Below is the testimony given by Gowanus area resident Lizzie Olesker yesterday in front of the City Council's Zoning and Franchises Sub-committee yesterday regarding the Toll Brothers' 363-365 Bond Street project. Over the next few days, I will try to post more testimonies by local residents.
TO: Zoning Committee of City Council, the City of New York
RE: 363-365 Bond St.
March 4, 2009
I am here to speak on behalf of my neighbors who together formed the Friends of Bond out of our deep concerns about the proposed Toll Bros. development. I have been living on First St. between Hoyt and Bond for the last 11 years, raising a family and making a life in my beloved Gowanus Community. My children have all attended a public school on Carroll Street just a few blocks away from where we live. Our walking route to school has taken us over the Carroll Street bridge each day. Though I’m no expert, I have seen first hand what happens to the canal- how on a day of heavy rain the water comes within a few feet of the bridge. How when the flushing mechanism breaks down- which is often- the sewage and debris build up (not to mention the smell) within a matter of hours. How on a “good” day, we marvel at seeing schools of minnows and crabs swimming just below the surface, rare birds and even a family of ducks swimming by… On a small, immediate scale, we can see with our own eyes both the ravages and possibilities contained in the Gowanus Canal.
My neighbors and I have come together because we want to see our community developed in ways that address the real needs of those who live and work in this community, this city- along with the real needs of future residents- rather than those who profit from us. When the Toll Bros. propose a project that is completely out of context with the existing historic brownstones and industrial buildings of the Gowanus area, one has to look at the underlying motivations. When the added component of ‘affordable housing’ is used as a justification for going ahead with immediate construction apart from considering the many environmental questions and infrastructure a large scale building demands- one has to wonder whether this isn’t simply a carrot being thrown to us in the ultimate interests of the developers and the politicians serving them. This is particularly true when we now find out that the affordable housing component is far from confirmed- that it will depend on the Toll Bros. applying for state subsidies in a time of severe budget restrictions. What will happen if those promises of affordable housing don’t come to fruition, a strong possibility given the recent economic climate? Will the proposed size of this project change? We’re told no. Instead, we’re left with over-sized, twelve story towers filled with condos set at market prices that no one can afford. Towers that create shadows along the fragile eco-system of the Gowanus Canal and create a new view forever altering a place of historic significance. Shadows in an area that was unique precisely because of its abundance of light and sky, its small scale and small neighborhood feel- the very things attracting new residents and new investment.
But what my neighbors and I are most concerned about is the fact that when we raise the issue of toxic pollutants and the necessity of cleaning up the Gowanus Canal before construction can begin we’re told that this can only happen if we let the Toll Bros. build. We’re told that intelligent and transparent decision-making for zoning of the entire Gowanus area, with consideration of the fact that we’re in a serious flood plain in a time of global warming and rising waters is not pragmatic. My neighbors and I who suddenly became active around these important civic, public issues- who were compelled to take action- have experienced that our statements and concerns fall on deaf ears time and time again. Are we frustrated and angry? You bet we are.
When we leave here, we will go back to our jobs, our homes. We will check if the sump pumps in our basements (illegal but absolutely necessary) are still working for the next heavy rain fall- you see, we’ve been trying to tell you about the small lakes that form at the end of our blocks and the 3 inches of water that flow into our basements due to a sewage and storm system in great disrepair. And we will go back to our kids and look them in the eye and have to tell them how our elected officials responded. How when faced with planning for the future, when deciding what development should really look like- a development that is truly about creating affordable housing, that is committed to creating a greener environment, that respects the significance and scale of a historic industrial and brownstone area, that this committee finally did the right thing. That this committee listened and considered- truly considered- the voices of this community. Is that what we will be able to say to our children?
Thank you for your time.
Lizzie Olesker
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