This just in from Ludger K. Balan, Executive and Environmental Program Director of the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy, a non-for-profit organization dedicated restoration, revitalization, restoration, protection for our waterways and watersheds.
Ludger has spent countless hours not only boating in the Gowanus Canal but also diving in its waters, studying and observing the changes along the heavily polluted waterway.
His organization just alerted to the fact that a huge section of the bulkhead along the Whole Foods section has broken off. Here is his email:
Whole Food for Thought!
"A large section of bulkhead ( approximately 20-25ft span) broke off Whole Foods site and is floating in the Gowanus Canal. The on-going erosion and this level of exposure, which has been occurring for over a year, is contributing to further migration of toxins between the Gowanus Canal and the uplands section at Whole Foods site."
Ludger K Balan, Executive, Environmental Program Director
The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy
WWW.URBANDIVERS.ORG
***UPDATE***
On Friday, I received the email below from Josh Verleun, Chief Investigator for Riverkeeper, New York's #1 clean water advocacy group.
Josh, who, like Ludger, spends many hours investigating the Gowanus Canal in a Riverkeeper boat, reported to me that Ludger is mistaken. Apparently, the big floating object in the Gowanus is a boat that sank. Josh writes:
"What is floating in the canal is not a piece of bulkhead, but is in fact the sunken remains of a houseboat that was once tied up close to the Carroll St. bridge.
I have been working on investigating the circumstances of this boat’s sinking for a number of months. The sinking of this vessel has been passed on to the Department of Environmental Conservation and other law enforcement entities as well. Here are some photos of the boat before it sunk, after it was sunk and the top was chopped off, and after it floated to where it is now.
The large piece labeled A1 (on Ludger's Photos) is the sunken boat. The other pictures of the Whole Foods bulkhead/shoreline look very similar to how they have looked the 8 or so times I was in front of the property in a Riverkeeper boat over the course of the summer and fall. The shoreline in that area is very unstable looking—dirt has eroded from underneath concrete that hangs out over the edge, so I certainly could imagine chunks of debris falling into the canal. But as far as I can tell nothing major appears to have changed since I was last there in November.
The bulkhead situation as well as the sunken boat will certainly be addressed at Monday night's meeting with Executives from Whole Foods.
Information about the meeting here. I hope you will be able to attend."
(photo credit: Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper)
Houseboat before it sank
partly submerged houseboat 
.JPG)
1 comment:
Who is responsible for maintaining the bulkheads? Whole Foods? Don't they own the property?
Post a Comment