Minutes of the April 13, 2023 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Administrative Committee

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Administrative Committee met via Zoom conference on Thursday, April 13, at 9:30 a.m.

Committee members attending:
Katia Kelly
Margaret Maugenest
Rita Miller

Non-CAG members in attendance:
Cynthia Simmons

At the March general meeting, it was noted that one of the new applicants mentioned that reading through the Charter was confusing and conflicting.

Upon carefully reviewing what was posted on the CAG website, Rita noticed that the document, although correct in content, was not posted in the correct chronological order of its evolution.

The two addendums, one ratified in 2013, the other ratified in 2020, were apparently incorporated into the original 2011 document in a way that most certainly could be characterized as confusing and conflicting.

It was decided that the document should be displayed (posted on website) in the correct order, with the addendums clearly presented as such. Margaret and Rita took the task on and were able to reformat the original documents, in the correct order and in the original language of their approval by the CAG membership.

This will be sent to Eric and Doug for posting on the website as well as general distribution.

Other items discussed included a review of some of the March Admin Committee meeting items, which Admin has not as yet had the chance to bring to the general group, including ideas for a possible minor change in the wording of the application for new members, suggestions for FAQ’s regarding CAG membership to be added to the website, and a suggestion that EPA provide a Zoom account for the CAG which could be used to record and store all committee meetings, both old and new, as well as all Zoom general meetings.

NYSDEC Program Update for Gowanus Canal-Area Brownfield Sites, Thursday, April 20, 7:00 p.m.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a “Public Availability Session” on Thursday, April 20, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., in order to provide an update on the status of investigation and cleanup work at Gowanus Canal-area brownfield and State Superfund sites. The meeting will be held at P.S. 372, The Children’s School, at 215 1st Street in Gowanus, and is open to the public.

From NYSDEC’s notice:

“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of Health (DOH) invite you to a community availability session to provide an update of New York State’s work within the Gowanus Canal neighborhood of Brooklyn. A presentation will be provided followed by individual stations for questions and discussion. The meeting will provide a review of New York State’s remedial programs, provide an overview of work completed to date, and information about the ongoing investigation and remediation in the Gowanus Area.

“DEC will provide interpreter services for hearing impaired persons and language interpreter services for individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English at no charge upon written request submitted no later than two weeks prior to meeting date.”

You can find the full meeting notice here.

Minutes of the March 3, 2023 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG Administrative Committee

The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group’s Administrative Committee met via Zoom conference on Friday, March 3rd, at 11:00 a.m.

Committee members attending:
Jerry Armer
Katia Kelly
Louis Kleinman
Margaret Maugenest
Rita Miller

Non-CAG members in attendance:
Cynthia Simmons
Joan Salome Rodriguez (CAG Applicant)

Admin began by discussing a demographic chart based upon our survey results as reported at the January 2023 general meeting and as part of our responsibilities per our bylaws. 

Margaret and Rita will work together to put together a simple graph or pie chart to give a visual breakdown on our membership demographic with emphasis being upon number of members represented by neighborhood (i.e. to indicate proximity to the canal and MGP sites), ratio of organizational to at-large members, etc. (see charts at bottom).

Admin, last week, took back the previously redirected membership-application review procedure.

Admin discussed the suggestion made by Celeste and Eric to hold back five new and not-so-new applications  formerly in the possession of the Outreach Committee. Two of these applications were submitted as long ago as June, 2022 and December, 2021.

Admin agreed that the responsibility of our committee in regard to new applications had always been and continues to be to review and forward our review comments to the collective for approval or denial, as per Charter requirements. Some members expressed their feelings of great regret and embarrassment that concerned and interested residents’ applications were not handled in a more expeditious fashion.

Five applications were reviewed by the committee. We will ask Doug to distribute the applications along with the general meeting agenda and our comments on each will be presented at the end of March.

Read more »

NYC DEP Public Engagement Meeting on Gowanus Canal “Owls Head” CSO Facility, Thursday, March 16, 7:00 p.m.

On Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 7 p.m., the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will host another public-engagement meeting about the development of the Gowanus Canal “Owls Head” combined-sewer overflow facility planned for 2nd Avenue and 6th Street in Brooklyn.

DEP and the design team will report back on the feedback received during the three public engagement meetings in 2022 and how that community input has informed the design of the City’s facilities and opportunities for public open space and ecosystem restoration.

DEP encourages advance registration for this meeting. For more information, and to register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/public-engagement-meeting-gowanus-canal-owls-head-cso-facility-tickets-554764063247.

Missed our February General Meeting? You can view video recordings of all our recent meetings on our Vimeo page.

Missed our January General Meeting? You can view video recordings of all our recent meetings on our Vimeo page.

If you were unable to join us on Zoom for our February general meeting, you can view the video recording of the meeting – as well as recordings of all of our general meetings since April, 2020 – on our Vimeo page.

Just visit vimeo.com/showcase/gowanuscag and click on any of the videos to view the recording of the meeting.

Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Resolution Demanding Construction Oversight and Communication

At its December 27, 2022 general meeting, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group passed the following resolution, initiated by the Land Use Committee, demanding that the New York City Department of Buildings, New York City Office of Environmental Remediation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Department of City Planning, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Health, and EPA Region 2 formalize a process for oversight and communication for all remediation and construction work taking place in the Gowanus neighborhood.

The resolution reads as follows:

Resolved, the CAG urgently demands that the agencies addressed above immediately formalize competent, transparent and inclusive communications and oversight about all remediation and construction work in the Gowanus neighborhood. This must include:

BEFORE ANY CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

  1. Setting and communicating clear requirements and penalties for construction hours and community notice for all permitted construction;
  2. Transparent and accessible communication to, and coordination with, all agencies, elected officials and Community Board 6 before, during and after all planned construction activities, including details about environmental monitoring protocols and results; and
  3. Providing an accessible database of all local permitted construction activities.

DURING ANY CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

  1. Taking immediate action to stop construction activities that are unpermitted, taking place outside required hours or potentially creating environmental hazards for on-site workers or the surrounding community; and
  2. Providing a 24/7 contact number for community concerns, and cataloging all concerns.

Background:
We are concerned about the unanticipated pile driving activity by the private owner that began on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 475 and 463 Smith Street in Brooklyn, Parcel 3, the former Citizen’s Manufacturing Gas Site, a known polluted area which is both a state brownfield site and part of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Superfund Site. The pile driving caused intense vibrations, intense noises, and emitted a coal tar smell. No advance notice of pending construction was received by any elected officials, EPA, Community Board 6, or the community from any agency or entity. The public deserves to know when any aspect of construction is taking place in an environmentally fragile area—particularly a highly toxic marshland full of coal tar which spreads in every direction through the site—and what oversight measures have been made to protect them from the toxicity at the site.

This community is about to undergo the development of many new buildings as a result of a major rezoning. The Gowanus rezoning was approved contingent upon a list of conditions the community expected to be fulfilled, especially with regard to the integrity of the Superfund remedy to ensure the health and safety of existing and future residents. Failure to communicate about this recent pile driving does not bode well for the public trust which needs to be repaired. Competent and transparent communications are critical for the accountability demanded by the Community Board and local residents and agreed to by the City.

Click here to view a PDF version of the full resolution.

Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup Community Update #4

Contractors working under the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expect to complete the dredging of the northern portion of the Gowanus Canal by the end of 2022, in preparation for installation of a multi-layered protective cap over the canal bottom. Read about this work, and other news, in the EPA’s Community Update #4, embedded below and available as a PDF here.

Para obtener una versión en español, haga clic aquí.