Minutes of the July 11, 2016 Land Use Committee Meeting

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Land Use Committee met on Monday, July 11, 2016, in the offices of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy at 543 Union Street.

CAG Members present: David Briggs, Rafael Gomez de Luna, Andrea Parker, Peter Reich, Buddy Scotto, Mark Shames

Guests: Terri Thomson, National Grid; Louis Kleinman, CAG/Waterfront Alliance; Chris Anderson, Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Item 1

Review of June 7, 2016 meeting minutes.

Action

Minutes approved without comments.

Item 2

1st Street turning basin: Land use strategies were suggested, including a salt marsh, direct entry/access from Third Avenue, mitigation of flooding, public access, creating natural contours at mouth of basin, maintaining water quality, ease of maintenance, and flushing mechanism at head of basin.

Action

Andrea, Peter, Chris, and Dave will meet to further discuss strategies.

Item 3

Bulkheads: The committee discussed different bulkhead types, their respective locations, and calculations regarding the amount of water surface area that is displaced by new bulkhead construction.

Action

Dave will contact Christos Tsiamis of EPA.

Item 4

Powerhouse: The organization is in the process of developing a new creative arts center that abuts the canal and 1st Street turning basin.

Action

Andrea will reach out to the Executive Director at Powerhouse and request a meeting to coordinate their landscape designs with the EPA’s proposed work at the turning basin.

Next CAG Committee Meeting: Outreach, Friday, October 14, 8:30 a.m.

Please join us for the regular monthly meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Outreach & Education Committee. We’ll be meeting in the offices of the Fifth Avenue Committee, at 621 Degraw Street, in Conference Room A on the 2nd floor.

We’ll be brainstorming about the future of the Outreach Committee, trying to decide upon the best day-and-time options for upcoming committee meetings, and discussing key initiatives for outreach to the broader community.

As always, this meeting is open to the public.

Next Gowanus Canal CAG General Meeting: Tuesday, September 27, 6:30 p.m.

Please join us for our September General Meeting, on Tuesday, September 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Mary Star of the Sea Senior Apartments, 41 1st Street, in Carroll Gardens. All of our meetings are open to the public.

Draft Agenda (all times are approximate)

5:45 PM: Facilitation Team Pre-Meeting

6:30 – 6:45 PM: Introductions 

  • Introductions
  • Approve minutes from the July 2016 CAG General Meeting

6:45 – 7:15 PM: Project Updates

  • EPA

7:15 – 8:00 PM: Discuss CAG Comments on Gowanus Canal 1st Street Turning Basin Restoration

8:00 – 8:30 PM: CAG Committee Updates (as needed)

  • Administration Committee
  • Archaeology Committee (discuss future of committee)
  • Land Use Committee
  • Outreach Committee
  • Water Quality and Technical Committee

8:30 PM: Adjourn

 

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Minutes of the June 28, 2016 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

Gowanus Canal CAG Meeting
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Mary Star of the Sea Senior Apartments, 41 1st Street

Introductions and CAG Updates

  • May minutes are approved

EPA Updates

Preliminary Design for the First Street Basin

  • The 475 foot long 1st Street Basin is currently filled (used to be next to the Power House, across from the Lightstone development)
  • One condition in the EPA Record of Decision (ROD) is the restoration and excavation of the 1st Street Basin and connecting it to the main canal
  • The work is being done by the City under EPA’s oversight (currently at the design stage)
  • The Basin is surrounded on all sides by private property – public access will be via the Canal
  • Restoration will roughly follow the footprint of existing property lines
  • Will do surveys and look at site conditions so as not to interfere with foundations
  • Water depth will match main channel depth after remediation (approximately 40 feet)
  • In past discussions, the community expressed a desire for a soft bank; EPA will construct a 10-foot wide bank alongside the Power House because that location is open land – on the other side there will be a bulkhead (there is no room due to new construction on the site)
  • With a single shelf, it may be feasible to create a terrace (EPA will look into it)
  • A cap will be installed, similar to the main Canal
  • A wetland shelf will be constructed

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Next CAG Committee Meeting: Water Quality & Technical, Monday, September 7th

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s next committee meeting will be a gathering of the Water Quality & Technical Committee, which will take place on Monday, September 12, at 7:00 p.m.

The meeting will take place at the Mary Star of the Sea Senior Apartments, at 41 1st Street, in Carroll Gardens.

The agenda for the meeting is TBD. All Gowanus CAG meetings are open to the public.

Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Resolution on the Preservation of Marine Habitat at the Head of the Canal

At its June, 2016 general meeting, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group passed the following resolution, originally proposed by the CAG’s Water Quality/Technical Committee:

The CAG calls upon the EPA to develop a design solution at the head of the canal that presents no loss of the vital resource of marine habitat in this area as a result of the imposition or construction of the “engineered shoreline” or bulkheads.

Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Resolution on the Proposed Siting of the Retention Tank and Head House at the Salt Lot

At its May, 2016 general meeting, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group passed the following resolution, originally proposed by the CAG’s Land Use Committee, on the proposed siting of a retention tank, head house, and related facilities at the Salt Lot at 2nd Avenue and Fifth Street, adjacent to the Gowanus Canal:

Whereas the New York City Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] has proposed the siting of a four-million gallon retention tank at the Salt Lot to help mitigate the Combined Sewer Overflow [CSO] at the OH- 007 Outfall;

Whereas New York City [City] is initiating construction of a compost facility and salt storage facility [Facilities] either on or directly adjacent to the proposed retention tank site; and

Whereas the EPA Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group [CAG] is concerned that the construction of these Facilities will potentially impede the construction of the retention tank;

Resolved, that the CAG:

1. urges the DEP to facilitate and provide a schedule for the design and construction of the four-million gallon retention tank immediately so that it is completed prior to or simultaneously with the clean up remedy in Target Area #2; and

2. urges the City to postpone the installation of the Facilities until the retention tank is installed.

 

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Minutes of the May 3, 2016 Land Use Committee Meeting

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Land Use Committee met on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in the offices of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy at 543 Union Street.

CAG Members present: David Briggs, Marlene Donnelly, Rafael Gomez de Luna, Katia Kelly, Andrea Parker, Debra Scotto, Mark Shames

Item 1

Review of April 5, 2016 meeting minutes.

Action

Minutes approved with comments.

Item 2

A draft resolution was presented and reviewed. The resolution addressed concerns raised in the previous meeting about the construction of a compost facility and salt storage shed at the Salt Lot, which is the planned site of a retention tank.

Action

After some revisions, the committee unanimously accepted the resolution and agreed to present it to the CAG for approval.

Item 3

A resolution was discussed for addressing concerns raised by the draft EPA/DEP agreement for siting of the retention tanks.

Action

After much conversation, all agreed that Dave will forward a couple of comments drafted by the committee to Andrea, Marlene, and Katia for possible inclusion in a resolution that will be drafted by the Water Quality/Technical Committee.