The Gowanus Canal

[BBMW]

^
The look is prettier than the reality.

[Merry]

Lightstone Reveals Plans for 700-Unit Colossus on the Canal

by Dave Hogarty





A team of execs and development professionals appeared before members of Brooklyn's Community Board 6 and the public yesterday to present plans for the former Tolls Bros. site between Bond Street and the canal at 1st Street. The project is now going to be rentals, with 700 units instead of the 447 condo units Toll Bros. had planned for the site. Despite the sharp increase in the number of apartments, Lightstone says it won't be going through another ULURP for the site because there are only minor modifications to the planned building's size, with no increase to the building's height, which will top out at 12 stories in some sections along the canal.

The Toll Bros. plan to build 447 market rate condos was seemingly scotched by the designation of the Gowanus canal as a Superfund site. Lightstone's plan calls for a building virtually the same size, but with 560 market rate apartments and 140 affordable housing apartments. There will be retail space along the Bond Street side of the development and community spaces on the canal and 1st Streets. And instead of turning its back on the canal, the Lightstone plan is treating the infamous waterway as a major amenity and includes a waterfront promenade.

Most of the questions from the community board and locals involved the impact of the project on storm drain and sewer systems, which the company replied to with assurances that the plan was drawn up to be a net benefit to the neighborhood's infrastructure.

One local was concerned about the stress that the large development would put on the neighborhood's already-troubled sewage system, and described how he recently had five feet of raw sewage flood his home's basement. At one point he invited a Lightstone exec over to his home the next time it rains heavily in order to experience firsthand the thrill of an in-home sewage pool. "I'll make coffee," he added in an attempt to sweeten the offer.

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/0...canal.php#more

[infoshare]

It is still a superfund site: why is that an insurmountable obstacle to the former developer , but not to the latter. Something tells me some of those aforementioned 'executives' are Bloomberg cronies. HeHe

[BBMW]

^Rentals are an easier sell (to potential residents) than condos. People will rent much more easily, since they have no long term investment in the place.

If this is as of right, why do they need to go before the community board? Or are the just trying to be diplomatic.

[infoshare]

I was just pondering as to why Toll Bros can not make a go of the project as a rental development: but, this 'unknown' developer can obviously make it a profitable venture. The toll bros has many residential developments - here is one http://www.tollbrothers.com/NJ/The_M...ceton_Junction

And, yes my guess is that going to the community board for their 'advisory' approval is a politically savvy approach to expediting the project.

[Merry]

Community Board Six Votes Against Rental Building on Gowanus Canal

By Heather Holland

Community Board Six’s Land Use committee voted against the Lightstone Group's proposal to build a 700-unit rental building on the Gowanus Canal.

At least 100 members of the community attended an Assembly meeting held by the community board’s Land Use committee on Thursday night, where the developer made a presentation of its proposal to build a rental building, similar to the original Toll Brothers proposal, at 363-365 Bond St.

“We will not only be cleaning the land and the contaminants that maybe there, but we are also doing major things, costing millions of dollars,” said Ethan Geto, a spokeman for the Lightstone Group.

“Including the placement of a new bulkhead at the barrier of the canal, which is currently highly deteriorated.”

Lightstone Group assured community members that the new building would be capped at 12 stories, include 20 percent affordable housing, specifically 140 units, and include an esplanade that would be open to the public.

The developer also claimed that the development would have a neutral impact on the environment, that they would be purchasing new storm sewers, a bulkhead, and green roofs to ensure that the Canal isn’t contaminated any further.

Members of the committee, however, weren’t convinced and asked that the developer obtain a new Environmental Impact Statement. The committee also asked that the building be capped at eight stories instead of 12, before giving the developer a red light.

The developer claimed that while the new proposal would include about 150 more units than the original Toll Brother Proposal, which proposed 447, there would only be a 20 percent increase in population.

This might mean hundreds more students flooding into the areas zoned schools like P.S. 32 and The New Horizon School middle school.

“Obviously, a large increase in school-age children zoned for P.S. 32, in an area of Brooklyn with already over-crowded schools, would have an impact upon us and others in District 15,” said Larissa Bailiff, PTA president of P.S. 32.

One resident praised the proposal for bringing more affordable housing.

“It is important to take it one step at a time,” said Bill Duke, another resident. “In my experience, there is a big shortage of affordable housing in this neighborhood.”

Despite the committee’s disapproval, the proposal can still be approved by the city's Department of Planning.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2012...#ixzz27pA650kE

Critics: Gowanus Canal Development Would Be Too Populous

[mariab]

“We will not only be cleaning the land and the contaminants that maybe there, but we are also doing major things, costing millions of dollars,” said Ethan Geto, a spokeman for the Lightstone Group.

Cleaning the land and contaminants is the most major thing, since nothing can go ahead until the land is clean.

Saw a news segment a couple of months ago on how the canal itself will be cleaned (not including removing toxic waste) by opening it up all the way from the East River through to NY Bay, flushing everything out. Can't find it now. If I do I'll post it. Wasn't it originally open from water to water anyway?

[GordonGecko]

Bunch of idiots. These community boards have way too much power. If there's too many students it's time to build a new school, not stop development of new construction

[mariab]

If I remember correctly, it was a brick-lined tunnel leading from the East River to the head of the canal, and had propellers to move things along. But over time the propellers failed because of all the crap bashing up against it and they weren't equipped to handle it. The new plan mentioned something about a propulsion system, or words to that effect, but I don't know how that will affect the bricks over time. Damn I wish I could find that story. Maybe it was Secrets of New York. I'll find it eventually.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The brick tunnel was built in 1947. Runs from the canal at Butler St, mostly under Degraw St, to Buttermilk Channel. There's a pumping station at 201 Douglass St. The city never maintained the system. The pumping station broke down in the 1960s, and wasn't repaired until the 1990s. But the problems within the tunnel weren't addressed. That's being done now.

The tunnel won't fix the canal pollution; it's for the pew-factor.

Gowanus Canal pumphouse site at Butler St.

The red brick building on the right is the old ASPCA Rogers Memorial. The stone box at the curb next to the middle (white) car is a horse trough.

Near the end of the tunnel at DeGraw and Columbia Sts

EPA superfund page for the Gowanus Canal

Mariab, I think this is what you were looking for:http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/20...ut-the-stench/

[mariab]

Nice building. What are they going to do with the horse trough? I'm glad the EPA has it listed, but this

On March 2, 2010, EPA added the Gowanus Canal to the Agency’s Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). Placing the Gownaus Canal on the list allows the Agency to further investigate contamination at the site and develop an approach to address the contamination.

doesn't seem like they have it at the top of their list. It may take more than a few years just to get an assessment. Hope not.

That last link was the crux of the story I saw. It won't get rid of the toxic waste but at least it will get things moving in there. The stagnation alone looks like it's crippled the place. Thanks for the links.

[Nexis4Jersey]

I'm curious how many times a week do the Gowanus Canal Bridges open?

[BBMW]

Does the canal server much of a commercial purpose anymore?

[GordonGecko]

I know that Newton Creek does get boat traffic every once in a while, and the draw bridges take forever to get raised and be re-opened for car & pedestrian traffic. I'm curious if there's a toll for travel or if any boat can just freely make traffic stop like that. There's not even a permanent operator in the control towers, they have to drive in on demand and hop the barrier to get the process going

[Merry]

A Price Tag for the Gowanus Cleanup

By MIREYA NAVARRO


Environmental Protection Agency

The Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn is expected to cost $467 million to $504 million and will require dredging the 1.8-mile waterway to remove contaminated sediment, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday.

The agency, releasing an updated plan for public comment, is also proposing controls to prevent raw sewage discharges by the city, which have been an ongoing source of contamination.

The worst contamination of the Gowanus however, comes from its past as a major industrial transportation route for paper mills, tanneries, chemical plants and other businesses that operated alongside it. The waterway is polluted with more than a dozen contaminants, including PCBs and heavy metals like mercury, lead and copper.

Despite the heavy contamination and government advisories against fishing, officials say that some residents continue to eat fish from the canal.

“The proposed cleanup plan for the Gowanus Canal will make essential progress in removing toxic contaminants from this heavily polluted and battered waterway,” Judith A. Enck, the E.P.A.’s regional administrator in New York, said in a statement. “Our overall goal is to reduce pollution and protect the health of people who live and work in this community.”

In a phone interview, Ms. Enck said she expected the plan to be finalized by the end of next year. The design phase will then take about two years, and the cleanup itself will take until 2020, agency officials said.

“This is an area where millions of people live, and we’re going to work with the community so this is the least disruptive as possible, especially to local businesses,” Ms. Enck said.

Among the parties helping to pay for the cleanup are the city and other entities associated with the pollution of its waters, including National Grid, formerly the Brooklyn Union Gas company.

The Gowanus was added to the federal Superfund list in 2010 over the objections of the Bloomberg administration, which feared that the designation would deter development and had proposed a streamlined cleanup that it would help oversee. City officials have also clashed with the EPA over how to address the sewage overflow issue, given the costs the city would incur in seeking to address it.

But on Thursday, the city’s Department of Environmental Protection, which handles sewage treatment, said in a statement: “We look forward to carefully reviewing the details of E.P.A.’s proposal and working with our state and federal partners to improve water quality and support the cleanup of the canal.”

The E.P.A.’s plan involves dividing the canal into three segments. For the first two, more heavily contaminated segments, the agency plans to dredge or “stabilize” the sediment in some areas by mixing it with concrete or a similar material and then capping it with layers of clay, sand and gravel.

The third segment would be dredged and capped with sand, the agency said.

To prevent recontamination after the cleanup is completed, federal officials are also proposing installing controls at two major city outfall sites that discharge sewer overflows into the canal. The controls — basically, holding tanks that would retain excess sewage and stormwater until the city’s treatment plants can handle it — could reduce discharges of raw sewage by
58 percent to 74 percent, the agency said.

Two public meetings on the cleanup plan are scheduled, on Jan. 23 and 24, and the E.P.A. is accepting public comments until March 28. Written comments on the proposed plan should be addressed to:

Christos Tsiamis
Project Manager
Central New York Remediation Section
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 20th floor
New York, N.Y. 10007-1866

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/...wanus-cleanup/