Minutes of the October 7, 2025 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Land Use Committee Meeting

Attendees

CAG Members: Steve Marcus, Susan Yung, Katia Kelly, Alexandra Dadourian-Nelson, Jason Schwartzman, Erica Eliason, Peter Reich, Mark Yarish & Lisa Bowstead

Guests: Aaron Kaufman & Irene Baker

Agenda Items Discussed

1) Follow up discussion regarding NYS DEC’s areawide TCE Plume Study near St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, which took place during November 2024.

– The committee asked Steve to follow up with DEC staff which he was able to do during DEC’s Vapor Intrusion Study meeting on October 8th and was told by Aaron Fischer that the report has not been finalized yet.

2) Follow up discussion regarding the status of NYS DEC’s final decision regarding the proposed remedial plan for Parcel 3 (459 Smith Street) of the former Citizens MGP Works site and, Assemblymember Simon’s comment letter. 

– The Committee asked Steve to follow up with DEC Staff which he was able to do as well at DEC’s Vapor Intrusion Study meeting; he was told that no decision has been made yet.

– Lisa kindly volunteered to draft a “Thank You” letter on behalf of the Committee to Assemblymember Simon for submitting her comment letter. See AM Simon’s letter here.

3) It was brought to the Committee’s attention that the most recent Citizens Groundwater Monitoring report has been made available, and the Committee discussed the continuation of off-site migration of MGP-related toxicants. 

See the report here.

– It was asked of National Grid’s representative, Irene Baker, if there was a similar report for the former Fulton MGP site; Irene said that she’ll look into it for the Committee. 

4) Alexandra shared the letter that was sent on behalf of Friends of Thomas Greene Park and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy to EPA regarding Thomas Greene Park and the Douglas-Degraw Pool, and she also shared the response they received.

– Both letters were discussed. See the letter to EPA here, and EPA’s response here.

5) Susan Yung asked that we discuss DEC’s announcement of the proposed remediation and construction near the Mary Star Of The Sea Senior Apartments, which we’ll do at our November meeting. Please see the DEC announcement for 41 First Street here.

Please note: Our next Land Use Committee meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 11th due to Election day falling on November 4th. We hope to see you there.

Summary of Status Updates Presented by EPA at the September General Meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

RH-034 (CSO retention tank at the head of the canal along Nevins Street)

  • Micropile installation has been completed on the northern half of the tank. Concrete pouring for the base of the tank has begun in this area.
  • Micropile installation is ongoing for the southern half of the tank and is expected to be completed by the end of November, followed by concrete pouring for the base of the tank in this area. 
  • Waterproofing of the tank base and sidewalls is ongoing.
  • A new, larger crane was mobilized to the site last week. It will be used to lower forms into the tank footprint for concrete pouring of the side walls.
  • Construction of the tank (i.e., below-ground construction) is expected to be fully complete by September 2026.
  • New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYC DEP) staff and their contractors are currently working one shift per day, approximately 8 to 10 hours per shift depending on the length of concrete pouring on any given day.

OH-007 (CSO retention tank at the Owl’s Head Peninsula near 2nd Avenue and 6th Street)

  • Construction of the new composting facility has been completed.
  • Construction of the new salt shed is ongoing, including painting and installation of the wall and roof panels. This is expected to be complete by the end of October. 
  • Perimeter wall construction is ongoing. As of September 30, 132 of 138 perimeter wall panels have been completed. This work is expected to be completed in the next two weeks. 
  • The next phase of work will consist of jet grouting of the panels down to the bedrock layer beneath the site. This is expected to be completed in late winter followed by soil excavation of the tank itself. 
  • NYC DEP staff and their contractors are currently working 24 hours per day Monday through early Saturday morning. This schedule will continue through December before shifting to a two-shift-per-day, eight-hour-per-shift schedule. 

Bulkheads

  • Bulkheads installation along RTA2 (middle section of the canal) is currently in progress. For the properties that the Gowanus Remediation Trust is leading, sheet are 89% done and tiebacks are 49% done. When the Trust finishes their bulkheads, they will move on to the Turning Basin 1 project and the other property owners will complete their bulkhead reconstructions.

Carroll Street Bridge

  • The Carroll Street Bridge construction started in April and is currently underway.
  • Expect the reopening of the bridge in early 2026.

Canal Design

  • The design for RTA2 has been finalized (9/17). Will post on the Site Profile Page in a few days. Natalie Loney will announce when it’s up.

Sheens at Head of the Canal

  • We are still working closely with the Trust to determine the source of the sheens and find a plan to mitigate the issue.

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.

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.

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