Thursday, October 29, 2009

Carroll Gardens Brownstone District advocates have a welcome friend in the innovative, bold Councilman Tony Avella!

Carroll Gardens/Columbia Waterfront Rezoning News

On Monday, October 26th, the Zoning and Franchises Committee convened at City Hall to hear testimony and vote upon the long awaited rezoning of Carroll Gardens.

The preservation motivated proposal, specifically designed to maintain neighborhood character, called for a contextual rezoning of Carroll Gardens and the Columbia Waterfront area.

As at each of the public hearings held during this months long ULURP process, overall approval of the plan was expressed by residents through testimony given in front of the committee. And also, as at each of the public hearings, along with the overall approval expressed, there was also an expression of disappointment and concern that some of the contextual rezoning, which we had all hoped would be, in effect, a downzoning, actually turned out to be an upzoning, on certain streets.

Although we were unsuccessful in getting the plan modified during the ULURP, two wonderful things happened.....the first was the united neighborhood that spoke up in a single voice; the second, an idea grew that could provide a solution, not immediately, but something that could definitely be worked on and that held great promise for our neighborhood and maybe even for other, similar neighborhoods in the borough.

City Planning has explained many times that zoning is not perfect and that they must use the tools available to them to get the best fit possible for all of the many communities throughout the city.

The new idea.....let's give City Planning some new tools for their" toolbox". Let's get some urban planners, architects, perhaps a developer or two and concerned residents involved in coming up with a brownstone district friendly category....one that allows for moderate expansion but does not threaten the destruction of the streetscape or alter the character/integrity of the building or its neighbors. Perhaps even include a design review component whereby making the character of a brownstone type community part of its zoning regulations

So, it was with this ambitious idea in mind, that members of CORD, CGNA and other residents addressed Councilman Tony Avella's committee and we are happy to report that the idea was very well received.

The Zoning and Franchises Committee voted in favor of the rezoning proposal. The proposal has since gone to the City Council where it was quickly adopted on October 28, 2009.

Councilman Avella expressed great interest in the plan to form a new zoning category.CORD has already begun to mobilize. We already have a commitment from two respected urban planners to work with us as well as architects and concerned residents. We will be reaching out to City Planning for much needed help.

We will keep you informed and welcome the assistance of all who are interested.
Please contact us at CGCORD@GMAIL.COM if you would like to roll up your sleeves and help!

CORD

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Try, try, again to CONTACT CONGRESSWOMAN YVETTE CLARKE RE: SUPERFUND DESIGNATION FOR OUR GOWANUS CANAL!‏

PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO PLEAD WITH OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ALLOW SCIENCE TO PREVAIL (!) OVER politics IN THE HEALTH ISSUE OF OUR DAY: THE SUPERFUNDING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL!

Many of you have informed of us that you are having difficulty with Congresswoman Clarke’s website. Please be advised:

Copy past your letter and send it to the following address instead!
Deanna.bitetti@mail.house.gov (Deanna works with Rep. Clarke.)
Write “ATTN SUPERFUND DESIGNATION!” in the subject

For your convenience we have re-copied the letter below:
Please cut, paste and send the letter below to Congresswoman Clarke ASAP!
And ,please do not forget to "sign" the cut and pasted letter with your name and full address---this is very important!

Dear Congresswoman Clarke:

We are residents of the Gowanus area. Our neighborhoods may have different names such as Carroll Gardens or Park Slope, but we are the people whose lives are touched every single day by the deplorable condition of the Gowanus Canal.

We are the people who applauded Commissioner Grannis's request to nominate this open sewer to the National Priorities List.
We are the people who signed a petition in support of that nomination. We are the people who attended the multiple meetings held in our community.

We are the people who obediently sent in our comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in the prescribed, timely manner and we are the people who have been waiting patiently for science and common sense to lead our Canal into the healthier life the Superfund designation would offer us all.

We are the people who are beginning to strongly feel that what residents want is of no importance; that the desires of those who stand to benefit financially somehow trumps the health of those who inhabit the area.

We are your constituents. Our pro designation comments represent the majority and we ask that you speak on our behalf.
The Gowanus Canal must be added to the National Priorities List. It must be designated a Superfund site. Work must begin with the sole motivation of improving public health and the environment.

No other plan, no other dream, no other ambition is more important.

No other course of action should be permitted to take precedence over the health of Gowanus area residents and our children.
The EPA indicated in those community meetings that they are ready, willing and able to proceed.

We are the people. Represent us, please. Call E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson

Signed, XXXX

Address, XXXX

For Congresswoman Clarke

deanna.bitetti@mail.house.gov

***P.S.
If you have not done so already please also copy, paste and sign the letter above and email to the President, the Governor, and both Senators.***

For President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

For Governor Paterson
http://161.11.121.121/govemail

For Senator Schumer,
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm

For Senator Gillibrand,
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/





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Friday, October 23, 2009

LOCAL TEENS CREATE "Airborne Contaminants Masks" in response to the Toxic Gowanus Canal in their "backyards"

MASK BY LIZZIE

Local teens from Starting Artists started an "Airborne Contaminants Masks" project this week at their local, artspace at 211 Smith Street in response to their feelings about living near the polluted waters and banks of the toxic Gowanus Canal. After a presentation by Brooklyn Utopias? Exhibition Curator, Katherine Gressel, and by participating and visiting artists, Triada Samaras, and Susan Konvit, these teens artists expressed deep concern over their health and safety in the event of a Gowanus Canal clean-up.

The on-going mask project, which may include works in other art/s media, will be a testament to their feelings. The teens expressed a clear desire for the safest and most comprehenive Gowanus Canal clean-up available to the public. Many live close enough to the canal to smell it on a "bad" day and cross it daily on their way to school and back.

The "Airborne Contaminants Masks" project that will be submitted in early November to the Brooklyn Utopias? Teen Art Exhibition at Starting Artists.

All Brooklyn Teens are eligible to submit an art work to this show.
Brooklyn middle and high school students: click here to submit artwork to the Brooklyn Utopias? Submissions DUE NOVEMBER 5!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

CONTACT CONGRESSWOMAN YVETTE CLARKE RE: SUPERFUND DESIGNATION FOR OUR GOWNAUS CANAL!

Hello from CORD!

PLEASE HELP US CONTINUE TO PLEAD WITH OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ALLOW SCIENCE TO PREVAIL (!) OVER politics IN THE HEALTH ISSUE OF OUR DAY: THE SUPERFUNDING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL!

Following on the heels of last Friday's announcment that Representative Nydia Velazquez is indeed supporting the SUPERFUND designation of both the Gowanus Canal and Newton Creek, (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/42/32_42_wy_newtown_creek_period.html) we here at CORD are urging our readers to PLEASE! now write to Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Rep. Clarke is another one of our elected officials who needs to hear from her constituents about how important this Superfund Designation is to our health and safety during the clean-up of this highly contaminated canal.

Our very health is at stake as the clean-up method for the Gowanus Canal is decided. The EPA has promised to do the most comprehensive and SAFE clean uo of these toxins possible and to hold the polluters NOT the taxpayers responsible



Please cut, paste and send the letter below to Congresswoman Clarke ASAP!
( **see instructions below**)
. Please do not forget to "sign" the cut and pasted letter with your name and full address---this is very important!



Dear Congresswoman Clarke: 


We are residents of the Gowanus area. 
 
Our neighborhoods may have different names such as Carroll Gardens or Park Slope, but we are the people whose lives are touched every single day by the deplorable condition of the Gowanus Canal. 
 


We are the people who applauded Commissioner Grannis's request to nominate this open sewer to the National Priorities List. 
 


We are the people who signed a petition in support of that nomination. 
 


We are the people who attended the multiple meetings held in our community. 
 


We are the people who obediently sent in our comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in the prescribed, timely manner and we are the people who have been waiting patiently for science and common sense to lead our Canal into the healthier life the Superfund designation would offer us all. 
 


We are the people who are beginning to strongly feel that what residents want is of no importance; that the desires of those who stand to benefit financially somehow trumps the health of those who inhabit the area. 



We are your constituents. Our pro designation comments represent the majority and we ask that you speak on our behalf. 
 


The Gowanus Canal must be added to the National Priorities List. It must be designated a Superfund site. 
 


Work must begin with the sole motivation of improving public health and the environment. 
 
No other plan, no other dream, no other ambition is more important.

No other course of action should be permitted to take precedence over the health of Gowanus area residents and our children. 
 
The EPA indicated in those community meetings that they are ready, willing and able to proceed. 
 


We are the people. Represent us, please. Call E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson

Signed, XXXX

Address, XXXX



For Congresswoman Clarke

http://clarke.house.gov/contact/contact-us-form.shtml



***P.S.

If you have not done so already please also copy, paste and sign the letter above and email to the President, the Governor, and both Senators.***


For President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/


For Governor Paterson
http://161.11.121.121/govemail

For Senator Schumer,
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm

For Senator Gillibrand,
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

Friday, October 16, 2009

UPDATE! Velazquez supports SUPERFUND/S !!

Hello!
CORD has received some wonderful news:
Representative Nydia Velasquez is Pro Superfund Designation for BOTH POLLUTED SITES!

For details please see 
THE BROOKLYN PAPER http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/42/32_42_wy_newtown_creek_period.html

"Update! Nydia supports Newtown Creek Superfund"

The Brooklyn Paper

One day after the federal government gave residents 30 more days to complain about the Newtown Creek, the fetid waterway’s congresswoman revealed that she supports designating the creek as a toxic Superfund site.

In doing so, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Sunset Park) linked the creek with the Gowanus Canal, its just-as-repulsive sister sluice that is nearing the end of the public comment period that is expected to result in Superfund designation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Securing a healthy environment is the single most important factor in choosing a course of action for cleaning both the Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek,” Velazquez said in a statement. “Superfund designation will thoroughly remove hazards and transform these waterways into a source of pride for our community.

“The Gowanus Canal and Newtown Creek have threatened the health of New Yorkers for long enough,” she added.

To continue reading this article, please see the link above.


CORD




Friday, October 9, 2009

HELP US PLEAD WITH OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ALLOW SCIENCE TO PREVAIL (!) OVER greed and politics IN THE ISSUE OF OUR DAY: THE SUPERFUNDING OF THE GOWA

HELLO FROM CORD:

WE ARE URGING OUR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN AND AROUND CARROLL GARDENS AND THE GOWANUS CANAL AREA TO PLEASE JOIN US IN THIS LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN AS THE ENVIRONMENT IS, INDEED, A MATTER OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR CLOOECTIVE HEALTH AND SAFETY AND TO THOSE OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS!!


For those of you who do not know, we posted our letter below one week ago and urged you to please send it to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer to PLEASE help us get our Gownaus Canal Superfund Designated. Please contact them if you have not have done so already.

In addition, today we are asking you to please add President Obama and Governor Paterson to your list!


Indeed we feel: "Politics, seems to have crept into the decision-making process by the Environmental Protection Agency's Washington Office on whether to list the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. However, only science and the health of the residents living in this community should be considered. " PMFA http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2009/10/we-are-peoplea-letter-to-governors.html


BELOW YOU WILL FIND THE LETTER WE SENT OUR ELECTED OFFICLAS.


Please cut, paste and send the letter below to our President, Governor, and our Senators ( **see instructions below**)



Dear President Obama, Senators Gillibrand and Schumer , and Governor Paterson 


We are residents of the Gowanus area. 
 
Our neighborhoods may have different names such as Carroll Gardens or Park Slope, but we are the people whose lives are touched every single day by the deplorable condition of the Gowanus Canal. 
 


We are the people who applauded Commissioner Grannis's request to nominate this open sewer to the National Priorities List. 
 


We are the people who signed a petition in support of that nomination. 
 


We are the people who attended the multiple meetings held in our community. 
 


We are the people who obediently sent in our comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in the prescribed, timely manner and we are the people who have been waiting patiently for science and common sense to lead our Canal into the healthier life the Superfund designation would offer us all. 
 


We are the people who are beginning to strongly feel that what residents want is of no importance; that the desires of those who stand to benefit financially somehow trumps the health of those who inhabit the area. 



We are your constituents. Our pro designation comments represent the majority and we ask that you speak on our behalf. 
 


The Gowanus Canal must be added to the National Priorities List. It must be designated a Superfund site. 
 


Work must begin with the sole motivation of improving public health and the environment. 
 
No other plan, no other dream, no other ambition is more important.

No other course of action should be permitted to take precedence over the health of Gowanus area residents and our children. 
 
The EPA indicated in those community meetings that they are ready, willing and able to proceed. 
 


We are the people. Represent us, please. Call E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson

CG CORD/ CARROLL GARDENS COALITION FOR RESPECTFUL DEVELOPMENT





***Please copy, paste and sign the letter above and email to the President, the Governor, and both Senators.***

For President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

For Governor Paterson
http://161.11.121.121/govemail

For Senator Schumer,

http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm

For Senator Gillibrand,
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Another Brooklyn Resident writes to Lisa Jackson in Washington re: The Superfund Designation of the Gowanus Canal

Here is another letter from one of our neighbors in Prospect Heights to Lisa Jackson in Washington re:

SUPERFUNDING the GOWANUS CANAL!

Dear Ms. Jackson,

     Please, EPA, SUPERFUND the GOWANUS!  
     I've lived in the vicinity of Brooklyn's toxic Gowanus Canal for four decades. From time to time over the years New York City has talked about cleaning up the Gowanus -- yet has done little to de-tox Brooklyn's infamous Love Canal. 
     It is well known that New York's current  Mayor, Bloomberg, practises Government By & For Developers.  Bloomberg's Developer buddies have convinced him that Superfund designation will be the ruination of any site so named, kill off the only thing that matters here: Economic Development. Therefore, Bloomberg & Co. would rather not use the Superfund Word in NYC-- too stigmatizing.  Developers  bank on the mayor's support for a quick verbal de-toxing of the Gowanus site: simply DON'T apply the toxic "S" word to it.   (NYC will once again promise a quick & dirty cleasing, declare the Gowanus fit for EcDev -- though not for healthy life -- save the developers a lot of money.) NYC just waves the non-toxic word wand and bank loans flow to the Gowanus. ..... 
      The only possible way to clean up the Gowanus miasma is for the EPA to SUPERFUND the GOWANUS.  (NYC cannot be trusted to do the job.) Please  SUPERFUND the GOWANUS!  NOW.
     Thank you.

     
Patti Hagan
     117 St. Marks Avenue
     Brooklyn, NY 11217-2410
     
CORD
     

Friday, October 2, 2009

LATE BREAKING NEWS! OUR LETTERS TO OUR SENATORS SCHUMER AND GILLIBRAND

HELLO FROM CORD:

TODAY WE ARE CONTINUING TO PLEAD WITH OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ALLOW SCIENCE TO PREVAIL(!) OVER greed and politics IN THE ISSUE OF OUR DAY: THE SUPERFUNDING OF THE GOWANUS CANAL!!

BELOW YOU WILL FIND THE LETTERS WE JUST SENT TODAY TO SENATORS SCHUMER AND GILLIBRAND.

AND WE ARE URGING OUR FELLOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN AND AROUND CARROLL GARDENS AND THE GOWANUS CANAL AREA TO PLEASE JOIN US IN THIS LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN AS THE ENVIRONMENT IS, INDEED, A MATTER OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR HEALTH AND SAFETY AND TO THOSE OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS!!

Indeed we feel: "Politics, seems to have crept into the decision-making process by the Environmental Protection Agency's Washington Office on whether to list the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. However, only science and the health of the residents living in this community should be considered. " PMFA

Please join members of your community and CORD in reminding our Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer that we want the Gowanus Canal added to the National Priorities List.

Please cut, paste and send the letter below to our senators? ( **see instructions below**)




Dear Senators Gillibrand and Schumer, 
 


We are residents of the Gowanus area. 
 
Our neighborhoods may have different names such as Carroll Gardens or Park Slope, but we are the people whose lives are touched every single day by the deplorable condition of the Gowanus Canal. 
 


We are the people who applauded Commissioner Grannis's request to nominate this open sewer to the National Priorities List. 
 


We are the people who signed a petition in support of that nomination. 
 


We are the people who attended the multiple meetings held in our community. 
 


We are the people who obediently sent in our comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in the prescribed, timely manner and we are the people who have been waiting patiently for science and common sense to lead our Canal into the healthier life the Superfund designation would offer us all. 
 


We are the people who are beginning to strongly feel that what residents want is of no importance; that the desires of those who stand to benefit financially somehow trumps the health of those who inhabit the area. 



We are your constituents. Our pro designation comments represent the majority and we ask that you speak on our behalf. 
 


The Gowanus Canal must be added to the National Priorities List. It must be designated a Superfund site. 
 


Work must begin with the sole motivation of improving public health and the environment. 
 
No other plan, no other dream, no other ambition is more important.

No other course of action should be permitted to take precedence over the health of Gowanus area residents and our children. 
 
The EPA indicated in those community meetings that they are ready, willing and able to proceed. 
 


We are the people. Represent us, please. Call E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson

CG CORD/ CARROLL GARDENS COALITION FOR RESPECTFUL DEVELOPMENT





***Please copy, paste and sign the letter above and email to both senators.***

For Senator Schumer, click here
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm


For Senator Gillibrand, click here
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/



Thank you!

CORD

Local Resident Writes to Lisa Jackson in Washington, DC

CORD has received word that Mayor Bloomberg is lobbying against the Superfund Designation of the Gowanus Canal in Washington.

This is very disturbing news given the fact that the majority of residents support the designation and that the EPA is supposed to be above politics.

Don't public health and safety count for anything in the mind of this mayor?

CORD has also received permission from Katia at the PMFA blog to reprint the following:

From http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2009/09/local-resident-writes-to-epa.html:

"Carroll Gardener Jean (Kitty) Farson did just that, and sent me her own letter to Lisa Jackson. With her permission,I am reprinting it below." PMFA


Dear Administrator Jackson,

I recently found out that the EPA has not listed the Gowanus Canal on the list of Superfund Sites. I am so very disappointed, as I am a strong supporter of the canal being listed as a Superfund Site.
I am a long time resident of Carroll Gardens (back when no one would even walk on Smith Street much less sit at an outdoor café and eat) and a home owner.
Until now, I strongly felt that the canal needed to be cleaned up under the Federal government based on quality of life and health of current and future residents. We have an extremely large influx of young families with small children in the last few years.
But I want to share a personal moment with you. I have attached a picture of my dogs, Yankee, the fawn male in the foreground, a beautiful Bullmastif/Pitbull mix we rescued after his owner was killed in the WTC on 9/11. He recently passed away from cancer, Lymphosarcome.
I walked Yankee every night down along Bond Street and sometimes down to the canal itself, as it was a favorite spot of his. I do not have scientific facts and figures citing any relationship between Lymphosarcoma and all the toxins in the canal and I am not suggesting there is even a connection.
I do wonder what will happen to our air quality and our overall quality of life if you allow the politicans to oversee the cleanup of the canal via unscruplous and out of state developers rather than allow the professional Environnemental Protection Agency team clean up the canal. I have even bigger concerns about how the contaminated soil will be hauled out of the site once the excavation is started. Will they simply drive it out in contaminated dump trucks or will there be some agency (ie EPA) to oversee that trucks are hosed down and clean before they drive up my block?
My neighborhood is very, very much in support of Superfunding the canal. I can only speak for myself, but I think Mayor Bloomberg and Caswell Holloway are very out of touch when it comes to our middle class Brownstone neighborhood and what is best for the future of the Gowanus Canal.

Respectfully submitted,
Jean Farson

"Please, dear Reader, take some time to write to Administrator Jackson and to our elected Officials and let her know that Mayor Bloomberg is not representing the wishes of the community." PMFA




***Please send your own email or phone to the following:

*Lisa Jackson, Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency
202-564-4700 email: jackson.lisap@epa.gov

*President Obama, The White House
email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461


*Governor David A. Paterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
518-474-8390
to email, click here

*NY Senator Charles Schumer: 914-734-1532

*NY Senator Kristin Gillibrand: 212-688-6262

*Representative Nydia Velazquez: 718-599-3658

*Representative Yvette Clarke: 718-287-1142


Related Reading:

Please Help Get Bloomberg Politics Out Of The Gowanus Canal Clean-Up!

Bloomberg Still Pushing His Gowanus Greenwashing Plan Over EPA Environmental Science

Mayor Bloomberg, Your Band-Aid Approach To Gowanus Clean-Up No Solution

Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can

Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Superfund Meeting: The Pros Vs. The Amateurs

Regarding Gowanus Superfund Designation, Our Local Pols Are Showing Incredible Lack Of Leadership

'Why The Gowanus Should Be A Superfund Site' By Tom Angotti, PHD

See PMFA
http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2009/09/local-resident-writes-to-epa.html:

CHECK OUT THE "BROOKLYN UTOPIAS?" SHOW AT THE BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY


The opening for the exhibition "Brooklyn Utopias?" was held this evening at the Brooklyn Historical Society from 5:30-7:30. The exhibition features work by CORD Co-founder, Triada Samaras, who is exhibiting images and voices from the "Democracy Wall" in Carroll Gardens. (See right hand side of this blog)

http://www.brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/upcoming.html
http://brooklynutopias.com/artwork/944531_Triada_Samaras_image_from_Carroll.html Please see the Pardon Me for Asking Blog and the Found in Brooklyn Blog for more details.

CORD HISTORY:

With the "Protect Our Homes" petition, CORD was formed in May, 2007. This petition arose as an overwhelmingly negative response to the coming of the over-sized 360 Smith Street Development at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place (Aka Oliver House; aka 131 Second Place). This petition, which had well over three thousand signatures, led to a new zoning text amendment in summer of 2008.

To: Our Elected Officials, Community Leaders, The MTA:
(MAY, 2007)

We the undersigned Carroll Gardens homeowners and residents, are appalled by the "as of right" ruling which allows owners and developers to erect buildings in our neighborhood with no regard to the impact they will present to our quality of life and the value of our homes........

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?crlgrdns