Same As It Ever Was In Gowanus: It Is Clear That New York City Plans To Allow New Housing First, Deal With Extra Sewage Later.

March 27 2019 meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

Jonathan Keller, NYC Department of City Planning

Angela Licata, NYC DEP Deputy Commissioner

Proposed Gowanus upzoning  

Raw Sewage and toxic discharges floating past 363 and 365 Bond Street in Gowanus

A plume of sewage floating past 363-365 Bond Street

How can New York City envision  an up-zoning that would bring thousands of new residents to the Gowanus Canal area when it has not yet addressed the fact that it still releases significant amounts of raw sewage into the waterway  and will continue to do so for at least another ten years?

That is the question members of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group asked  representatives of both New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) and NYC's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at the group's general meeting last night.

Either Jonathan Keller of NYC DCP or Angela Licata of NYC DEP were unprepared to give specific answers, but it became clear throughout the conversation that the City plans to allow new buildings to go up first, and then deal with the additional sewage afterwards

And that is all backwards.

How did we get here?

The City and developers have been itching to up-zone the Gowanus neighborhood to allow more residential developments. The proposal calls for buildings that may reach 22 to 30 stories along the heavily polluted canal, which the EPA declared a Superfund in 2010.

The rezoning is slated to move through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) by the end of 2019. Since ULURP takes about 9 months to 12 months to complete, developers could potentially begin building their residential towers by the end of next year.

Everyone may also remember that EPA, as part of its Superfund clean-up, has mandated that NYC DEP must finally cease the practice of dumping raw sewage into the Gowanus Canal during heavy rain events. The Federal Government has ordered New York City to build two Combined Sewer Overflow tanks to remedy the situation and to protect its Superfund clean-up, once it is completed. The larger of the two tanks, is planned for the head of the Canal, next to the largest CSO outfall.

Instead of swiftly moving ahead with fulfilling its obligation in light of the City's rezoning efforts, DEP has managed to delay the completion date for the head of Canal tank, by first insisting on building it on land that needed to be taken by eminent domain instead of placing it under a City-owned park. Recently, the City has switched course entirely by proposing a tunnel under the canal, in place of the tank.

The community is looking at a scenario in which thousands more residents may be living next to an open sewer by 2020, while DEP is pushing the completion date for a CSO tunnel or tank  to 2030 and probably beyond.

Though Angela Licata last night told the Gowanus community that DEP had already invested significantly to reduce Combined Sewer Overflows (sewage) into the canal, with projects like a sponge park, rain gardens, high level storm sewers, investments on the Gowanus Pumping Station and controls of "floatables."

However, Licata revealed that even with the construction of the two EPA mandated CSO tanks, the City is dealing strictly with current CSO conditions, and is not addressing any additional measures to offset new development.

In other words, the current CSO remedy will be outdated the moment the up-zoning goes through and new high-rises get built.

Members of the CAG urged both DEP and City Planning to plan ahead and to think outside of the box. One of the  CAG suggestions was to write into the proposed rezoning that new buildings should be required to separate gray and black water to reduce the burden on our sewers.

Neither agencies seemed eager to push that idea forward.

In the absence of logical thinking by the City of New York, it is reassuring to know that the EPA, at least is planning for the future. The 2013 Gowanus Canal Superfund Record of Decision, the legal blueprint for the clean-up of the polluted canal, specifically requires that "the capacity of the retention tanks will need to accommodate the projected additional loads  to the combined sewer system as a result of current and future residential development, including future rainfall increases that may result from climate change."

DEP and DCP better figure out what more housing, more residents, and more poop would mean to a neighborhood that has literally been dumped on for decades.

Otherwise, we as a community, have a right to tell the City that no rezoning should be allowed to go forward before adequately sized CSO tanks are completed.

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CSO Tank Vs CSO Tunnel: Is DEP's New Alternative Yet Another Way To Delay A Solution To Untreated Sewage Flowing Into The Gowanus Canal?

Gowanus Canal CAG member Brad Vogel facilitating the meeting

Kevin Clarke, NYC DEP project manager giving presentation

CSO TUNNEL vs. the CSO TANKS

Reflections on DEP's Presentation to the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group

on January 22, 2019

Dear Neighbors,
You may remember that as part of the Gowanus Canal Superfund Cleanup, the Environmental Protection Agency has named the City Of New York the second largest Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) for discharging "hazardous substance-contaminated untreated sewage" into the canal.

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 tank on 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 City scored a victory of sorts, when, in June 2016, then-EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck was willing to make concessions to the City by signing a settlement agreement allowing the siting of the 8-million gallon tank at  the head-of-the- canal site.

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.

In November 2018 at its monthly meeting, the Gowanus Community Advisory Group

(CAG) was shocked to hear DEP's bombshell announcement that the agency was advancing an alternate proposal for a Combined Sewer Overflow storage tunnel under the Canal, instead of the two CSO tanks that DEP has been advancing.

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.

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'Not Gowanusy Enough' And "Save The Gowanus Station Building": Local Residents React To DEP's Proposed Gowanus Canal Combined Sewer Overflow Facility Design

Council Member Stephen Levin, in whose district the facility will be built.

Michael DeLoach, DEP Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs and Communications

Alicia West, DEP Director of Public Design Outreach

RH-03, the 2.4 acre site in Gowanus, where DEP is planning on building the facility.

Conceptual Design for proposed Gowanus Canal CSO Facility at head of Canal

Conceptual design for the open public space planned over the retention tank.

Last night, New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Council Member Stephen Levin held a joint public meeting to give the community a preview of the proposed design for the Gowanus Canal Combined Sewage Overflow facility at the head of the canal at Butler Street.

You may remember that D.E.P. is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to build an 8-million gallon sewage retention tank at the head-end of the Gowanus Canal to reduce the volume of untreated wastewater entering the waterway as part of the Superfund clean-up.

D.E.P. has taken the requirement for a simple tank to a whole new level by insisting that the C.S.O. tank will also need a massive head house. The building will hold screens, a de-gritter and odor control equipment, as well as an electric room, boiler and other mechanical spaces.

Because of D.E.P.'s insistence that the 8-million gallon CSO Facility be constructed on two privately owned properties at Butler Street between Nevins and DeGraw Street instead of using City-owned parkland across the street as E.P.A. had suggested, the price tag has mushroomed. D.E.P. has estimated the cost for land acquisition of the two lots at $90 million alone, with an additional $400 million for the construction of the facility.

At a City Council hearing in March 2018, Kevin Clarke of D.E.P. spoke of a combined cost of $1.2 billion for both the 8-million gallon tank and a 4-million gallon tank in the middle portion of the canal  that the City is also required to build.
(It is important to note that the E.P.A. had estimated the cost for both the 8-million gallon AND the smaller 4-million gallon Canal at $77 million for both.)

At last night's meeting Council Member Stephen Levin, in whose district the head-of-the-canal facility will be constructed, defended this large expenditure and this financial burden to New York City taxpayers.

"The cost for both of these tanks is likely to be over $1 billion, which is massive. It deserves a long conversation and a real discussion on why that is. I think when you see [DEP's] presentation tonight, you'll get a sense of the scale of this project and why it could possibly cost that much. I just want to say, as an overall perspective, capital projects in New York City always cost much more than we think that they should. Whether it is a park, or a school, or a massive infrastructure project like this one, it is always, always more expensive," he explained." So when that price tag comes up, don't be shocked."

To design the facility, the City has hired two engineering firms: Brown and Caldwell, as well as Hazen and Sawyer. ( See https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160921/gowanus/feds-probe-de-blasio-fundraiser-whose-engineering-firm-won-big-contracts/).

The City also hired Selldorf Architects and DLandStudios, the landscape firm currently positioning itself to make the most of the upcoming Gowanus Canal corridor re-zoning with their Gowanus Canal Sponge Park Masterplan.

Alicia West, DEP Director of Public Design Outreach gave the public its first real look at the proposed design of the massive head house at the northern end of the 2.4 acre site, and the public accessible open space over the tank itself.

To camouflage much of the more unsightly air intakes and outflows  required for the head house Selldorf Architects is proposing a 'breathable cloak" made of terra cotta louvers, like a 'Venetian blind.'

The architectural goal, according to D.E.P. was to establish a 'thoughtful architectural design that respects the character and feel of the neighborhood", by employing "materials that are evocative" of Gowanus.

Michael DeLoach, DEP Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs and Communications, left no doubt that his agency plans on demolishing the iconic and historic beaux-arts Gowanus Station building on the site, despite repeated calls from the community that is should be saved and incorporated into the overall facility. Instead, D.E.P. maintains that the building is in deplorable shape and can not be saved.

DeLoach explained that 'significant architectural elements' from the building will be saved and integrated on the site.

Most of the residents present seemed unconvinced that D.E.P. was really trying to save the building.

Gowanus resident Brad Vogel felt that D.E.P.'s design for the facility had "not started from a place where the Gowanus Station building would be preserved." He argued that saving 'tidbits' of the building was just not good enough and that pieces of a building, once stored in a warehouse, have a tendency to get lost.

The main goal for many who spoke up last night was to save the entire building, and to perhaps, use it as a community space.

As for the design of the head house and its Venetian-blind cladding, there was little enthusiasm.

People felt that is really did no truly reflect the neighborhood's character, as D.E.P. was claiming.

It was not "Gowanusy" enough, as one resident pointed out.

Suggestions for the 1.6 acres of proposed open space above the tank included a more active use, water access for boaters, indoor community spaces, and  covered areas for a makers market.

The community also urged D.E.P. to consider New York City's 2050 projections for sea level rise and to incorporate resiliency standards.

The most important aspect of all of this is that E.P.A. has yet to approve of D.E.P. 's engineering plans for the facility. It is also significant that E.P.A. will make the final determination whether the Gowanus Station will be saved or not.

Below is a flier handed out by a member of the community in regards to saving the Gowanus Station.

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Camouflaged With #METOO Legislation, Eminent Domain Acquisition Of Sites In Gowanus For C.S.O. Tank Easily Sails Through City Council

Councilman Steve Levin at yesterday's vote at City Council

Kevin Clarke of D.E.P. testifying in front of 

NYC Council's Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Use meeting 3/12/18

Video courtesy of New York City Council

Always an engaged citizen and someone who likes to see things through, I took the time to attend
New York City Council's meeting yesterday afternoon.  On the agenda was a vote on an important Gowanus issue that I have written about on this site from the very beginning: an application by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for the proposed site selection and acquisition of three privately owned properties at 242  Nevins Street, 270 Nevins Street, and 234 Butler Street "to facilitate the construction of the “Head End Facility” as part of the larger project to construct combined sewer overflow (“CSO”) control facilities to reduce the volume of untreated wastewater entering the Gowanus Canal."
This project is located in Council Member Stephen Levin’s district, who attended the meeting. His colleague, Councilmember Brad Lander, whose district covers a larger section of the Gowanus Canal, was absent.

This land acquisition at the head of the canal only accommodates an 8 million gallon CSO retention tank mandated by the Federal government as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund clean-up of the polluted waterway.  D.E.P. also has to construct a 4 million gallon tank in the middle portion of the canal, in Councilmember Brad Lander's district.

At a hearing of the City Council's  Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses on March 12, 2018, D.E.P.'s Kevin Clarke testified that the cost for the entire 'program' that includes both tanks is estimated to reach $1.2 Billion.  That is more than twice the entire cost of the Superfund Clean-Up, which E.P.A. estimates at $500 million.
The estimated cost for the acquisition of the sites at the head of the canal is $90 million, according to Clarke, with an additional $400 million for the construction of the 8 million gallon tank.
(I am really, really not good at math, but that would mean that the smaller tank will cost $700 million? How is that possible?)
Please keep in mind that the EPA estimated the cost at $77 million for both tanks, suggesting that they be build on land already owned by the City to keep cost down.

Given what amounts to a "remarkably expensive endeavor" (Councilman Levin's words),
I had hoped for an animated discussion on the item from his fellow Councilmembers.
After all, it is not every day that the City proposes to spend such a huge amount of money in two Councilmen's districts.

Imagine my surprise when I realized yesterday that application # C 180065 PCK for the site acquisition at the head of the canal was bundled together with at least 25 other items, safely camouflaged with several items pertaining to the “Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act".

Now, I applaud all the Councilmembers who voted overwhelmingly to support the #MeToo movement and secure protection from sexual harassment, yet one wonders if they were even aware that they were also voting for such a huge ticket item.

On the other hand, I may just be naïve. After all, such items are regularly slipped into bills and votes in Washington and Albany.

Please don't misunderstand me. I support the construction of both C.S.O. retention tanks. The City has to stop using the Gowanus Canal as an open sewer.  But the City which has ignored the pleas of the community to stop dumping raw sewage into our canal for decades now seems to want to line these tanks in gold.

Indeed, with a massive re-zoning of the Gowanus corridor that would allow the construction of residential buildings in this once vibrant industrial neighborhood, one has to wonder if the City  is instead planning what one Gowanus resident recently called "the Taj Mahal of sewer treatment facilities" to accommodate developers and their planned condos instead of two simple tanks as mandated by the E.P.A.

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Community Activists Planning Candle Light Vigil To Save Iconic Gowanus Station

The Gowanus Station Building at 234 Butler Street is at risk.

 

Candle Light Vigil To Save Iconic Gowanus Station will be held on April 10 from 6:30 to 7:30 at the building site, 234 Butler Street, corner of Nevins Street. 

(Rain Date is April 12 at 6:30-7:30).

Community activists are continuing to speak out  against a plan by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Agency to demolish the iconic Gowanus Station building on Butler Street.

To have their voices heard, they will be holding a Candle Light Vigil at the building and are encouraging others to join. 

For a bit of background on the building and how we got here:

If the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Agency has its way, the beautiful former City of New York Water Supply Distribution Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street at the corner of Nevins Street will be demolished as part of the current plan to build an 8 million gallon Combined Sewer Overflow tank and facility head house on the site it occupies,

This two-story beaux-arts building, built in 1913 by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, not only reflects the larger context of Gowanus as one of the earliest and busiest industrial and manufacturing centers in this country, it is also unique for being the only building that actually bears the name of the neighborhood.

There has been much advocacy from members of the community to save the building, or at the very least, incorporate its facade into D.E.P.'s design for the C.S.O. facility.

Support came from the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which wrote in October 2017: "Based on our review of the project details to date, it appears feasible to retain and incorporate the historic former Gowanus Station Building (234) Butler Street into the project. This building which has a prominent street presence on the corner and the very edge of the city’s preferred site, has overreaching significance on the National Register eligible Gowanus Historic District. Its demolition would adversely affect both the building and the National Register eligible Gowanus Canal Historic District. To destroy this intact, architecturally distinctive example of Brooklyn’s civic and industrial heritage would be a disservice to the Gowanus neighborhood and to the city as a whole.”

Borough President Eric Adams also noted that the entire building is valued as a local resource and has been found to be significant by SHPO as part of the National Register Gowanus Historic District. "Given the building's significance to members of the community, if additional testing determines that the building's walls are structurally sound, it would be worthwhile to consider retaining the walls using creative architectural and engineering solutions, integrated into the facility's design."

Community Board 6 acknowledged the importance of the building to the community and asked DEP to "consider an alternative design to save the historic structure." 

Yet, New York City D.E.P. seems determined to take a wrecking ball to 234 Butler Street. Why wouldn't the agency attempt to take the wishes of the community into consideration, you ask? Many would say that the City has never been very transparent or trustworthy when it comes to Gowanus.

To better understand the matter regarding the Gowanus Station building and how it relates to the planned C.S.O facility, let us rewind a bit.

You may remember that in June of 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an agreement with the City of New York that secures the design of the larger of two combined sewage and storm water overflow (CSO) retention tanks, mandated by the Federal Agency as part of Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup.

The agreement allows New York City to locate an 8 million gallon retention tank in New York City’s preferred location, known as the “Head-of-Canal” location. It also stipulates that the EPA can require New York City to place the tank at the EPA-suggested Thomas Greene Park location instead "if certain activities do not occur on schedule, including if New York City is not able to acquire the land at the Head-of-Canal location within approximately four years."

The City's plan relies on the taking of two privately owned sites, 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street, by eminent domain. A third site, 270 Nevins Street, which currently houses a film production studio, will be seized and then leased by the City for temporary staging purposes.

An application submitted by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) for the acquisition of these three privately-owned parcels needed for the Gowanus CSO Facility is currently moving through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). DEP expects the ULURP to be completed by April 2018, when the NYC Council will cast a final vote.

In the meantime, D.E.P. is designing the C.S.O. facility, which includes a huge head house (for maintenance and odor control). According to the agency's plans, that head house will be located in the footprint of the Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street.

                                                                                                                 

Kevin Clarke, the DEP Project Coordinator, told the community that his agency had determined that it was "not technically feasible" to keep the building, nor its façade, since the excavation for the retention tank would seriously undermine the structure. 

According to Clarke, the Gowanus Station is too brittle, had been altered too many times over its lifetime, and did not meet code anymore. Besides, DEP feels that saving the building would 'not be a prudent expenditure."

Instead, DEP would salvage the building's parapet and other exterior elements and display them in the publicly accessible areas of the completed C.S.O. facility.   

That is not enough for those who want to keep this piece of Gowanus history.

Please join the candle light vigil and make your voice heard.

                                                  

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Despite Overwhelming Community Advocacy To Save The Iconic Gowanus Station Building On Butler Street, New York City Determined To Demolish It

The Gowanus Station Building at 234 Butler Street is at risk.

At Tuesday night's meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group 

Christos Tsiami, US EPA Region 2's Project Manager for the Gowanus Canal Superfund Site

Kevin Clarke, the NYC DEP Project Coordinator

Salvatore Tagliavia and his wive Lena, owners of 234 Butler Street

at Tuesday's meeting

If the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Agency has its way, the beautiful former City of New York Water Supply Distribution Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street at the corner of Nevins Street will be demolished as part of the current plan to build an 8 million gallon Combined Sewer Overflow tank and facility head house on the site it occupies,

This two-story beaux-arts building, built in 1913 by the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, not only reflects the larger context of Gowanus as one of the earliest and busiest industrial and manufacturing centers in this country, it is also unique for being the only building that actually bears the name of the neighborhood.

There has been much advocacy from members of the community to save the building, or at the very least, incorporate its facade into D.E.P.'s design for the C.S.O. facility.

Support came from the New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which wrote in October 2017: "Based on our review of the project details to date, it appears feasible to retain and incorporate the historic former Gowanus Station Building (234) Butler Street into the project. This building which has a prominent street presence on the corner and the very edge of the city’s preferred site, has overreaching significance on the National Register eligible Gowanus Historic District. Its demolition would adversely affect both the building and the National Register eligible Gowanus Canal Historic District. To destroy this intact, architecturally distinctive example of Brooklyn’s civic and industrial heritage would be a disservice to the Gowanus neighborhood and to the city as a whole.”

Borough President Eric Adams also noted that the entire building is valued as a local resource and has been found to be significant by SHPO as part of the National Register Gowanus Historic District. "Given the building's significance to members of the community, if additional testing determines that the building's walls are structurally sound, it would be worthwhile to consider retaining the walls using creative architectural and engineering solutions, integrated into the facility's design."

Community Board 6 acknowledged the importance of the building to the community and asked DEP to "consider an alternative design to save the historic structure." 

Yet, New York City D.E.P. seems determined to take a wrecking ball to 234 Butler Street. Why wouldn't the agency attempt to take the wishes of the community into consideration, you ask? Many would say that the City has never been very transparent or trustworthy when it comes to Gowanus.

To better understand the matter regarding the Gowanus Station building and how it relates to the planned C.S.O facility, let us rewind a bit.

You may remember that in June of 2016, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an agreement with the City of New York that secures the design of the larger of two combined sewage and storm water overflow (CSO) retention tanks, mandated by the Federal Agency as part of Gowanus Canal Superfund cleanup.

The agreement allows New York City to locate an 8 million gallon retention tank in New York City’s preferred location, known as the “Head-of-Canal” location. It also stipulates that the EPA can require New York City to place the tank at the EPA-suggested Thomas Greene Park location instead "if certain activities do not occur on schedule, including if New York City is not able to acquire the land at the Head-of-Canal location within approximately four years."

The City's plan relies on the taking of two privately owned sites, 234 Butler Street and 242 Nevins Street, by eminent domain. A third site, 270 Nevins Street, which currently houses a film production studio, will be seized and then leased by the City for temporary staging purposes.

An application submitted by New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) for the acquisition of these three privately-owned parcels needed for the Gowanus CSO Facility is currently moving through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). DEP expects the ULURP to be completed by April 2018, when the NYC Council will cast a final vote.

In the meantime, D.E.P. is designing the C.S.O. facility, which includes a huge head house (for maintenance and odor control). According to the agency's plans, that head house will be located in the footprint of the Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street.

At the February general meeting of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG), attended by representatives from EPA, DEP, New York's State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, the entire meeting was set aside to discuss the Gowanus Station.

Kevin Clarke, the DEP Project Coordinator, told the community that his agency had determined that it was "not technically feasible" to keep the building, nor its façade, since the excavation for the retention tank would seriously undermine the structure. 

According to Clarke, the Gowanus Station was too brittle, had been altered too many times over its lifetime, and did not meet code anymore. Besides, DEP felt that saving the building would 'not be a prudent expenditure."

Instead, DEP would salvage the building's parapet and other exterior elements and display them in the publicly accessible areas of the completed C.S.O. facility.

Conveniently, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has supported DEP's assertions and has "deemed the Gowanus Station too altered to grant it individual landmark status."

This prompted Salvatore Tagliavia and his wife Lena, the current owners of the 234 Butler Street to raise skepticism at Tuesday's CAG meeting. 

Not only is New York City planning to acquire their property by eminent domain, but NYC LPC is making recommendations on a building that the City plans on demolishing.

Ideally, LPC would make recommendations solely on the historic worthiness of a structure.

In this case, one could make the case that there is a clear conflict of interest and that the lines are sufficiently blurred to be skeptical of LPC's determination.

SHPO also seems to have toed the line, changing its overwhelming support to incorporate the Gowanus Station building into the overall design of the CSO facility in late 2017, to accepting "the project alternatives as presented" and concurring with DEP that "there appear to be no prudent and feasible alternatives to demolition of 234 Butler and 242-244 Nevins Street" by early February 2018.

It is important to know that on June 30th, 2017, DEP filed documents with EPA for the first phase of the tank design, which pertain to "site preparation and demolition". Apparently, the City has been working on a contract to demolish the building, making clear that it never earnestly looked into saving it.

It is also important to remember that the EPA will have final say on the City's CSO facility design and what happens on the site. 

Stay tuned! As always, things in Gowanus are interesting, never simple, and often perplexing.

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Members Of Gowanus Canal CAG Sit Down With DEP Representatives And Ask Agency To Do More

Jim Mueller, Assistant Commissioner DEP,  Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner,  Kevin Clarke,  environmental engineer.

Testimony of Carter Strickland,Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), March 27, 2012
"At the moment DEP is concerned that EPA is considering a complete cessation of CSOs into the Gowanus Canal as part of the Superfund cleanup, even though the site was put on the National Priorities List because of contaminated sediment from historic industrial processes unconnected to the sewer system. Under the Clean Water Act and the CSO program administered by the State, DEP has considered whether CSOs could be reduced to near zero and concluded that it would be infeasible and that tanks or tunnels could cost billions without a substantial increase in water quality. Needless to say, a billion-dollar construction project in this area of Brooklyn would also create daunting traffic and construction-related impacts for well over a decade. Accordingly, DEP selected our current $136 million Gowanus Facilities Plan, which will reduce CSOs by 34% plus another 10% from High-Level Storm Sewers and green infrastructure. We are in active discussions with the EPA right now, and strongly disagree with the position that an enormous City-funded construction project is a necessary prerequisite to an EPA-led Superfund cleanup."

Last night, members of the EPA Gowanus Canal Superfund Community Advisory Group's Water Quality and Technical Committee met with representatives of the City's Department Of Environmental Protection to engage in a more meaningful dialog with the agency and to advocate for the elimination of Combined Sewer Overflow Discharges that result in the presence of pathogens in the waterway, including coliform and enterococci.

These pathogens present unacceptable health risks from contact with the water and sediments of the Canal.  As long as New York City, which has been named a Potencially Responsible Party (PRP) for its role in contributing to the toxins, allows CSOs to continue to discharge into the Gowanus, there will be ongoing environmental and potential human health risks, as well as a high chance of recontamination even after the Superfund clean-up.

Representing the DEP last night were Angela Licata, Deputy Commissioner, Jim Mueller, Assistant Commissioner, Planning and Capital Projects, Kevin Clarke and Julie Stein.   Members of the CAG did not lose any time to let DEP know that the Community expected the agency to work together with EPA to get the most comprehensive, effective clean-up within the timeframe of the Superfund. "This is great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by investing the necessary money to have the water that goes into the canal be as clean as it can be," stated one CAG member. "Get it done right. Get it done once. Get it done now," another member told the DEP representatives. Yet another added: "We would like to see the same level of engagement from DEP as we see from EPA."
Yes, New York City is currently in the process of implementing upgrades to the Gowanus Canal facilities, which it claims will reduce CSO discharges by about 34% and another 10% from newly installed High-Level Storm Sewers and green infrastructure. That, however, simply is not good enough for many members in the community. "We have a pretty good understanding of what the City is proposing, but frankly, more needs to be done. We want more," member Steven Miller stated.

"We see this as a very opportune time for us to begin anew and to think of the long-term planning for the canal," Angela Licata told the CAG. She was quick to point out that the City's combined sewer system is a legacy system. "When it rains, you are not going to engineer your way out of that. If you never want to have sewer in the canal again, we will have to separate the system." Indeed, the gray infrastructure in the Gowanus area is underserving the community on all fronts even with the current upgrades. In addition, no real planning seems to have gone into providing new infrastructure for all the additional housing that is likely to be built along the canal in the near future.

Licata also spoke of the consent order just negotiated between NYC and Albany. "Our commitments and requirements persuent to that, require that we build out green infrastructure to a certain extend. We have to get 1" of rain over 10% of the impervious areas in the CSO watersheds of the City. And we need to develop these so-called long-term control plans. Those should envision a path forward that will carry us for the next 10 to 20 years."
(This sounds more impressive than it is. Basically, it means that New York State's Department Of Environmental Conservation has once again allowed the City to not meet the Federal clean water standards set decades ago.)

"We have to develop a plan for that waterbody," Licata continued. "We think it is quite appropriate that we start to envision this with you. What we will be looking at is a combination of solutions where we want to evaluate all the possible alternatives We need to do that in a way that achieves certain goals. We have to be able to move some of the dials on water quality and we also have to look at what is going to be cost effective."

CAG member Rita Miller mentioned that the EPA has suggested that a retention basin would solve the problem of toxins being emitted into the Gowanus.  Miller added "At the same time, it would do wonders for the pathogens flowing into the canal and perhaps satisfy some of the Clean Water Act requirements as well. Why does there seem to be resistance to that suggestion?" she asked Licata. "It seems perfectly reasonable to us. It seems like a perfectly do-able plan. You have done it in other places."

Licata's answered: "We have done retention tanks. Its a no-brainer. We have done it at Paerdegat Basin, Alley Creek and Flushing. So why not do it here? One of the things is that at those locations, you had a tremendous amount of volume that was all located at one point, so that the economy of scale was tremendous." She added: "I just want to be clear. Its not that we are discounting it here. I think it's a fair question. We should take another look at it. But I think the cost benefit on that is going to be really, really tough."

Rita Miller responded: "I would like to remind you that this is a very densely populated area. City Planning has a framework that makes it even denser. I don't see any reason why the kind of attention that has been given to other neighborhoods would not be given here, given the fact that this canal is so tiny, so narrow, that the concentration of toxins is just tremendous."

I can only speak for myself, but as a CAG member and a long time resident, I have the feeling that the City is trying to shirk its responsibility towards the Gowanus Canal Community for as long as it can. Rather than to work with the EPA to find a real solution that would address the CSOs in conjunction with the Superfund clean-up, it is trying to stall and kick the problem down the road.

Shame on Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Caswell Halloway and DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland for continuing to ignore the community and for proposing a sorely inadequate plan to deal with a real health problem.
Stop lobbying and do what's right, already!

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