red Hook and Gowanus are particularly affected since they are located in Flood Zone A and experience flooding on a regular basis.
It is also for the second time in a bit more than a year that residents of these two neighborhoods have been  under mandatory evacuation orders.
In preparation for flooding, sandbagging in Gowanus began a few days ago.  The photos above were taken in front of The Satori on Bond Street and Union Street by my good friend Lisanne and posted on her blog Found In Brooklyn last night. This building as well as Third and Bond had to pump water out of their basement after Irene.

The photos below were taken this morning by friend Steve Miller. Steven remarks: "At 9:45 this morning we ate at the levels of last years Irene. The highest levels expected for Sandy at at approx 8pm tonight."
This will not be pretty, especially since, as we know,  the Gowanus Canal has been declared a Superfund Site because of the toxic sludge at the bottom of the canal.  The churning winds of a hurricane will most certainly stir up the thick black muck and deposit it on the shores.
In addition, the City Of New York still uses the Gowanus as a cess pool by allowing Combined Sewer Overflow to discharge into the waterway when its antiquated sewer system is overloaded (See video here). Can you imagine how much sewer will flow into the canal during this storm?

Gowanus at 9:30 Am this morning

photo credit: Steven M.

photo credit: Steven M.

Hurricane Sandy And Lightstone's Proposed Development On Bond Street

On a related note, it almost seems ironic now that NYC's Department of City Planning's calendar for today shows a hearing on The Lightstone Group's application for "minor modifications" to the previously approved land use actions at 363-365 Bond Street between Carroll Street and 2nd Street.

Lightstone's planned 700-unit rental building is right on the canal and in Zone A, which has just been evacuated for the second time in 14 months.

Perhaps DCP's Chairperson Amanda Burden should seriously think before rubber stamping this one.

Lightstone Group's proposed 700-unit project along the Gowanus 

Here are some pictures taken of First and Bond Streets at 10 Am this morning, 2 hours after high tide.  This is exactly the spot of that beautiful Lightstone graphic above.

photo credit: Carl Teitelbaum

photo credit: Carl Teitelbaum

And here is one taken of the site as seen from the Carroll Street bridge at 10 Am today

photo credit: Margaret Maugenest

And here are some photos taken by friend Triada Samaras of 2nd Street near the canal at about 5 PM.

I will continue to update this post and blog during the storm.  Please send me your photos and updates, but most importantly, stay safe.

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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.

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Carroll Gardeners Urge NYC Planning Commission To Re-Think R6A Zoning Pockets

NYC Planning Commission Hearing
on Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Street Contextual Rezoning

Amanda Burden, Chairperson of the NYC Planning Commission

Carroll Gardener Rick Luftglass

39th Council District Candidate and Carroll Gardens Resident Gary Reilly

Jerry Armer Testifying for Community Board 6

Raul Rothblatt, Director of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance

Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association President Maria Pagano

Tom Gray from Councilman Bill De Blasio's office

Norman Cox, of the Columbia Waterfront Neighborhood Association

The Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Contextual Re-Zoning continued its progress through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) on Wednesday, when area residents had a chance to testify in front of New York City's Planning Commission.

About a dozen speakers, some representing the Coalition For Respectful Development (CORD), and the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, thanked the Brooklyn Office of City Planning for their efforts to rezone Carroll Gardens and the Columbia Waterfront in order to protect the character and scale of this brownstone neighborhood. The plan calls for a zoning of R6B on most of the residential blocks, which will impose a height limit of 50 feet on the buildings.

But most every speaker commented on what many saw as a flaw in the re-zoning plan: the Office of City Planning is proposing to up-zone several blocks of Columbia Street, Henry Street and Clinton Street to R6A, which has a height limit of 70 feet.
This concern has been raised by local residents at every stop of the ULURP process. The office of City Planning claims that the R6A designation is needed to bring the buildings on those blocks into compliance, since they are already bigger than brownstones on surrounding blocks.

Amanda Burden, the Chairperson of the NYC Land Use Committee, explained that the re-zoning was a framework which would bring current out-of-scale buildings into compliance. The R6A designation for those particular pockets within the neighborhood would accomplish that.

Local residents seemed doubtful. Carroll Gardener Rick Luftglass felt that R6A was an up-zoning, increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) from 2.2 to 3.00, thereby creating 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.
It seems unlikely that these tools will be created any time soon.
What a pity. As resident Maryann Young stated: "If Mayor Bloomberg can come up with the tools to run for a 3rd term," City Planning should be able to come up with to create a special zoning which would truly protect the neighborhood.




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Reminder! Public Hearing On Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront Contextual Rezoning To Start Tonight

Reminder:
Contextual Rezoning Meeting Tonight

Dear Reader,
Make sure to mark the meeting information below on your calendar.
The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) for the contextual rezoning of the Carroll Gardens/ Columbia Waterfront is starting today, Thursday, June 25th, at the Community Board 6 Land Use Committee.

This is great news! This long-awaited rezoning will give this community the protection it needs from out-of-scale development and will hopefully preserve the unique character of our historic neighborhood.
The NYC Department of City Planning gave this overview on the re-zoning:

At the request of Community Board 6, community and neighborhood groups, and local elected officials, the Department of City Planning proposes zoning map amendments for an approximately 86 block area of the Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods within Community District 6 in Brooklyn.

The rezoning area includes the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street. The Carroll Gardens portion of the rezoning area is generally bounded by Degraw Street, Warren Street and Douglass Street to the north; Hoyt Street, Bond Street and Smith Street to the east; 3rd Street, 4th Street, 5th Street, Centre Street and Hamilton Avenue to the south; and Hicks Street to the west. The Columbia Street portion of the rezoning area consists of approximately 14 blocks bounded by Warren Street to the north, a line between Columbia Street and Van Brunt Street to the west, Hicks Street to the east and Woodhull Street to the south. The areas proposed to be rezoned are zoned entirely R6.

The rezoning proposal has been developed after extensive discussion with the Community Board, elected officials, and neighborhood residents. The rezoning responds to community concerns about recent out-of-scale development permitted under the current zoning by mapping contextual districts with height limits throughout the study area which would preserve the existing built character while allowing for new development and modest expansions where appropriate at a height and scale that is in keeping with the existing context. The rezoning would support and promote the local, vibrant retail corridors while protecting the residential character of nearby side streets.

The proposed rezoning builds upon the Department’s Carroll Gardens Narrow Streets Text Amendment which was undertaken at the community’s request and approved in 2008. That text amendment aimed to limit the size and configuration of new buildings and enlargements on certain streets with deep front courtyards which had been defined as wide streets under existing zoning and therefore permitted a higher density that was out of scale with the existing built context. The proposed rezoning of the Carroll Gardens and Columbia Street neighborhoods fulfills the Department’s commitment to return to the community with a more comprehensive set of zoning recommendations for the larger area.

Meeting Information:

Thursday, Jun 25
Landmarks/Land Use Committee Meeting
PUBLIC HEARING on Carroll Gardens/Columbia Street Contextual Rezoning plan (ULURP No. C 090462 ZMK)

Discussion and formulation of a recommendation on an application submitted by the Department of City Planning (ULURP No. C 090462 ZMK) to contextually rezone Carroll Gardens and a significant portion of the Columbia Street District neighborhoods to protect the existing built form environments.

Long Island College Hospital
339 Hicks Street
Brooklyn NY 11201
6:00 PM

Below is relevant information on the ULURP process taken from NYC Department Of City Planning:

Uniform Land Use Review Procedure | ULURP Rules

Prior to 1976, the City Planning Commission reviewed only applications related to zoning, the city map and urban renewal and housing. In 1976, the list of applications subject to Commission review was enlarged and now includes, pursuant to the City Charter enacted in 1989, those items described below. The Charter's intent in requiring ULURP was to establish a standardized procedure whereby applications affecting the land use of the city would be publicly reviewed. The Charter also established mandated time frames within which application review must take place. Key participants in the ULURP process are now the Department of City Planning (DCP) and the City Planning Commission (CPC), Community Boards, the Borough Presidents, the Borough Boards, the City Council and the Mayor.

Contents
The Evolution of ULURP
Actions Requiring ULURP
ULURP Review Process

• Filing of Application
• Certification
• Community Board Review
• Borough President Review
• City Planning Commission Review
• City Council Review
• Mayoral Review

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