Area Residents Speak: A Sampling of Comments On 'Superfund Gowanus Now' Petition

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Have you signed the Superfund Gowanus petition yet? No? Well, what are you waiting for? Many Carroll Gardens/Gowanus area residents have. And this is what they have to say:

*The canal is centrally located and is a linchpin of the community. Its toxicity is a long-running joke, but now it's time to get serious. The real estate/local government's aversion to Superfund status is flagrantly cynical and while seemingly expedient in the short-term, is a recipe for potential disaster. Clean up the canal thoroughly NOW (or soon), and it will yield more, better results in the future.

*It is time to clean up the whole canal, not just a piece of real estate the Toll Brothers claim they will clean up. Remember, their main concern is profit, not the clean up of the canal. We have lived with this pollution for many years and our property value has not gone down because of it. If there is a dip in the value during the clean-up, so be it. In the long run the health of the community is far more important.

*It boggles the mind that this situation with the Gowanus still exists. "Unbelievably highly contaminated." Strong words from the EPA. The Superfund designation is an appropriate and necessary response in order to tackle this decades-old public health hazard once and for all. Please listen to our pleas.
To build housing, shopping centers, and small businesses along a canal which has been badly polluted for over a hundred years makes no sense at all. Clean it up properly while the funds are being offered. If not, how about universal health care???

*Side with your conscience, not the developers. Help us make our neighborhood a safe and healthy place to raise our children.
It's imperative that we clean up the Gowanus. Designating the canal an EPA Superfund site is the most comprehensive way to achieve this. Instead of stigmatizing the canal and the neighborhood, as some politicians fear, I believe that the "EPA Superfund" label will provide welcome relief to Brooklynites that a serious, comprehensive, clean-up effort is finally underway. It's a worthwhile short-term investment that will improve our health, create new opportunities for development and recreation, and greatly improve our community and our city.

*I am a Brooklyn resident and homeowner whose family lives just a few blocks from the Gowanus Canal. I am concerned that the Gowanus Canal is a serious, long term health threat to not just the immediate, adjacent properties, but to the surrounding communities as well. And although I applaud recent efforts to improve the Gowanus neighborhood, especially for light industrial, manufacturing, and mixed uses, I have little sympathy for residential, speculative developers who have purchased property on or near the Canal only to see their investments decline due to the proposed EPA Superfund designation. I also think that NYC's rezoning to allow residential uses on the canal is shortsighted; toxic waste and environmental questions persist, and a more rational land use is to preserve light industrial and manufacturing opportunities in historic locations such as these within the city. Superfund designation will hopefully address the former, and good city planning and zoning, the later. This should not, however, preclude, in the long term, limited access, recreation and public amenities to help invigorate this mixed-use neighborhood.

Sign the petition here

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