Gowanus Canal Area-Wide Soil Vapor Intrusion Community Availability Session, Wednesday, October 8, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) will hold a community availability session on Wednesday, October 8, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Children’s School/P.S. 372, at 215 1st Street in Gowanus, to discuss the community-wide investigation and cleanup activities at dozens of local sites in New York State’s Brownfield and State Superfund cleanup programs, to help answer questions and address community concerns about soil vapor intrusion and other issues.

For more information, please visit NYSDEC’s Gowanus Canal project page, here.

For questions about the Community Availability Session or New York State’s cleanup efforts, you can contact:

Aaron Fischer
NYSDEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7016
(518) 402-9805
aaron.fischer@dec.ny.gov

Daniel Tucholski
NYSDOH
Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower Room 1787
(518) 473-4671
beei@health.ny.gov

To read and/or download the complete Community Availability Session fact sheet, which includes a map of remediation sites and the soil vapor intrusion investigation area, please click here.

Next Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group General Meeting: Tuesday, September 30, 6:30 p.m.

Please join us for our September 2025 General Meeting, on Tuesday, September 30, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., conducted via Microsoft Teams video conference.

Click here to join the meeting.

Meeting ID: 248 808 027 679
Passcode: Y4i4rb7G

DRAFT AGENDA (all times are approximate)

6:30 – 6:45 p.m.: Welcome and CAG Member Introductions

6:45 – 7:00 p.m.: EPA Updates and CAG Q&A / Public Comment and Q&A as time allows

7:00 – 7:45 p.m.: Groundwater Modeling Presentation

7:45 – 8:00 p.m.: CAG Business and Committee Updates

  • Archaeology and Historic Preservation Committee
  • Land Use Committee
  • Outreach Committee
  • Water Quality/Technical Committee
  • Administrative Committee
  • Facilitation Committee

8:00 – 8:30 p.m.: New Member Interviews (CAG Members Only)

8:30 p.m.: Adjourn

Guests are always welcome to comment and ask questions using the chat function.

All Gowanus CAG meetings are open to the public, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Consolidated Q & A from EPA Region 2 on Community Questions regarding the Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup

The EPA has compiled answers to questions asked by the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group and other community members on a wide range of topics pertaining to the Superfund cleanup of the canal. The primary purpose of the document is to provide CAG members and the Gowanus community at large with a resource that can be referred to when seeking answers to the most commonly asked questions.

To read or download a PDF version of the consolidated Q & A, please click here.

Minutes of the September 8, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees: Erica Eliason, Mark Yarish

Guests: Irene Baker (National Grid), Aaron Kaufman (GRT)

The committee did not have a quorum so the meeting was brief. Mark sent some resources for water quality monitoring: 

• https://data.riverkeeper.org/recreation

• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12wNiul0QSymg3gO9OdwKkvAms-iHkz2i0hyxl6AP8eQ/edit?gid=0&mc_cid=6f34c04307&mc_eid=700eaff72b#gid=0

• https://neiwpcc.org/

Agenda items will be carried over to next month. 

Minutes of the August 5, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Land Use Committee

Attendees: Andrea Parker, Katia Kelly, Peter Reich, Erica Eliason, Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Alexandra Dadourian, Lisa Bowstead, Louis Kleinman, Susan Yung, Hildegaard Link, Linda Laviolette

Guests: Aaron Kaufman, Irene Baker

For those of you who were not able to attend, here’s a link to the recording of the meeting: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gg9agkE3eua5FdyTLRqPzy0Wp26YDm4z

Agenda

a) Friends of Thomas Greene Park’s letter to EPA & NYC Parks Department regarding Thomas Greene Park and the DD Pool. 

Alexandra mentioned that the group was in the process of drafting the letter and will circulate it when it becomes available.

b) Discussed NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health’s meeting regarding 459 Smith Street (aka Parcel 3) that took place at PS 372’s Rec Center on July 29th.

It was suggested that the committee follow up with questions that several members had.

Action: If at all possible, please reply to Steve Marcus with any questions you would like submitted to DEC & DOH by the close of day on Wednesday (8/13) so they can be compiled and forwarded on Thursday.

c) Discussed drafting a letter to NYS DEC regarding Parcels 1, 2, and 4 of the former Citizens Gas Works site.

Action: If at all possible, please reply to Steve Marcus with any questions you would like submitted to DEC by the close of day on Wednesday (8/13) so they can be compiled and forwarded on Thursday.

d) We reviewed NYS DEC’s current TCE Plume study at and around 543 Union Street and 280 Nevins Street and it seems, based on the discussion, that the current study is adequate.

Action: Please let Steve Marcus know if his notes from the meeting got this correct.

e) We discussed the TCE Plume Study that NYS DEC did last November near St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church, and we were told in February that DEC anticipates “a report being available around June/July for the Court and Luquer Street investigation.”

Action: Please let Steve Marcus know if you would him to follow up with the committee’s request to see the report.

Minutes of the August 4, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Archaeology & Historic Preservation Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Katia Kelly.
Guests: Irene Baker (National Grid), Aaron Kaufman (Gowanus Remediation Trust).

Agenda

  1. No quorum so meeting was very brief.  Reminded people to send old photos for Michael’s Instagram account.
  2. Thanked Aaron for getting clearance to post GRT material to the IG account.
  3. Update on Story Map/Board – probably will be ready by end of 2025.  Aaron is working with Chronicle Heritage to figure out how to get it on their website.
  4. No update from Peter as he was not present.
  5. No update on virtual tours because that was Peter’s update as to how to do that.

Likely our work will pick up in the fall. Need a Mission Statement.

Minutes of the July 8, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Land Use Committee

Attendees: Steve Marcus (Facilitator), Erica Eliason, Mark Yarish, Katia Kelly, Joseph Alexiou, Linda Laviolette, Peter Reich, Alexandra Gregor, Susan Yung, Lisa Bowstead, Louis Kleinman

Guests: Aaron Kaufman, Irene Baker

Agenda

a) Discussed EPA and NYC Parks Department responses to the committee’s letter regarding the remediation of Thomas Greene Park and DD Pool.

Follow Up: Alexandra and Peter will be drafting a letter on behalf of Friends of Thomas Greene Park and will share a copy with the committee when it becomes available.

b) Discussed NYSDEC’s response to the committee’s request for additional  information regarding the former Citizens MGP Works site, Parcel #4, which is currently in the New York State Superfund program.

c) Discussed the recent announcement by NYSDEC of a 45-day comment period and an in-person meeting on July 29th regarding Parcel #3 of the former Citizens MGP Works site, aka 459 Smith Street (more info on the meeting here).

e) Discussed NYSDEC’s response for additional information regarding Parcels #1 and #2 of the former Citizens MGP Works site.

f) Request for an update on NYSDEC’s neighborhood Vapor Intrusion Study.

On behalf of the committee, Steve will be following up with Heidi Dudek on this request.

g) Discussed EPA’s Five-Year Review.

h) Discussed the recent findings that the Union and Nevins Streets TCE plume has expanded to 280 Nevins Street. 

On behalf of the committee, Steve will follow up with a request to do a thorough TCE plume study similar to the one that NYSDEC is currently doing near St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.

j) Irene Baker, who represents National Grid at our CAG meetings, was kind enough to follow up on the committee’s request for additional information regarding the former Citizens MGP Works site Parcel #4, and also look into when the Citizens Spring 2025 Arcadis Groundwater Monitoring report will be made available. The Fall 2024 report is available here.

For those of you who were not able to attend, here’s the link to the recording of the meeting: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmsz27TNQM_AW6JwJqUwMUIygQfeEReI?usp=sharing

Please note: The next Land Use Committee meeting is scheduled to be held Tuesday, August 5th, at 6:30pm.

Minutes of the July 7, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez, (Facilitator), Corinne Brenner (Gowanus Dredgers), Katia Kelly, Susan Yung, Celeste LeCompte, Mark Yarish

Guests: Panos Adonyadis (Gowanus Remediation Trust Engineering), Aaron Kaufman (GRT), David Himmelheber (GRT Engineering), Irene Baker (National Grid), Russell Hyatt (GRT Engineering, Geologists), Emily Bachman (Department of City Planning), Victoria Sacks (EPA), Brad Vogel (Gowanus Dredgers)

You can watch a recording of the meeting here. Enter passcode E!psg51D.

Presentation by Russell and Panos (has been the Senior Principal Engineer since 2013 and is leading the design team for 1st Street Turning Basin) regarding the draft design at Turning Basin 1 (near Power House). Addressed my personal issue: legal concept of “attractive nuisance” and why properties abutting the canal would be opposed to a soft entry to the turning basins. You don’t want to make it easy for kids to step into the brackish waters. Insurance becomes an issue. Attached the presentation below.

Also linking here to Victoria’s RTA 2 presentation though we did not discuss it.

Lively discussion followed as so much has changed since the 2019 draft plan. This plan has more wetland than the original plan. The presentation is attached to this email so I will not go into detail in these minutes as to what it looks like, but suffice it to say the team has revisited the entire concept in part in light of input from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Gowanus Dredgers and, it appears, because of the Gowanus rezoning. They now have a wetland shelf concept. They took rising water levels into account. We looked at the 2018 CAG resolution to see if this plan was consistent with it. I think that requires a bit more discussion. Panos says this design gives water access, marine access and wetland access, but Katia is concerned it gives less water as the EPA’s Record of Decision is very precise about how much water restoration the community is entitled to as an offset for the loss of canal water due to bulkheads. Per the ROD:

“The remedy will also include the excavation and restoration of approximately 475 feet of the filled-in former 1st Street turning basin.” 

Here is the link:

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/692106.pdf (page 81)

Gary was very pleased with this design because of the marsh. Corinne was curious to see info on the water surface area. Panos states the water area is 30 feet wide.  

I asked DCP what agency would own the turning basin. They did not know.

Read more »

Minutes of the July 7, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Archaeology & Historic Preservation Committee

Attendees

Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Facilitator), Katia Kelly, Louis Kleinman, Peter Reich.
Guests: Aaron Kaufman (Gowanus Remediation Team), Irene Baker (National Grid).

Agenda

  1. Discussed getting more material for Michael & Rachel’s Instagram account to get eyes on what we have: https://www.instagram.com/gowanus_archaeology/.
  2. Asked the committee for more material such as photos of old Gowanus that he can share.
  3. Discussed with Aaron Kaufman getting clearance for posting GRT material to the account. He responded 7/9/2025 that we have clearance and just need to send a notification when we post their material. 
  4. Discussed status of the Storyboard which is not yet finalized. Aaron will try to get an ETA on completion. He thinks a few months more. He will also confirm whether it can be used freely by this CAG group and/or on the Instagram. 
  5. I had wanted to reach out to Johnny Thornton (Arts Gowanus), Sasha (Proteus Gowanus), Andrea (GCC), Gowanus Dredgers, and Emily (also of Arts Gowanus) for a meeting in the fall for us to continue to conduct curated exhibition planning. Peter will follow up with Johnny Thornton to see what is going on in terms of opportunities for more exhibits, but right now there are QR-code walking tours posted about the Gowanus. He thinks Johnny would be interested in materials we could assemble for the walking tour. I asked for how-tos. We can put together photos of whatever we’d like added. Peter indicated he’d like to see 234 Butler Street added. Aiming for the fall because of summer doldrums and my upcoming surgery. Katia suggested maybe our committee could do the tour, but right now it is completely virtual. We asked Joseph if the photos in his book were open-source. He thinks yes. Also suggested the Brooklyn Eagle’s archive.  
  6. Also, we can use language “courtesy of …….”
  7. Joan will reach out to Brooklyn College Museum Studies Program and to Pratt’s archaeology team to see if there is any opportunity there in the fall. Surgery in August will delay Joan’s ability to chase these things down. Also will check with Union Street Library.
Read more »