Thursday, October 28, 2010

First Gowanus Canal CAG/Community Advisory Group

FIRST CAG MEETING HELD AT AMERICAN CAN FACTORY, Tuesday, Oct 26, 2010
The Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group, the CAG for short, held its first meeting last night. The group, which currently consists of fifty six (56) members representing various community groups, local businesses and residents were gathered together by our chosen Facilitator, Jeff Edelstein.

At the meeting, in addition to almost all of the listed members (Member List) plus Alfonse from Monadnock Construction, Triada Samaras, 2nd St resident and CORD co-founder, and Buddy Scotto representing Carroll Gardens Association, were many members of the community, local press and many of our elected officials, and/or their representatives and a few members of other government agencies.

The EPA was there. The now familiar faces of Walter Mugdan, Natalie Loney, Brian Carr and others were on hand for presentations and a question and answer segment. As always, they made the information easy to listen to and digest. Ms Loney reminded us that EPA information is always available on the EPA.gov site, including a link to a facebook page which she has set up at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=195975002808

It is important to note here that the Q&A segment was open to ALL ATTENDEES. CAG members may have been given first dibs but no one was denied the ability to ask a question or speak up with comments at the appropriate times.

Walter Mugdan explained that a first draft of the Remedial Investigation, thanks to the Herculean efforts of the site manager assigned exclusively to us by the EPA, the wonderful, Christos Tsiamos, would be ready (and in record time!) for perusal by the end of this year. (see PMFA)

The CAG members were broken up into smaller groups and encouraged to talk about their/their groups' concerns, their ideas of how the CAG could work productively. They were also asked to think about which (of a proposed group of) sub committees they would like to participate in as well as being asked for suggestions for other committees to be formed as well. Basic ground rules as well as how information will be disseminated were discussed...more on that will follow as we move along.

The discussion was lively. The atmosphere full of hope, excitement and of course, our own very special brand of "community". It seems logical to assume that discussions will become much more focused once that remedial investigation draft and whatever other data that is being compiled right now is presented to us.

As we have said to you before, this CAG is for the entire community---it is not an exclusive club for a few people or special interests groups. It is imperative that as many people as possible in the community participate. The meetings will continue to be open to the public. We understand that not everyone can attend all of the meetings. Perhaps it is difficult for you to attend ANY of the meetings. We at CORD, are committed to bringing the information, events, data and discussions to you. For now, we will do this through our blog and our newsletter. We are relying on you contacting us through our email address (cgcord@gmail.com) to keep the lines of communication open.

Although you are receiving this and therefore already on our newsletter contact list, you can feel confident that you (or anyone else who might be interested) will be able to go back and review any of these newsletter posts on our blog which is located at: www.carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com. Just keep scrolling down or search for the date until you find the post you wish to see.

If you know of others who would like to receive our newsletter and become part of our contact list, please have them forward their email address to us at: CGCORD@gmail.com. That is the only way that we can assure that they will be added.

We, in turn, would like you to email us with YOUR questions, YOUR concerns, the things YOU would like to have addressed at these meetings. When it is time to make decisions, we will want YOUR opinion. These comments, etc is what CORD will bring back to the CAG meetings.

SUPERFUND is here. These CAG meetings are not to discuss the benefits or drawbacks of superfund. Although the decision to superfund or not may have been somewhat contentious, that is over now and we are paused to begin on the next part of the journey.
This is a really exciting and historical time. We all have the opportunity to participate in something much greater than ourselves. Let's make the most of it!

We would also like to note here that a CB6 meeting which was held on Monday night at PS58 brought to the community a presentation by NYC's DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) outlining the plans to improve the Gowanus Canal flushing tunnel and pumping station and the current state of the canal as a result of the lack of flushing/pumping facility.
For more information on this, please see PMFA post linked here.

CORD

Monday, October 11, 2010

Hail Mary!! Brooklyn gets iced!




What does it take for Brooklyn to get a little air time? Tonight's spectacular, and frankly, scary weather in Brooklyn seems to have flown right "under the radar" of the "major" NYC media outlets tonight (so far) altho Twitter and the Blogs are full of emotional descriptions of the 60 ? mph winds and golf ball ? sized hail we just experienced! The photos above of Smith Street and Carroll Park were taken tonight at 9:25 PM.

Some in cyberspace are calling it the "Brooklyn Apocaplypse" part two! (After our recent tornado and "poo-poo tsunami" on the Gowanus Canal) . What next? Locusts? For more see PMFA

CORD

Friday, October 8, 2010

LATEST ON THE UPCOMING FIRST CAG MEETING (COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP FOR THE GOWANUS CANAL)

Hello from CORD!

Please see the information below sent to CORD by Jeffrey Edelstein, who was chosen in May by the Carroll Gardens/ Gowanus Canal Area residents as a neutral facilitator of the CAG, for more details regarding the upcoming firstCAG/Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group meeting to be held on October 26, 2010. The Public is welcome! See our CORD blog or

Also of note is the upcoming Flushing Tunnel Presentation on Oct. 25, 2010 held by the NYC DEP. Again the public is welcome!

CAG MEETING: First Meeting: Reminder that the first CAG meeting will be Oct. 26, from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. at the Old American Can Factory, 232 Third Street. The meeting is open to the public; please feel free to inform others. The draft agenda is at the bottom of this email.

Operating procedures and groundrules: I have attached the operating procedures and groundrules used by the Hudson River CAG, and request that we follow these until the Gowanus CAG has developed its own, particularly regarding how meetings are to be conducted. I anticipate that we will form a subcommittee to develop a draft set of procedures and groundrules that will be presented to the full CAG for consideration. In the meantime, I welcome any comments on these documents.

Flushing Tunnel presentation on Oct. 25: NYC DEP will provide a progress report on the ongoing Gowanus Canal Facilities upgrade project on Oct. 25 at 6:30 p.m. at PS 58. This will be a meeting of the CB6 Public Safety/Environmental Protection/Permits/Licenses Committee and will be open to all members of the public."

Regards,

Jeff

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Edelstein

Principal, Edelstein Associates

Senior Consultant, Consensus Building Institute

(207) 247-8024 (office)

(207) 632-8440 (cell)

Additional info at:

www.cbuilding.org

www.jeffedelstein.com

Draft agenda:

7:00 – 7:30 Welcome, opening remarks, and CAG member introductions

7:30 – 8:00 Superfund timeline, decision points, and CAG roles

8:00 – 8:30 Superfund site updates

8:30 – 8:45 Break

8:45 – 9:25 CAG structure – committees and operating procedures

9:25 – 9:40 Updates on Superfund-related community activities

9:40 – 9:55 Public comments

9:55 – 10:00 Next steps

Friday, October 1, 2010

Gowanus Canal Citizen Advisory Group (CAG) first meeting in October. Public Welcome!

Hello from CORD!

Last week we blogged about the startling video that depicted our Gowanus Canal full of crap, literally speaking, and the unforgettable images that speak a thousand words. http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2010/09/holy-crap-live-poop-poos-videotaped.html

This story also made the Brooklyn News 12 television news earlier this week
in a story called:
Tornado leaves raw sewage overflowing in Gowanus Canal

(09/24/10) BROOKLYN - "Last week's tornado has left a lot of raw sewage in the Gowanus Canal.

Officials say the rain, combined with sewage from homes and businesses, mixes with storm water from the street and flows right into the canal".......(more at link)


As we, who live near the Gowanus Canal already know, the weather does not need to bring us a tornado for the Gowanus Canal to have raw sewage in it. This occurs on a regular basis throughout the year after any major storm.


Thus it all the more important for you, our Carroll Gardens neighbors, to stay involved with our Gowanus Canal clean up, whether that means keeping abreast of the the ongoing EPA clean-up of the canal, or learning more about the "CSO's", the "combined sewar overflows" and the water quality of the Gowanus Canal in general.


Below is a description of the upcoming and public, CAG (Community Advisory Group) meeting. For more on this important group, please see PMFA at http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2010/09/proposed-list-of-members-of-gowanus.html


Please consider attending this important meeting! We also encourage you to write to us at cgcord@gmail with your comments and concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.


CORD


Meeting Announcement


The first Gowanus Canal CAG meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Old American Can Factory at 232 Third Street (corner of Third Avenue). We expect to have the room open at 6:15 p.m. for informal discussion and socializing, with beverages and light snacks.

Draft agenda:

7:00 – 7:30 Welcome, opening remarks, and CAG member introductions

7:30 – 8:00 Superfund timeline, decision points, and CAG roles

8:00 – 8:30 Superfund site updates

8:30 – 8:45 Break

8:45 – 9:25 CAG structure – committees and operating procedures

9:25 – 9:40 Updates on Superfund-related community activities

9:40 – 9:55 Public comments

9:55 – 10:00 Next steps

Open meeting: The meeting is open to all members of the public. Please feel free to tell others about this meeting.

CAG membership and preliminary protocols: I will be releasing a memorandum finalizing the CAG membership list within the next week, along with preliminary protocols regarding communications, conflict of interest, and other matters. The memo will also describe the comments I have received on the Sept. 8 memo and responses to those comments.

Meeting documentation: A full meeting summary document will be produced and we are also looking into possibilities of filming the meeting and posting it on-line, so that those who cannot attend can keep abreast of progress.

Public comment: There will be a short period for public comment at the meeting. In the event that there are additional public comments, we will provide comment/question cards, as well as offering a web option for comments subsequent to the meeting. Responses to such comments or questions will be provided at the following CAG meeting and/or via email to the full CAG distribution list. The reason for keeping the public comment period fairly short is because CAG meetings are in addition to, not a substitute for, public meetings that EPA may convene when appropriate, and the CAG members have quite a bit of work to accomplish during the meeting. The CAG will likely have a public outreach committee that will be working on ways for more members of the public to be involved. Lastly, I will be available to discuss any issues or questions following the meeting adjournment at 10 p.m.

Regards,

Jeff Edelstein

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Edelstein

Principal, Edelstein Associates

Senior Consultant, Consensus Building Institute

(207) 247-8024 (office)

(207) 632-8440 (cell)

Additional info at:

www.cbuilding.org

www.jeffedelstein.com

CORD HISTORY:

With the "Protect Our Homes" petition, CORD was formed in May, 2007. This petition arose as an overwhelmingly negative response to the coming of the over-sized 360 Smith Street Development at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place (Aka Oliver House; aka 131 Second Place). This petition, which had well over three thousand signatures, led to a new zoning text amendment in summer of 2008.

To: Our Elected Officials, Community Leaders, The MTA:
(MAY, 2007)

We the undersigned Carroll Gardens homeowners and residents, are appalled by the "as of right" ruling which allows owners and developers to erect buildings in our neighborhood with no regard to the impact they will present to our quality of life and the value of our homes........

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?crlgrdns