Wednesday, January 21, 2009

"Defend Gowanus" Petition Signers Leave Some Insightful Comments

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I recently checked the "Defend Gowanus (No Love Canal)" petition and took some time to read comments left by the signers. Taken as a whole, they echo the concerns felt by so many in the community. Below are just a few of them. Oh, and if you haven't signed the petition yet, may I suggest you take a few minutes to do so?


*The Gowanus Canal is steps from my home. For close to 30 years I have seen it go from bad to worse to better and back again - a few times. We residents have had many concerns about the environmental pollution that has not been able to be cleaned up - although it has been lessened at times. Because our neighborhood is built on wetlands we have many flooding problems as we slope down toward the canal. Putting up a large development would be yet another time where we go from bad to worse. It is essential that our voices be heard and our concerns addressed. The impact is wider than polluted water - add schools, hospitals (LICH is cutting back), fire stations (DeGraw St. station was shut down), traffic, and parking, to name some of the basics and we have issues that are real and deserve better than our elected officials and self designated officials are giving us. We have invested in this community for some time and expect better.


*I firmly oppose the Toll Brothers' development plan, and I am upset that the local government officials are so unconcerned with the safety of Brooklynites.



*I am fighting leukemia right now. The thought that I might have to move from my home simply to avoid further toxins in my life is alarming and deeply disturbing. Please keep this part of Brooklyn safe for everyone, especially those already at risk.


*The Gowanus Canal neighborhood needs a comprehensive, environmentally sound development plan that conforms to the scale of the neighborhhood surrounding the canal. 8- to 12-story apartment buildings are exploitative, and not a necessary element of a successful and respectful residential development.


*As a resident homeowner raising my family just one block from the Gowanus Canal, I am deeply concerned about development plans for building luxury housing along the Gowanus Canal. To say nothing of the inadequate attention being given to our community's current needs for more schools, better sewage and flood control, transportation and traffic issues, the very health of current residents is at stake when proposing profit driven construction along this highly polluted and toxic waterway. I urge our city government to pay closer attention to what's truly needed in the interest of the health and safety of the area's citizens.


*I oppose any & all spot zoning in Gowanus! Gowanus residents have worked for many years -- without government help -- to try to bring the Gowanus Canal & surrounding areas back to environmental health. Let the Gowanus continue to heal. Spot zoning would simply give carte blanche to Big Developers to pump new poisons into the Gowanus. NO SPOT ZONING IN GOWANUS, BROOKLYN -- EVER!!!


*When will the politicians ever learn? If you get the support and input of the community then the project will happen. If you always screw the community for some developer's interest, the community will hold it up for years and everybody loses. Wise Up!!!


*And especially in these challenged real estate times, there is no reason to create precedent-setting development that endangers the health and remediation of the canal. We do not need this project. There are plenty of empty units in current construction that will have difficulty being filled up.




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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

http://www.defendgowanus.org/


You can add your own comments as you sign the petition.