Gowanus Whole Foods Taking Shape

Construction of the future Gowanus Whole Foods Market at 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street has progressed at a steady clip in the last few weeks. Crews have been busy driving long piles into the ground and the steel frame of the 56,000 s.f. organic market appears to be mostly completed.

Prior to construction, the approximately 2.15 acre site was remediated under the Brownfield Clean-Up Program under the supervision of the New York State Department Of Environmental Conservation. The work included excavation and disposal of soils impacted with contaminants, the removal of underground tanks, ground water monitoring, the installation of a soil cover consisting of several feet of new fill and a layer of gravel to cap the site.

 One can only hope that the remediation will not be affected by the construction work. After all, the long piles are being driven deep into the ground through the protective soil cap, which is meant to protect from residual contamination.
And there seems to be plenty of digging through the clean fill as evidenced by the photo below taken by Martin Bisi last week.

The Whole Foods site along 3rd Street. Photo taken by Martin Bisi

Now that the steel structure is almost completed, it has become evident how completely the new Whole Foods market will wrap around the historic Coignet building.
The landmarked structure, which shares the site with Whole Foods, was not part of the original land purchase.  However, under the sales agreement with owner, Richard Kowalski, of Beach Haven, N.J., Whole Foods agreed to restore and repair the old building. That work has yet to start.

In January 2012, despite objection of preservationists, Whole Foods was granted a special dispensation from the New York City Landmarks Law to reduce the size of the Coignet building lot from 125 feet to 55 feet on the 3rd Avenue side, and from 55 feet to 40 feet on the 3rd Street side.

Just recently, owner Kowalski has put the Coignet building up for sale or lease.

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Gowanus Landmarked Coignet Building for Sale

It would appear that the owner of the New York and Long Island Stone Company Coignet building at 360 Third Avenue at the corner of Third Street, has decided to sell or lease his badly dilapidated building. A sign by realtor Ken Freeman of Massey Knakal was put up just recently and the company's web site has the following listing for the property:

"Great retail opportunity adjacent to the new Whole Foods Market. Landmarked building in prime Gowanus location. The exterior of the building is to be completely restored by Whole Foods (interior requires gut renovation). 

Property was built in 1873 and was originally known as the Coignet Stone Company building. It has been referred to as a “pioneering example of concrete construction in the United States” by The Landmarks Preservation Commission and commonly considered a large part of the neighborhood’s history. The property includes a 750 sq. ft. dock space on the Gowanus Canal next to the 3rd Avenue bridge."

The is no indication of the asking price or of the monthly lease.

For quite a few years now, the historic structure has been deteriorating, its beautiful ornate façade slowly crumbling away. Its owner,  Richard Kowalski, of Beach Haven, N.J, had signed a Memorandum of Lease with Whole Foods back in 2005, when the company purchased the land surrounding the building in order to construct one of their food markets. Under the agreement, Whole Foods was to restore and repair the old house. The work, however, has been postponed till recently. In early 2011, the roof was replaced, which was an encouraging sign.

It is surprising that the owner and Whole Food Markets never came to an agreement.  It would, of course, make the most sense for Whole Foods to buy or lease the building themselves.  After all, they already have agreed to restore it.

The 1873 building was designed by William Fields & Son and housed the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company, which occupied five acres along the Gowanus Canal. In more recent history, it was home to the Pippin Radiator Company.

The Coignet Stone Company building was landmarked in 2006 by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. You can read more about its history here.

The Coignet building in all its glory. An etching from 1873.

Historic photo of the Coignet Stone Company Building

More history of the Coignet building from :Historic District Council (HDC)

"The New York and Long Island Stone Company Coignet Building was constructed as a show case for what the manufacturer’s product could do, create a strong, elegant, detailed building at a cost less than real stone. It is easy to forget that this is the earliest known concrete building in New York City, and one of the earliest in the country, due to the fact it has been primarily covered over with faux brick. Areas of the west and south façades though are uncovered and the building’s reason for being, concrete, is visible. 

While these two walls are certainly secondary to the main façades on Third Avenue and Third Street, they are not plain and instead some of the same detailing including arched windows, quoins and stringcourse are carried over. The west façade also includes a bay identical in design to the bays on the primary façades. It is troublesome that after years of planning by Whole Foods, the company is only now dealing with the fact that it owns a designated site and is asking the landmark to bear the brunt of the project. As shown in renderings, plans and elevations presented to the Brooklyn Community Board 6 Land Use Committee in August, the Coignet Building would be engulfed by new structures, while the other half of the block would be a parking lot. 

Obviously there are other arrangements on this block that would be more appropriate for the landmark. Although buildings were once unfortunately built up against the Coignet Building, probably in the mid-20th century, as their ghosts on the side walls show, they were shorter. Other factory buildings on the block were described by Brooklyn Daily Eagle in June 1872 as 32 feet tall – about 20 feet shorter than the planned Whole Foods buildings. The Coignet Building was always allowed to retain its prominence on the block. HDC urges you to keep the boundaries as they are so that any alterations to the sight are overseen by LPC and sensitively help preserve one of the few landmarks in Gowanus."

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Checking In On The Gowanus Whole Foods Site

Gowanus Whole Foods site as seen from Third Street Bridge

Looking at the store's future parking lot

From Third Street

From Third Avenue

The foundation of the future store

Waterproofing applied to foundation

Work at the future Whole Foods Market site at Third Avenue and Third Street and Gowanus has progressed quite a bit over the last few weeks.

The approximately 2.15 acre lot on the shores of the Gowanus Canal has now been fully remediated under the Brownfield Clean-Up Program and underground tanks and soil impacted with contaminants have been excavated and disposed of.

The site, originally comprised of a conglomeration of urban fill unsuitable for load bearing, had varying street elevations and a grade change of up to 12 feet'. In the last few weeks, the land has been backfilled and graded.

Towards Third Avenue, the foundation for the actual store has already been poured.
Crews are currently applying the heavy duty waterproofing material needed because of the high water table at that location. The site also lies in a Flood Zone A.

I was a bit curious about the "Warning Soil Remediation Exclusion sign" that is still prominently displayed on the lot towards the Canal, especially since I had heard that the clean-up had been completed.

I sent the photo to the Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 office to inquire. The agency reached out to BL Companies, the architectural engineering contractor at the Gowanus Canal site.

Here is the response:

"BL Company clarified that remediation of the site is complete. They also clarified that the sign “Soil Remediation Exclusion Zone” should read “Warning Exclusion Zone”. Exclusion zones are set up on the site during construction activities to prevent unqualified/unauthorized personnel from entering specific areas of the site. Apparently, there was an oversight and the existing signs will be replaced with new ones accordingly."

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Whole F(l)oods: Site Of Future Gowanus Organic Supermarket Submerged During Hurricane Sandy

Future site of Gowanus Whole Foods Store 

photo credit: Urban Divers via Martin Bisi
The same site during Hurricane Sandy

rendering of future Gowanus Whole Foods

(credit: Whole Foods)

Whole Foods' future store on Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus may soon be offering the company's products "without the standard array of modern toxic and persistent chemicals" but in case of a Hurricane like Sandy, those apples and oranges will have lots of nasty stuff on it.

That's because the store is right smack in the middle of a flood zone and right next to the Gowanus Canal.  During Sandy, at the end of October, the future site of the Gowanus Whole Foods was entirely under water. (See photo above)
As per the EPA,  that flood water had incredible amounts of bacteria as well as traces of petroleum and gasoline.  Luckily, the truly dangerous toxins at the bottom of the canal were left undisturbed.

Had the Whole Foods store already been open, it is safe to say that it would have had to be entirely gutted, much like Fairway in Red Hook, or so many homes and businesses along the canal.
Keep in mind that Sandy was not even considered a major rain event and let's remember that it doesn't take a hurricane to cause flooding in Gowanus.

The flooding probably did not surprise Whole Foods executives. After all, the company used the fact that the Gowanus "property is in a Flood Zone A and has a high water table and would need extensive waterproofing and additional measures to resist hydrostatic pressure" as one of the hardships  to get a zoning variance from NYC's Board Of Standarts And Appeals.

I suppose we should be lucky that Whole Foods did not go forward with their original plan, which called for a below-ground building.

I swear, one can't come up with this stuff even if one tried....


I would like to thank the Urban Divers and Martin Bisi for the use of their photo.

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Historic District Council And Preservationists Continue Push Against Shrinking Coignet Building Site In Gowanus

’Historic District Council (HDC), the Citywide Advocate for New York's Historic Neighborhoods, is currently circulating a petition to be sent to the NYC Council's Landmarks Subcommittee in regards to the landmark Coignet Building on the intersection of Third Street and Third Avenue in Gowanus.
HDC is asking the Landmark's Subcommittee to not grant Whole Foods Market, the owner, a special dispensation from the New York City Landmarks Law that governs the historic building.
Whole Foods wants to annex part of the Coignet building site to make the design of their proposed food market fit on the adjacent site "without any consideration given to how that new structure will impose itself on the designated landmark building." If granted, there will only be a five-foot “buffer zone” between the Coignet building and the new WF bi-box retail store.
On January 24th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to reduce the size of the lot.
The Council's Landmarks Sub Committee (chaired by Councilmember Brad Lander)  will vote on this matter soon, before it is taken up by the entire Council.
HDC's petition reads:
"The Coignet building must be given the proper protection it currently has under the Landmarks Law. Whole Foods should comply with this law just as any owner of a landmark is required to. Whole Foods must make a proper Landmarks Public Hearing that shows just how their proposed development will relate to the Coignet Building."
If Whole Foods is allowed to alter the landmark site in order to avoid the normal Landmarks Preservation Commission review process, this will opens the way for all who want to build upon a landmarked site and avoid any LPC oversight. Maybe St Bart's Church can request a "Whole Foods" ruling and start building that glass tower they wanted to cantilever on their landmark church site 30 years ago.
We ask that City Council not damage Landmark Law by allowing any developer to manipulate and thus avoid the law in this manner."
On January 24th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to reduce the size of the lot.The Council's Landmarks Sub Committee will vote on this this week, before the matter will be taken upthe flu Council.
To sign HDC's petition, click here.

A brief history of the Coignet building from HDC:

"The New York and Long Island Stone Company Coignet Building was constructed as a show case for what the manufacturer’s product could do, create a strong, elegant, detailed building at a cost less than real stone. It is easy to forget that this is the earliest known concrete building in New York City, and one of the earliest in the country, due to the fact it has been primarily covered over with faux brick. Areas of the west and south façades though are uncovered and the building’s reason for being, concrete, is visible. While these two walls are certainly secondary to the main façades on Third Avenue and Third Street, they are not plain and instead some of the same detailing including arched windows, quoins and stringcourse are carried over. The west façade also includes a bay identical in design to the bays on the primary façades. It is troublesome that after years of planning by Whole Foods, the company is only now dealing with the fact that it owns a designated site and is asking the landmark to bear the brunt of the project. As shown in renderings, plans and elevations presented to the Brooklyn Community Board 6 Land Use Committee in August, the Coignet Building would be engulfed by new structures, while the other half of the block would be a parking lot. Obviously there are other arrangements on this block that would be more appropriate for the landmark. Although buildings were once unfortunately built up against the Coignet Building, probably in the mid-20th century, as their ghosts on the side walls show, they were shorter. Other factory buildings on the block were described by Brooklyn Daily Eagle in June 1872 as 32 feet tall – about 20 feet shorter than the planned Whole Foods buildings. The Coignet Building was always allowed to retain its prominence on the block. HDC urges you to keep the boundaries as they are so that any alterations to the sight are overseen by LPC and sensitively help preserve one of the few landmarks in Gowanus."

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BSA Delays Decision On Gowanus Whole Foods Market Till February

If the lawyers and representatives of Whole Foods Market's thought that the NYC Board of Standards And Appeals was going to reach a decision on their request for a use variance (§72-21) to permit a food store (UG6) in Gowanus, contrary to use regulations in an M2-1 zoning district, they were sorely disappointed. The second hearing which took place in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, ended with members of the Board  voting unanimously to delay a final vote till February 28th.

At today's hearing, as on the first hearing on December 14, 2011, WFM argued that full compliance with current zoning regulations is not possible in order to realize a reasonable economic return on their property. WFM has listed the following hardships associated with developing the site:*Unsuitable soil conditions on the property require extensive pile foundations.
*Special drilled piles are also needed near the landmarked Coignet building on the site.
*the property is in a Flood Zone A and has a high water table. Extensive waterproofing and additional measures to resist hydrostatic pressure will be required.
* The property is adjacent to two bridges
*Has varying street elevations and a grade change of 12 feet.*And is subject to the Brownfields Cleanup Program which entails environmental remediation costs.

The focus today was on the additional estimated $1.1 million it will take to excavate and grade the site. The lawyer for Whole Foods also mentioned the cost of building a retaining wall along the waterfront.

During the public comment period, roughly 20 to 25 Gowanus community residents, business owners and artists spoke against the project, urging BSA to reject the variance. They called the project out-of-scale, refuted Whole Foods Market's hardship claims, argued that the variance will open the way for more such variances and will ultimately lead to more big-box development. They spoke passionately about the need for and the protection of manufacturing zones for small businesses, which are vital to the city and will help create lasting jobs. In contrast, it was pointed out, "Whole Foods offers no potential for job growth, no potential for higher wages." One business owner told the Board that the area was already home to businesses more unique than Whole Foods.Another asked members of the Board: "Is it so difficult to imagine an Apple computer company growing in Gowanus?"

A Representative for Councilwoman Diana Reyna, whose district includes Williamsburg and Bushwick and serves as Chair of New York City Council's Committee on Small Business, read a statement from the Councilwoman asking the Board to maintaining industrial and manufacturing space crucial to New York City’s economic rebound.
Nathan Elbogen of Gowanus Institute pointed out that the proposed development would consume a large manufacturing site that could be developed genuinely "as-of-right" with up to 370,000 SF for small to medium-scale manufacturing and could yield up to three times as many jobs with considerably higher pay than the proposed retail use. In the opinion of Robert La Valva, owner of New Amsterdam Market , a public food market in Manhattan that highlights small vendors, the project "is backwards thinking and not appropriate to New York City's ongoing evolution as a progressive city that generates meaningful jobs while reducing its environmental footprint."

At the end, Chairwoman Meenakchi Srinivasan and the rest of the Board voted to delay a final decision until a separate ruling related to the landmark structure on the site is reached by the Landmark Preservation Commission.

Below please find portion of John Shapiro's compelling testimony, which was read at the hearing yesterday. Shapiro is a professional city planner of nearly forty years, past president of the local chapter of the American Planning Association, and current Chair of the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment at Pratt Institute.
"I urge that the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) deny the variance request made by the Whole Foods Market Group in the Gowanus industrial district, Brooklyn. 
New York State law says that the BSA may grant a use variance if five findings are identified, one of which is the unique qualities of the site. The significant site qualities claimed by Whole Foods are not unique to the site; they are pervasive to the area. Much of the Gowanus is comprised of brownfields and at risk of re-pollution due to substrata conditions; most of the Gowanus is comprised of fill requiring extra infrastructure and foundation costs; and all of Gowanus is subject to increasing storm-related flooding and rising sea levels induced by climate change. Other "unique features" are hardly significant: namely, proximity to two bridges both of which touch down at the edge of the site, and the fact that there is a small landmark on the corner – as plenty of other Gowanus sites are astride bridges and have historic structures on or adjacent to them. 
None of these features fall into the category of undisclosed conditions. Whole Foods was surely not so uninformed or naive about site conditions. The only unique feature of the development is the audacity of thinking that a below-grade supermarket was a viable option on a landfill brownfield site next to a highly polluted canal in a low-lying frequently flooded area. Hence this is a self-made hardship, in my opinion. 
With regard to comparable development scenarios for purposes of analysis: Whole Foods bought the site for a purpose and plan that essentially did not involve Floor Area Ratio (FAR), taking advantage of a well-known loophole in the New York City Zoning Resolution. The best comparable development scenarios involve industry and offices, consistent with zoning use regulations. This might include intense use of the site for outdoor storage in whole or in part (such as a lumberyard), single-story warehousing or industry, recreation (as per Brooklyn Boulders), etc., in addition to more ambitious multi-story industrial / commercial development. In that last category, there are precedents for market-rate industrial development within 500 feet of the Whole Foods site: (1) the new industrial building along Fourth Avenue between 1st and 3rd Streets, and (2) the TGI building at the corner of Bond Street and 3rd Street. The American Can Factory directly across the street from the Whole Foods site is kept in an excellent state of repair with a mix of such uses. Other industrial buildings – particularly a complex on 7th Street between Second and Third Avenues – have also been renovated for such uses. These examples attest to the fact that values are more than sufficient to attract both build-to-suit and speculative development without use variances. According to recent surveys, the Gowanus industrial area exhibits unusually low vacancy rates and unusually high rental rates in comparison to other industrial areas in New York City.
The granting of variances from manufacturing to large-format retail will be detrimental to the neighborhood character of Gowanus. Part of the issue relates to traffic – not so much in terms of traffic counts, but the complications for truck deliveries for local industry due to increased congestion on the limited number of bridges, all of which are either narrow, involve bottlenecks, or are complicated by one-way street patterns. The better part of the issue relates to land use: in granting the Whole Foods variance, the BSA would be creating a precedent for other properties to apply for the same or other use variances, thus creating a big box district or even housing district over time. In effect, the BSA could be creating a land use dynamic and policy for the Gowanus, which is in itself a risky precedent. 
Surely, the impact of the project on the Gowanus warrants a Socioeconomic Assessment consistent with the City Environmental Quality Review Act (CEQRA). Gowanus employs thousands of workers at present. While the Whole Foods would represent a major new employer, it would promote additional non-industrial development by virtue of being an anchor for additional retail uses, an amenity hence inducement for residential development, and a nuisance to local industry as a result of the traffic impacts previously discussed.
Granting the variance would itself have land use consequences and policy implications for the Gowanus industrial district. As noted, it would establish the principle that theoretical economic hardship supersedes the common sense that there is evident market support for industry, except for the self-made hardship posed by purchase of property in the hope of variances and rezoning. Meanwhile, the site is in an industrially zoned area that is also an Industrial Business Zone. The Bloomberg Administration has renewed emphasis on industrial job retention and creation, with a new office dedicated to this purpose. The NYC Department of City Planning has kept the site in the industrial district following an exhaustive consideration of “where to draw the line” with regard to shrinking the Gowanus industrial district. The site is not within a “food desert” where DCP is testing whether supermarkets are a suitable use for an industrial district; indeed, a large-scale Pathmark Supermarket is located in the Gowanus industrial district, only seven blocks to the southwest. Most important, given the commonality of the site’s so-called unique features, the variance itself would bolster the speculative value and turnover of property in the Gowanus, to the detriment of investment in industrial buildings and equipment."

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A Glimpse Inside The Landmarked Coignet Stone Building On Third Street In Gowanus

The Coignet building in all its glory. An etching from 1873.

(Thanks, Marlene)

Historic photo of the Coignet Stone Company Building

****UPDATE***

I am so sorry, everyone, but I have been asked to remove the photos of the interior of the building. I know! Major disappointment.  Everyone was so excited to get a glimpse. 


Late this morning, I was alerted to the fact that there was a demolition truck in front of the landmarked Coignet Stone building on the Whole Foods site.  I immediately grabbed my camera and walked over to the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street to check it out.  

Indeed, a crew was at work inside and was hauling debris out to the truck.

The owner of the N & M Demolition Company of Staten Island, who was standing outside, told me that he was a friend of the building's owner and had been asked by him to secure the inside of the landmark.
N&M's owner allowed me to take a look at the heavily damaged interior.

Except for the door molding and a wonderful curved staircase, not much original detail remains, but even in its decrepit state, this neighborhood gem still has incredible potential.  Most of the damage appeared to be water related.

For quite a few years now, the historic structure has been deteriorating, its beautiful ornate façade slowly crumbling away. Its owner, Richard Kowalski, of Beach Haven, N.J, had signed a Memorandum of Lease with Whole Foods back in 2005, when the company purchased the land surrounding the building in order to construct one of their food markets. Under the lease agreement, Whole Foods was to restore and repair the old house.  The work, however, has been postponed till recently. In early 2011, the roof was replaced, which was the first encouraging sign.

The 1873 building was designed by William Fields & Son and housed the New York and Long Island Coignet Stone Company, which occupied five acres along the Gowanus Canal. In more recent history, it was home to the Pippin Radiator Company.

The Coignet Stone Company building was landmarked in 2006 by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. You can read more about its history here.

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At Yesterday's BSA Hearing On Gowanus Whole Foods Variance

Meenakshi Srinivasan, Chair Of NYC Board Of Standards And Appeals

More than twenty people showed up to testify yesterday afternoon at the hearing in front of the NYC Board Of Standards And Appeals regarding Whole Foods Market's request for a use variance (§72-21) to permit a food store (UG6), contrary to use regulations in an M2-1 zoning district, at the corner of Third Avenue and Third Street on the Gowanus Canal.
Currently, New York City's Zoning Resolution only allows Whole Foods to build a 10,000s.f. store on the site, which is located in an M2-1 zoning district. The proposed Gowanus food store would be 58,000 s.f., have a 20,000 sf rooftop greenhouse, parking for 248 vehicles, and a public walkway along the Gowanus Canal.
Whole Foods is claiming that full compliance with zoning regulations is not possible in order to realize a reasonable economic return on their property.
At the hearing, lawyers for the food retailer gave a brief presentation on the project, then argued the following reasons for hardships associated with developing the site:
*Unsuitable soil conditions on the property require extensive pile foundations. Special drilled piles are also near needed near the the landmarked Coignet building on the site.
*the property is in a Flood Zone A and has a high water table. Extensive waterproofing and additional measures to resist hydrostatic pressure will be required.
* The property is adjacent to two bridges
*Has varying street elevations and a grade change of 12 feet,
*And is subject to the Brownfields Cleanup Program which entails environmental remediation costs.

During the public testimony session of the hearing, representatives of Community Board 6, the Brooklyn Chamber Of Commerce and the Gowanus Canal Coomunity Development Corporation all read statements in support of the project. (Borough President Marty Markowitz has also endorsed it.)
A representative from the Al-Madinah School, which is located on 3rd Avenue, across the site, spoke in favor.
Hans Hesselein of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy testified that the Conservancy welcomes many aspects of the plan, but requests that any approval by the BSA "be conditioned upon Whole Foods Market's commitment to provide the community with adequate natural and open space resources."
In particular, the Conservancy suggests that WF increase the public esplanade along the Gowanus Canal on the West side of the site from the proposed 20' width to a minimum of 40' on all sides bordering the canal "consistent with the goals of the NYC Department of City Planning DRAFT Zoning Proposal for the Gowanus Canal as well as the Sponge Park master plan."
However, many organizations and individuals spoke against the project.
The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group submitted a letter asking the BSA to postpone its decision on the Whole Food Market's variance application until the US Environmental Protection Agency releases its Record of Decision for the Gowanus Canal Clean-up plan. (See letter below.)
Marlene Donnelly, representing Friends And Residents of Greater Gowanus (FROGG), pointed out that the BSA has, in recent history, rejected non-conforming uses along the Gowanus Canal, most notably in the case of 130 Third Street, in which the Board found that the applicant "failed to provide substantial evidence that the subject lot possessed unique physical conditions that create practical difficulties and unnecessary hardships in developing the site in strict conformity with current zoning."
The Gowanus Institute, an independent think tank, urged the BSA to reject the variance, arguing that "the WFM application is flawed, and the proposed development will have a lasting negative impact on the manufacturing community of Gowanus and the surrounding neighborhoods." (see their testimony below)
Nathan Elbogen director of XØ Projects and The Old American Can Factory (OACF) pointed out that the large site could be developed 'as-of-right' with up to 370,000 SF for small to medium-scale manufacturing and referred to the success of the Old American Can Factory, a multi-story light-industrial complex fully occupied by industrial and commercial tenants.

Quite an impressive number of Gowanus artists, musicians, film makers, lighting designers, jewelers and non-profits, many OACF tenants, testified against the WFM project as well. They argued that there are few industrial manufacturing zones left in the city and those that remain need to be protected. They pointed out that the Gowanus area is not the waste-land Whole Foods depicts it as. Rather it is a vibrant manufacturing and cultural zone that permits growth that can not be sustained anywhere else. As an industrial zone, they pointed out, the Gowanus area is vital for the economic recovery of the city.

The next hearing on this matter has been scheduled for January 24th, 2012

Letter Submitted By Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

December 9, 2011
Hon. Meenakshi Srinivasan, Chair
New York City Board of Standards and Appeals
40 Rector Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10006

Dear Chair Srinivasan
The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG), at its December 5, 2011 general meeting, passed the following resolution directed to the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals:

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group requests that the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals postpone its decision on Whole Foods Market’s Variance Application until the US Environmental Protection Agency releases its Record of Decision for the Gowanus Canal cleanup plan.

In addition, for your information, the CAG passed the following resolution directed to Whole Foods Markets:

The Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group requests that Whole Foods Market present to the CAG their general sitework and bulkhead plan for review and discussion.

The following describes the background discussion that took place at the Gowanus Canal CAG meeting on December 5, 2011 prior to the vote on the two resolutions above:
Whole Foods Market (WFM) is scheduled for a New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) public hearing on 12/13/11 to review its use variance application to construct a 78,000 GSF food market at the southwest corner of Third Street and Third Avenue, which is not permitted in M2-1 zone.  WFM's proposed development is the largest new building development on the canal in generations, and is set on the single largest zoning lot along the Gowanus Canal, with 892 linear feet of canal frontage, the most frontage of any property along the canal.
Members of the Gowanus Canal CAG want assurance that the WFM development is done in a manner that is compatible with the USEPA Superfund cleanup process, which is still in the planning phase.  The CAG’s understanding is that USEPA will be releasing its Feasibility Study by the end of 2011, announcing its selection of the clean-up remedy by June of 2012, and after a public comment period will be finalizing the selection of the clean-up remedy by the end of 2012 in a Record of Decision.  Members of the Gowanus Canal CAG are concerned that the WFM development may adversely impact the EPA Superfund cleanup process, given the issues outlined below:
ISSUES & CONCERNS WITH WFM PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT
1.  WFM's application does not thoroughly discuss its relationship to the EPA Superfund designation and cleanup plan, and makes a single reference to it saying "...our project proposes splash pads within the canal to handle stormwater runoff in compliance with and pursuant to NYSDEC's approval which will require notification of the EPA when installation is to happen. In addition, the EPA has two monitoring wells that may need to be preserved."  
2.  The CAG has requested technical assistance from the EPA regarding maintenance, repair and/or replacement of canal bulkheads which are historical, in poor condition and may further deteriorate with dredging;
3.  WFM's development site includes three parcels with contaminated soil that are have not yet been remediated as well as four parcels with severely contaminated soil and underground storage tanks that have been remediated but that have not yet received final approval from NYSDEC;
4.  WFM's development plan includes major sitework including:  changes to grade and storm drainage as well as driving piles and other foundation work that could disturb contaminants below the level of remediated portions of the site and below the base of the bulkheads
5.  WFM's development site was suggested as an ideal staging and production area for EPA Superfund cleanup-related activities;
6.  EPA's cleanup process will include soil dredging that will omit noxious odors, be unsightly, and noisy, and incompatible with a food store;
7.  A proposal to process the dredged sludge from the Gowanus Canal includes a suggestion by the US Army Corp of Engineers to vitrify and bury the sludge under the Fourth Avenue Basin which abuts the WFM site;
8.  A proposal was made as part of the stormwater and CSO control plan for the area, to submerge a stormwater holding tank under the Fourth Basin which abuts the WFM site.
9.  Failure to ensure compatibility between the WFM development and the USEPA cleanup process could prolong the impact of the clean-up on existing businesses and neighbors.
Sincerely,
Jeff Edelstein, P.E.

Facilitator

On Behalf of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Committee

Testimony Give By The Gowanus Institute

Whole Foods Market (WFM) is proposing a development of 78,000 SF facility, including a 248 vehicle surface parking lot and a 58,000 SF retail food market in an M2 zoning district, nearly six times the allowable area of a maximum of 10,000 SF

WFM is requesting to modify a land use requirement that currently protects a scarce and diminishing resource:  a property zoned for medium manufacturing, on an active industrial canal. If built, the proposed development would substantially alter the essential manufacturing character of the Gowanus neighborhood, and contradict  NYC's long-range goals to diversify its economy and increase higher paying jobs.

Over the past 10 years, the Gowanus neighborhood has become a haven for light and medium manufacturing as other manufacturing districts throughout NYC have been rezoned. The site is at the heart of a thriving industrial community that includes maritime uses, and is within the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone, which the Mayor's policy has committed to preserving for manufacturing or related uses.

The large manufacturing site could be developed genuinely "as-of-right" with up to 370,000 SF for small to medium-scale manufacturing and could yield up to three times as many jobs with considerably higher pay than the proposed retail use. In fact, directly across the subject site on Third Avenue, is a multi-story light-industrial complex of 130,000 GSF that is fully occupied with approximately 80 industrial and commercial tenants employing more than 300 people.

In recent years, numerous studies, including NYC Dept of City Planning's Gowanus Canal Corridor Study (2008) and the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation's Comprehensive Community Plan (2006), have encouraged growing the manufacturing activity in the Gowanus area, particularly on the south side of the canal, which includes the WFM site. In October 2011, NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation awarded a $200,000+ Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grant to Friends of Community Board 6, specifically to study the growing industrial activity along the Gowanus Canal and to help them map a sustainable, economically viable industrial future for the area dedicated to 'green' manufacturing. The WFM site is at the nexus of this BOA study area.

Further, in light of NYC Dept of City Planning's Vision 2020 Working Waterfront Policy,  this site, with its extensive canal frontage, would be ideal for uses that utilize barging as its primary mode of transport, reducing substantially the truck traffic throughout the city, as several businesses are currently doing directly adjacent to the site.

To receive a variance, the applicant must prove five findings showing why they are in need of relief from the existing zoning regulations.  First, WFM claims that the site is “burdened by unique conditions”when the site is typical of most sites along the Canal, and had active industrial uses on each of the parcels prior to WFM assembling its site. WFM's second claim of “economic hardship” is based an untenable "as-of-right" scheme that submerged all of the retail area well below grade where it is considered a ‘cellar’ and not counted as floor area. As for “not altering the essential character of the neighborhood,” an upscale food store would certainly be incompatible with the surrounding uses that include two large concrete producers, a large metal and car recycling facility and a paper/cardboard recycler, all of which are fundamentally different in use, noise, odor, and access requirements.  Fourth, given that the site has accommodated a variety of conforming uses in the past, it is only reasonable that this is in fact a “self-created hardship.”  The fifth point, the “minimum variance required”, is therefore irrelevant.

Increase in traffic is another major concern. WFM presents a traffic study which projects only into the year 2012, barely the year it would open, without taking into account any new major developments currently planned in the area, such as the Barclays Stadium, Atlantic Yards  or the numerous high-rise residential buildings planned on Fourth Ave. As the store is clearly intended to serve the broader region of the borough of Brooklyn, not a local one, its (modest) projections of thousands of car trips per day to the site (just one way!) would certainly add a huge amount of traffic on Third Avenue (a narrow, two-lane truck route) and on Third Street (one of only two two-way bridges crossing the Gowanus Canal). Further, the WFM site is located on the evacuation route for Carroll Gardens and Red Hook, hardly a prudent place for additional daily traffic.

Environmental concerns with the WFM site include: its location on former wetlands; it is within FEMA's Flood Zone A; and, it abuts the Gowanus Canal, recently designated an EPA Superfund Site.  There is real concern among the EPA's Community Advisory Group (CAG) that the development  might disrupt the cleanup effort given potentially incompatible work plans. On 12/5/11, the CAG formally requested that BSA postpone its decision on the WFM variance application until the EPA releases its cleanup plan.

The residential neighborhoods nearby are well served by multiple, large organic and natural food stores. If WFM aims to serve the Park Slope neighborhood, it could locate just one block east on Fourth Avenue as part of an urban, mixed-use development, similar to WFM's Manhattan stores. Or, if a 'regional' Brooklyn store is WFM's objective, then an appropriate location could be near an exit ramp, as other large retailers have done. The subject site is a mile or more from any highway.

In conclusion, WFM's project would be the first development on the Gowanus Canal in generations, set on the single largest private zoning lot. If this variance were granted and the WFM plan developed, it would set back decades of hard work to get the canal area growing as a fresh and thriving manufacturing community focusing on maritime uses, green manufacturing and the creative industries.

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