Tic Tac Toe: Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Rezoning Meeting Proves Why ULURP Meetings CANNOT Be Held Virtually

Listen Up, dear Gowanus neighbors! Mayor De Blasio wants to deny us one fundamental rights provided to all residents in the City.

Last night's Community Board 6 Land Use/Landmark meeting about the Gowanus Rezoning with the Department of City Planning (DCP) was held virtually, and it became clear quickly that it was highly curated and that the board carefully chose which questions from the community they allowed. The audience could not see each other, there was seemingly no way to see who participated, and early on, board member Daniel Kummer was thrown off the call. At one point, the chat function was temporarily disabled while Councilmember Brad Lander sang the praises of the democratic planning process he provided to the Gowanus community.

About 350 people had signed into the meeting, which shows amazing engagement for an issue that will have tremendous consequences not only for Gowanus, but also Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope. After all, the proposed rezoning covers 80 blocks.  However, we should insist on a moratorium on the rezoning while it is not possible to hold safe, large-scale, in-person public hearings.

Here is why:

"To become law, the rezoning needs to go through a months-long public Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, a process mandated by the New York City Charter. The charter requires public hearings at several stages of the ULURP process be held in places of public assembly in a physical location. 

An attempt by the city to proceed with "virtual" public hearings for the proposed Gowanus rezoning while it is not possible to hold safe, large-scale, in-person public hearings will violate the city charter's requirements for ULURP." 

Now, City Planning knows this, CB6's Executive Board knows this, and so does Councilman Brad Lander and are on board with the certification of the rezoning in January 2021.

Therefore, last night's dog and pony show was an attempt to normalize something that is just not normal...during the Covid-19 pandemic that has turned previous assumptions about Gowanus and the rest of the City upside down.

No new information was given to residents last night.  DCP's Jonathan Keller tried his best to make the argument that Covid has made the need for 8,000 units of housing in 22 and 30 story buildings  more urgent, while we know that entire office buildings that could be converted to housing now stand vacant and apartment vacancies are at an all time high.

Councilman Brad Lander, who is currently running for Comptroller, is proposing the sale of air rights to private developers to help finance repairs to the three badly deteriorated NYCHA developments, Wyckoff Gardens, Gowanus Houses and Warren Street Houses.

To him, achieving this goal is his "fundamental bottom line" for supporting the rezoning. Without it, "it is not worthy of moving forward," he declared last night.

One does have to wonder why it would take the largest upzoning in current New York City history to bring relief to NYCHA residents.

Brad Lander has been in the New York Council for 11 years, having benefited of  the right to a third term under former Mayor Bloomberg. What has Lander done for NYCHA residents in all these long years.

And where was his side-kick Councilman Stephen Levin, whose district actually includes the three NYCHA developments. Another three-termer, he didn't even bother to log into the meeting last night.

Even NYCHA resident Karen Blondel, who is a member of the pro-Gowanus-development Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice and community organizer for the Fifth Avenue Committee, seemed peeved.

"In a comment on the sidebar, she wrote: "We need a NYCHA plan now before certification. Where is the upfront funding for Gowanus and Wyckoff?"

Where is it, indeed?

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Important! Department of City Planning To Present Draft Zoning Proposal For Gowanus At Public Meeting

Hello, neighbors!

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.

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SAVE Gowanus Station: Join Tonight's Candlelight Vigil To Preserve Iconic Neighborhood Building

Here is a reminder to all who love Gowanus and its unique history as one of the United States first industrial neighborhoods. Please join tonight's candle light vigil and help save one of our community's most iconic buildings.

Neighborhood Candlelight Vigil Tomorrow - Save Gowanus Station - April 10th

Join a coalition of Gowanus neighborhood groups and residents as we ask public officials to avoid demolishing the iconic Gowanus Station building at 234 Butler Street. The candlelight vigil at Gowanus Station starts at 6:30 p.m. on April 10th (rain date April 12 at 6:30 p.m.).

For a bit of background:
If the NYC DEP 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 a large site that currently includes the Gowanus Station footprint.

This two-story beaux-arts style 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.

The vigil is not in opposition to the CSO tank; we support construction of the tank, but there are creative design alternatives that would permit retention of the historic Gowanus Station building as a key part of neighborhood identity. For more details, please see the web link. 

For more on the Gowanus Station and what is at stake, click here:

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

A SAVE ME banner is a recent addition to the building

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