"Developers aren't anxious to build along the Gowanus because it is such a desirable neighborhood -- they want to because they are brownfields, and thus not only with they get a huge payout from the state, far and away above the cost of remediating, which will cover a large portion of building. Then they don't have to pay taxes or 10 years.
However, the brownfield rules already require that 5% of housing be affordable. So the expansion here to allow for 20% affordable is larger than it should be.
How do we get this info out there? That we, the taxpayers, are paying for these buildings, seeing our property taxes rise, while developers go without paying any taxes at all for 10 years???"
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You may have heard already that the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) released the long awaited Gowanus Draft Zoning Proposal today. Members of the community, who thought that the lengthy Community Listening Sessions of the past few years by Councilman Brad Lander and DCP would result in a contextual, sustainable, sensible, resilient plan, may feel betrayed by this proposal. It seems to cater to developers, not the community.
In an email today, Councilman Brad Lander writes:
"I believe this proposal is a strong next step toward the sustainable, inclusive, mixed-use neighborhood that the community has been envisioning for many years."
He added:
"I know that not everyone is excited about the idea of new residential and commercial development at heights taller than the surrounding brownstone neighborhoods. But I genuinely believe we are on the way to getting the balance right."
Balance? Planning for 22 to 30 story buildings in an area that is prone to flooding is insanity. Bringing thousands more residents to a neighborhood without adequate infrastructure like schools, subways and sewer system, is foolhardy.
Moving a rezoning along while the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal has not yet been environmentally remediated and the City has not yet implemented a solution to capture raw sewage flowing into this long neglected waterway, is just criminal.
The Department of City Planning will host a public meeting next week. Please make every effort to attend and bring your questions and comments. This re-zoning plan will have major implications for Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Park Slope and of course, Gowanus.
For more than a decade, restaurateurs Leslie and Jean-Jacques Bernat have served up Southern French cuisine at their bistro Provence en Boite. Located at 263 Smith Street at the corner of DeGraw Street, the cheerful eatery with its outdoor seating area is a popular spot amongst locals for brunch, to watch a soccer game, especially during the World Championship, or as a hangout during Smith Street's annual Bastille Day celebration.
Besides the usual bistro fare Jean-Jacques bakes fresh croissants, pains au chocolat, tartes and assorted other patisseries, as well as galettes for the Three Kings Day celebration in January.
However, recently, diners have left some critical reviews on Yelp regarding the food, service and increasing prices. Then came news last week from a local resident that the place has been closed for the past few days and that:
"Provence en Boîte has been shuttered for “operating without a license “. The notice sticker is on the inner door."
We walked by to check it out this past Saturday and the restaurant was closed during brunch hour. We returned this morning and found that the place is still closed, though its web site states that it should be open on a Monday.
The sign regarding the liquor license has been removed, but a quick search on the the New York State Liquor Authority's web site indicates that it had been inactive for a while.
Strangely, we noticed that a new entity named "Catrinas on Smith" was scheduled to make a presentation in front of CB6's Permits and Licenses Committee back in October 2018 for a new on-premise liquor license, but the representatives never showed up that night.
Agenda for Cpmmunity Board 6's Permits and License Committee in October 2018
No word yet if the restaurant will reopen, if this is the end for Provence en Boite, or if a new business named Catrinas will be opening in that spot.
Do you have any thought or further information?
Update:
Reader Gordon just sent us a photo of the notice that was taped on the restaurant's window last week.
It appears to be from the Department of Health and Human Services.
For decades, the City of New York has diverted Combined Sewer Overflow (raw sewage mixed with rainwater) into our canal during rain events, when our sewage treatment facility is overburdened.
As part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Record of Decision signed in September 2013, a legally binding blueprint for the environmental clean-up of the canal, EPA has mandated that New York City construct an 8-million gallon tank and a 4-million gallon tank to address CSOs from outfalls RH-034 at the head of the canal and OH-007 at the Salt Lot in the middle of the canal, near Whole Foods.
These two tanks are a control measure meant to significantly reduce overall contaminated solid discharges to the waterway during heavy rain events and will protect the canal from being recontaminated after the Superfund clean-up.
EPA Region 2 suggested placing the 8-million gallon tank underneath the Double D pool at Thomas Greene Park near Nevins Street. The Agency reasoned that the pool needs to be removed anyway because it sits on the former Fulton Municipal Manufactured Gas Plant ,which needs remediation. Also, the parkland is owned by the City, which would save the acquisition cost.
Though this all sounded logical and very necessary to the Gowanus residents, the City came up with ways to shirk its responsibility, which it has successfully done since construction of this man -made canal began in 1849.
First, the NYC Department Of Environmental Protection (DEP) argued that a 5 million gallon at RH-034 and 2 million gallon tanks at OH-007 would be enough to meet the City's obligations.
When the EPA flatly said no, the City tried to complicate the project in the hope to delaying it. In the process, they also made it mind-blowingly expensive. ($1.2 billion so far)
First, the City lobbied to place the 8-million gallon tankon two privately-owned parcels at 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street that needed to be seized by eminent domain. (A third seized parcel will be used for staging during construction.)
The City also insisted on constructing an elaborate head-house for odor mitigation equipment and various screens,.
The agreement also:
- allowed the City to take land by eminent domain
-costs local residents more money in taxes and water rates.
-egregiously allows the City to re-contaminate the canal with CSO for 2-7 years after the EPA's dredging and capping of the canal, because the tank will be completed after the Superfund clean-up.
Just as it seemed that New York City was finally moving forward, it threw another wrench in the works. It proposed a CSO TUNNEL vs. the CSO TANKS.
This past Tuesday, DEP's Kevin Clarke gave the CAG a presentation on the agency's newly proposed tunnel alternative, which will be 28-31 feet in diameter, 1/2 mile long, running from outfall RH-34 at the head of the canal to outfall OH-007 at the Salt Lot, following the alignment of the canal. The soft ground tunnel will be 100 feet below the canal and is expected to have a 100 year life expectancy.
Clarke admitted that all work on the tunnel so far "has been conceptual" and that "the tank program" is "still moving ahead." He did tout several tunnel benefits:
-increased storage capacity
-provide equivalent solids reduction
-requires less disruption to the neighborhood during construction
-requires a comparable investment:$1.28 billion
-and provides a scalable system, allowing for future extensions to improve neighborhood flood resilience, accommodate future development and population growth.
DEP expects the tunnel to be completed by 2030, which according to Clarke "is a little bit longer time frame" than the tanks.
This means that NO CSO WILL BE CAPTURED BY THE CITY IN THE GOWANUS CANAL BEFORE 2030.
Unfortunately, the EPA was not at Tuesday's meeting because of the government shut-down, so there was no fact checking by the Federal Government.
Ultimately, it is EPA that will evaluate whether the CSO tunnel alternative is acceptable.
Personally, I have listened to DEP presentations in regards to the CSO issue for more than ten years.
These are my take aways and thoughts after Tuesday's presentation:
- Let us never forget that New York City would never have addressed this grave environmental issue if it had not been compelled to do so by the EPA as part of the Superfund designation.
-To this day, the City's efforts to reduce raw sewage flowing into our canal has cost over 100 million and has so far only resulted in acquiring two parcels of real estate at the head of the canal by eminent domain.
-DEP seems to be in no hurry to build either tank or tunnel. Why would it take 11 or more years to construct either one?
-If DEP really wanted to capture more CSOs, why not make the two tanks larger to match the tunnel's 16 million gallon capacity?
-The City's argument that the CSO tunnel provides a more scalable system because it can be made longer may be compelling, but anyone in the community who believes that the City will come back any time soon to add additional sections may be too optimistic.
In all these years, we have only seen pretty slides and heard much empty talk from New York City. That is not about to change.
And on a rainy day like today, raw sewage still makes its way into our canal.
If you have forgotten what a CSO event in the Gowanus Canal looks like, here is a reminder.
The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group will host its regularly scheduled meeting regarding the Canal's Superfund clean-up this Tuesday, January 22, 6:30 pm at Mary Star of the Sea Senior Apartments, 41 1st Street, Brooklyn .
This is bound to be an interesting meeting for anyone living in or near Gowanus, so I urge everyone to attend. This is our opportunity to ask DEP how much more time a tunnel will take, and how much more it will cost. More importantly, let us find out if this is yet another way for DEP to delay the City's part of the Superfund clean-up.
Today, we make way for Gowanus resident J. Moccasin Walker here on PMFA. Walker (his nom de plume) contacted us a few weeks ago to make us aware of a problem that has plagued his neighborhood for some time: drivers parking their cars on the sidewalk, thereby blocking the way for pedestrians.
After counting 24 cars and trucks parked on the sidewalk at the same time on Union Street between Nevins and 4th Avenue, he decided to reach out to the community to document and make aware of this issue.
What’s with all the cars parked on the sidewalk?
By J. Moccasin Walker ***
It seems like we have an epidemic of drivers parking cars on the sidewalks in Gowanus. Sidewalks are for pedestrians, not parked cars. They are for parents with strollers, folks in wheelchairs and little kids on scooters. Sidewalks are not for motor vehicles.
While there are a few technical exceptions, drivers are not allowed to park, stop or stand on any sidewalk in New York City.
Parking on sidewalks reduces pedestrian space. It can divert people into the street to pass. We need to make the city more pedestrian friendly, not less. It is true that growth has increased competing uses and pressures. More traffic of every kind is using the same real estate. Local businesses, long used to open loading space, are being squeezed. Workers who drive to jobs in manufacturing zones are competing with new residents for street parking. Crews working on new buildings or upgrading sewers and utilities are added to the mix, both with work vehicles and with the cars they commute in. Ultimately, new solutions may be needed that go beyond this or any neighborhood, but in the meantime, things have gotten out of hand. There were twenty-four vehicles parked on the sidewalks of Union Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues one day last fall!
One of these days a mom with young kids will step out into the street to pass a parked car. A big truck will be speeding by and suddenly there’ll be a tragedy. Let’s not wait for that, let’s sort this out now. Why doesn’t the NYPD, or Councilmember Levin or Lander address the problem before the next accident?
People need to work and live, but the sidewalks are not free square footage for every business to expand onto or for any driver to park on. It’s bad enough we have dysfunction, narcissism and lawlessness in the White House. The good people of Brooklyn should maintain a more civil society and respect our neighbors and our shared public space.
*** J. Moccasin Walker hopes to be an occasional contributor to Pardon Me For Asking. A driver, a bicyclist and a pedestrian, he is an ever more cantankerous idealist. If he had a blog it might be called "Don’t Get Me Started."
This isn’t in Gowanus, but it shows the problem perfectly. You can see the crosswalk in the foreground and cars parked on sidewalk. The pedestrian has been forced into the street, which is inconvenient, dangerous and just plain wrong. This was taken last week on 4th Avenue by Industry City.
These next two shots are on the east side of Nevins, opposite the Dand D pool and park.
This is Sackett just west of 3rd Avenue, looking west.
This is Sackett just west of 3rd Avenue again, looking the other way.
This shot is on the east side of 4th Avenue, looking north towards Douglass Street
This is the sidewalk by the gas station at Union Street and 4th Avenue
Here is more of the same at the gas station on Union and 4th.
Here is another shot of that gas station at night.If the cars belong to gas station employees,
they have all sorts of room in back to park a car or two.
This is Union Street west of 3rd Avenue.
Here’s Union east of 3rd Avenue
This is the north side of Union between 3rd and 4th.
This is the small garden on 4th Ave, just north of Union. This car had a Parks Department parking permit but it was for Queens. And there was room at the curb!
These are more shots back near the D and D pool, looking west towards Nevins.
Here is the same corner, by the D and D pool block, looking northeast.
The car wash on 4th Avenue and 1st Street has made the sidewalk a regular part of their shop. It is always soapy and slippery underfoot and nearly always blocked.
This is mid-block on Sackett Street, looking east from Nevins.
This is DeGraw Street just west of 3rd Avenue.
PMFA would like to thank Walker for this contribution and for making us aware of this 'epidemic.'
Let us hear from you, dear Readers. Are you noticing this issue in Gowanus as well?
Nothing will impact our Brooklyn neighborhood like the proposed rezoning of the Gowanus corridor. So it cannot be overstated that this issue is the most important one our community has had to face in quite some time. Let us all pay attention to it.
As you know, Mayor deBlasio, Councilmen Brad Lander and Stephen Levin, as well as a number of developers, who have bought up parcels in Gowanus, are hellbent on rezoning this corridor from manufacturing to mixed use, which will allow residential development of the scale of Lightstone's 363 and 365 Bond Street buildings.
The rezoning will likely bring tens of thousands of new residents to an area already burdened by crumbling or insufficient infrastructure. Let us not forget that the blocks along the canal slated for rezoning have been labeled Flood Zone A by FEMA. Most importantly, the Gowanus Canal, which was declared an EPA Superfund site in 2010, still needs to be remediated.
The NYC Department of City Planning just invited the community to take a look at their draft zoning proposal for Gowanus. From an email sent out by the agency yesterday: In June 2018, the City released Gowanus: A Framework for a Sustainable, Inclusive, Mixed-use Neighborhood, which identified goals and strategies, including recommended land use changes, to be developed and implemented as part of an overall Neighborhood Plan. Over the past six months, the Department of City Planning and multi-agency team have been working toward a comprehensive draft zoning proposal and with community partners to advance non-zoning strategies and priorities.
On February 6th, 6:00 PM, we invite you to come learn about the progress that has been made in planning for Gowanus. Attendees will have the opportunity to take a deep dive into the draft zoning proposal and non-zoning strategies and to discuss, give feedback and ask questions of City agencies. Attendees will also learn more about next steps in the neighborhood planning process.Information about the Neighborhood Planning Study, including prior updates can be found at www.nyc.gov/gowanus.
Please share this information with your neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Again, this rezoning will have huge impacts not only for Gowanus, but for Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.
Carroll Gardener and dad Taylor Mali has been on a mission of late. He has been going around the neighborhood snagging plastic bags out of trees with his homemade telescoping "Snatchelator".
How amazing is that?
Those ensnarled plastic bags sometimes hang from tree limbs for months if not years, creating eyesores all over our lovely neighborhood and City. It is wonderful that Taylor has taken the initiative to remove them from our street trees. Taylor's wife Rachel contacted PMFA to tell us about her husband's great community service. She writes: "My husband Taylor and I live on Union Street and he knows that I have a deep, almost obsessive hatred of plastic getting caught in the neighborhood's beautiful trees. I'm constantly picking up plastic trash when I see it blowing around because I'm afraid it will end up snagged on branches.
So as my Hanukkah present, Taylor went to Lowe's and bought a telescoping grappling hook thingy, which he modified into something he calls the "snatchelator", which he uses to snatch plastic out of tree branches. I posted about it on a couple local Facebook BoCoCa pages and people started sending us reports of trees that needed help, and now we take the kids and occasionally make the rounds, removing the bags we can reach (the snatchelator has a reach of about 28 feet, so we've been defeated by bags that are more than 3 stories high or things like balloons, that are hanging on by a string).
It's such a great service to the neighborhood and probably the coolest present I've ever gotten, even if it's not exactly romantic!
Here is a video Taylor made of him snagging bags this morning from the Bradford pear outside the Mormon meeting center on Court St. Enjoy!"
If you happen to see Taylor on the streets of Carroll Gardens with his snatchelator in hand, make sure to thank him for liberating our trees of plastic.
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