Friday, July 29, 2011

General CAG Meeting News

Hello from CORD!

A meeting of the general Gowanus CAG was held on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 6:30 PM, at the Brooklyn Historical Society on Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Despite the fact that we are in the midst of summer, a combination of twenty three (23) organizations and at large members were in attendance as well as several members of the general public, city and state agency personnel and elected officials' representatives.
Facilitator Jeff Edelstein handed out brief synopses of committee meeting events/discussions as well as a list of the committees who have created mission statements, as required by the Charter, for several of the existing committees, including, Administrative, Archaeology Water Quality, Technical and Outreach.
For the first time in a quite a while, the general group had the opportunity to share information regarding the various committee activities and to catch up on what has been going on, at Committee level on each of the above sub groups. Present Committee members gave a brief update on each of their committee's activities and plans.
Highlights of these committee activities included: the Water Quality Committee inviting DEP to the September general CAG meeting and developing a fact sheet in cooperation with the Outreach Committee. Outreach will be working on internal website for communication among CAG members and exploring the idea of a CAG public website as well as how to engage area school children in Canal discussions. The Administrative Committee is still compiling the results of the Membership Status Check, working on a record keeping system to track attendance and creating a database/directory of contact information for each active CAG member that will be handed over to the Outreach Committee for their use. Archaeology is developing a walking tour to be done with the EPA sometime in the Fall as well as developing a slide show about the history of the Canal. And the Technical Committee's activities included discussions about the upland sites, TASC and the state health risk assessement study. (Please read on to see how that committee's discussions has prompted action by the CAG)
As required by the Charter, many of the above sub committees accomplished the task of creating mission statements. These were reviewed by the entire group and adopted by the group via vote. (the specific adopted mission statements for each of the committees will soon be available along with each meetings official minutes on the EPA website---[PLACE LINK HERE] )
It was revealed that a community group has requested TASC assistance from the EPA. TASC is an EPA funded program which provides a technical expert (chosen by the EPA) to explain the very complicated technical information revealed through the Remedial Investigation the Health Risk Assessement, etc.
Should the EPA grant the TASC request and provide that technical expert, the general CAG will provide the input as to exactly which areas the community would like the technical expert to address. CORD will, of course, keep you updated on this issue and as always, requests your questions and concerns to be directed to us through our email, CGCORD@GMAIL.COM, so that we may bring your issues to the CAG for discussion and your clarification.
A discussion regarding the cleanup of the three uplands manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites, which is currently under the purview of the New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) brownfield program followed. The group discussed the benefits/drawbacks of the EPA taking over the supervision of these sites as part of the Gowanus Superfund. Most agreed that a more streamlined process which allowed for one agency to have control over the entire area, rather than a more parsed approach as it now stands, would be beneficial to all.
A proposal to inform the EPA that the CAG would like to see the EPA expand the parameters of the current Superfund site to include the three MGP uplands sites as part of the Gowanus Superfund was introduced, voted upon and vigorously approved by a vote of 19 yes- 1 no and 1 abstention. Members representing Gowanus Green and Fifth Avenue Committee, both with substantial financial interest in one of the sites, (Public Place), recused themselves from the vote as required by the Charter, under the Conflict of Interest clause. Both organizations were of course, permitted to participate in the conversation and although disallowed a vote on the issue, they both supported any move that would streamline the Superfund process.
It was agreed that Facilitator, Jeff Edelstein would contact the EPA via email regarding the approved CAG proposal, and ask the EPA to come and speak with us regarding their position and ability to either comply with this request/recommendation or not.
Lastly, New York State does its own health risk assessment study under the acronym, ATSDR. It was agreed upon by the CAG that the Facilitiator would request methodology information from New York State regarding this study so that the CAG could understand exactly what this study means to the community....stay tuned.
Once again, if you have any questions or concerns that you would like CORD to bring up at any of the sub committee or general meetings, please send them in to CGCORD@GMAIL.COM .
We will bring your issues to the group and advise you of their response as we move forward. This is a very complicated, very expensive project and we are only going to get one shot at getting this clean up right. Let's all keep active and interested in what is going on, literally, under our noses-----
CORD

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

CORD on location at Goddard College





The 'Indignant Citizens Movment' in Greece/Europe, Part Three


"You got the disease we got the solution: Revolution"

Photos of the 'Greek Indignants' by Triada Samaras (2011) taken in Syntagma Sqaure, Greece, home of the Greek Parliament Building. (Syntagma means "Constitution").

As I have been wondering aloud this summer, "What might we citizens of Brooklyn learn from the "Indignant Citizens" movement currently taking place in Greece/Europe that might be useful to us here in Brooklyn, NY?"



See:

http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2011/07/indignant-citizens-movement-in-greece.html

At Goddard College yesterday, where I am in my final semester in the Goddard College MFA/IA program, I gave a formal presentation on this topic called, "Revolution" in Greece 2011- A Prototype?". The Goddard Residency schedule has my presentation description as follows:

Workshop Description:
The 'common' people of Greece are in the midst of making history (again) in this present moment using the tried and true means of engaged art/s practices. This large group is proving, clearly and powerfully, that the basic creative forms: art, music, poetry, dance, are indeed, effective weapons in the 'war' to communicate one's truth.

Artist/Activist, Triada Samaras, G5, now in Athens for her second visit since her Goddard Practicum in Greece last summer is documenting and observing this protest movement with great interest, understanding its fundamental relation to her artist/activist work in Brooklyn with others.

As Co-Founder of CORD/Coalition for Respectful Development, she, too, has utilized artistic means to 'speak' truths emanating from the common people, not the hierarchy, regarding issues vital to the her Brooklyn community such as the cleanup of the highly contaminated, Gowanus Canal.

In this workshop, she will share what she has learned in Greece via slides and discussions."

In the meantime, yesterday the BBC reported that the Spanish Indignants (who inspired the Greek Indignants) are now marching to Brussels on foot from Spain.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14302607

From the above BBC link:

"Spanish activists, known as "the Indignants", have set off from Madrid on a long march to Brussels. They are protesting against what they see as governments bowing to financial markets and ignoring the needs of their own people in the economic crisis. As they head north, the protesters plan to hold meetings, collecting complaints and proposals as they go. Since the movement began in Madrid two months ago, similar groups have sprung up across Europe. The Indignants have added a new chant to their repertoire: "To Brussels!" they sing. "


Triada Samaras

CORD Co-Founder

Friday, July 15, 2011

The 'Indignant Citizens Movment' in Greece/Europe, Part Two

"Greece is Not for Sale! Our Politicans Are!" Photo by Triada Samaras (2011) taken in Syntagma Sqaure, Greece, home of the Greek Parliament Building. (Syntagma means "Constitution")



Liberty Leading the People
Artist: Eugène Delacroix
1830
Oil on canvas Dimensions 260 cm × 325 cm (102.4 in × 128.0 in)
Location Louvre, Paris

As I wondered aloud a few days ago,

"What might we citizens of Brooklyn learn from the "Indignant Citizens" movement currently taking place in Greece/Europe that might be useful to us here in Brooklyn, NY?"
See: http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2011/07/indignant-citizens-movement-in-greece.html

As a CORD Co-Founder, an 'artist/activist' since 2007, and as a Greek-American, I was very struck recently by what I encountered on my travels to Greece, where I captured many images
of the 'Indignant Citizens" at Syntagma Square. See: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2011/06/25/recent-study-shows-strong-support-for-indignant-citizens-movement/

I promised to features some of these photographs with my English translations, as I am sure that many of you will find these images and words to be not only poignant, but inspiring.


I also said I will be featuring some wise words from Mr. Yianni Zaglaris, mathematician and philosopher, who lives in Athens next to Syntagma Square. These too, have been translated from their original Greek. Below is a brief article recently submitted to CORD by Mr. Zaglaris about the current situation in Greece.

Enjoy!


Triada Samaras
CORD Co-Founder


WHAT IS HAPPENING IN GREECE TODAY?

What is happening in Greece today, is not something different from what has happened many times in the past, not only in Greece but also in many other countries. People are fighting for more freedom against governmental measures imposing more slavery. Since the barbarians who rule the world have established an inhuman equivalent between freedom and money, people’s fighting for more freedom means fighting for more money.

From time to time, various governments the world over have shown directly this inhuman face to the people they rule over. They have minimized payments 
-except those provided for their own pockets- increasing at the same time all kinds of taxes strangling the market. With this attitude they achieved two aims: They spread terror to the folk, so that no one dared to raise the standard of revolt against their injustice; and they proved that there is only one rule in the market: Money. No other rules are accepted.

Some time thereafter, governments have returned to the previous situation showing a more human face. They have granted several financial facilities, subsidies, loans, etc. and they have held elections. The people have felt flattered. They may even have voted for the party of their own preference. So life has continued to go on.

Now the big question is this: Will life continue to go on towards the same way, without reversal, after what is happening in Greece today?

(Translated from Greek Athens, July 4, 2011
by Triada Samaras) by John G. Zaglaris


John G. Zaglaris was born in Tsaritsani / Larissa, Greece on June 13, 1941. He is an undergraduate mathematician of the Zurich University and a graduate marketer of the Institute of Marketing / Maidenhead, England. Since his primary education John Zaglaris has devoted himself to a life work attending to the hour to come, when he would reconstruct mathematically
the existence of a fantastic “perpetuum mobile”. A specific political vision unifying the whole world in order to have one global government and one global currency. The drachma.


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

THE INDIGNANT CITIZENS MOVEMENT IN GREECE AND WHAT WE MIGHT LEARN FROM IT


Above: "A dream for Greece...If you want to change the world, change yourself."



Hello from CORD!


What might we learn from the "Indignant Citizens" movement currently taking place in Greece/Europe that might be useful to us here in Brooklyn, NY?

As a CORD Co-Founder, an 'artist/activist' since 2007, when CORD and the "Democracy Wall"
were born here in Carroll Gardens as a citizen response to the many urgent issues facing our community, and as a Greek-American, I was very struck recently by what I encountered on my travels to Greece.

By Greece, I mean specifically Syntagma Square, which is the home of the Parliament Building in Athens. There in the square whose name means "Constitution",
σύνταγμα /syntagma= constitution

I witnessed and photographed a fascinating protest movement during the month of June called the "Indignant Citizens". The Greek Reporter, on June 25, 2011 stated:

"More than two thirds of Greeks are supportive of the ‘Indignant Citizens’ Movement’ that has now been protesting virtually non-stop outside the Greek Parliament since May 25, according to a new survey conducted by the Athens University of Economics statistics department unveiled on Friday." See: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2011/06/25/recent-study-shows-strong-support-for-indignant-citizens-movement/

Where did all of this organized citizens energy come from? It was evidently sparked by the 2011 Spanish protests of the same name, and these demonstrations were organized entirely using social networking sites. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%932011_Greek_protests

For my part, I saw Greeks of all ages and types gathered peacefully in Syntagma Square day after day voicing theirs opinions, often loudly! To my great interest, they often used various art forms to communicate, especially, hand painted banners and homemade songs/slogans. I even saw ordinary kitchen utensils like pots and pans used to draw attention. The 'Indignant Citizens' stated they were 'peaceful' and 'non-political', although, unfortunately, some of the protests became violent, indeed, in June when the Greek police arrived in the thousands. See:http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/tear-gas-fired-greek-police-clash-athens-protesters-2011-06-29

However, from my personal point of view, it was the citizen activism, and raw enthusiasm/energy, not the violence, that fascinated and captivated me the most. The LA Times, in an article recently called this the 'Greek Spring' and stated it appeared to be gathering momentum.
"Protesters, calling themselves aganaktismenoi, or the indignant, have been gathering daily in Athens since May, venting their rage at politicians, whom they've dubbed kleftes, or thieves. Protests have spread to 50 cities."

And poignantly, "We are the cradle of democracy," Nikos Chaniotis said at a recent gathering in Athens' Syntagma Square. "We're reclaiming our heritage, trying to redefine the spirit of a political system that our ancestors invented and which Greek politicians, have disgraced."
See: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/24/world/la-fg-greece-square-20110625

I believe that no matter what side of the political spectrum one is one, one can not help but be struck by the passion and the enthusiasm of these Greek citizens at this moment in time. The unified actions of these people is a reminder to us all of the great need for WE the PEOPLE, in any democracy, to speak up. When citizens of any number come together for a good cause, and stick together through thick and thin, their voices can be heard.

I wonder if we might have a 'Brooklyn Spring' (Summer?) one of these days???

Is it too much to hope for the 'Indignant Citizens of Brooklyn' to rise up and speak up loudly to the powers that be: our very own electeds here in NYC, especially when we feel they are ignoring our us and our beloved communities?

This summer, here at the CORD blog and elsewhere, I will be featuring some of my photos of the 'Indignant Citizens" at Syntagma Square with my English translations. I am sure that many of you will find these images and words to be not only poignant, but inspiring.

In addition, I will be featuring some wise words from Mr. Yianni Zaglaris, mathematician and philosopher, who lives in Athens next to Syntagma Square. These too, shall be translated from their original Greek. Enjoy!

Triada Samaras
CORD Co-Founder

Friday, July 1, 2011

Notes from the Recent CAG Meeting

Hello from CORD/Coalition for Respectful Development!

The Gowanus Canal CAG general meeting was held at 209 Joralemon
Street on Tuesday, June 28th. Although CAG member attendance was sparse,
there was a great deal of old and some new (to us) information imparted
by the evening's guest speaker, Gardiner Cross, of the NYS Department
of Environmental Conservation. (DEC)

The DEC is in charge of remediating the contaminated parcels of
land formerly used as manufactured gas plant sites, also known as MGPs.
There are three sites which are currently being remediated by the DEC.
The site that was most animatedly discussed was the former Citizens
site, now known as Public Place.

Mr Cross gave a detailed explanation of how these sites used to
manufacture the gas that was needed to light and heat our homes decades
ago as well as explaining how this gas manufacturing produced a nasty by
product, the infamous, coal tar.

It is the coal tar, an extremely hazardous material, embedded
in the uplands (and the Canal sediment--but that is under the purview of
the EPA) at widely varying depths and concentrations, which needs to be
removed and safely disposed of before the Public Place site (or any of
these sites) is fit to be used. Furthermore, the sites must cease any
further leaking or leeching of any of this dangerous substance into the
Gowanus Canal.

Truly an engineering and environmental challenge--

Mr Cross shared some of the DEC Public Place plan as to how they are preparing to approach this huge, complicated task.

As mentioned above, some of the information was a rehash of what we
had heard before. Part of the "new" information was, that in spite of
the advent of the EPA and the designation of the Gowanus Canal as a
Superfund site and all of the additional testing that has been done,
the DEC remediation plan has not changed at all.

A few facts presented surprised some of the attendees.

For example, many of us were completely unaware that there was a
Community Board meeting held several years ago, where this DEC
remediation plan was discussed and a public comment period actually
initiated, which has, of course, long since closed

CAG members were not only surprised that this had taken place, but
were dismayed to discover that the (relatively new) EPA presence alone
combined with whatever additional findings their remedial
investigation may have revealed would not automatically initiate another
public comment period regarding the DEC clean up plan.

Hasn't one of the main discoveries of the EPA Remedial
Investigation been that the canal and surrounding uplands (both mgp
sites and other parcels) were even more contaminated than originally
believed?

CAG members asked for a recap of some of the details regarding the plan:

-- To what depth will they be digging in order to "remove" the coal tar? (still eight whole feet)

-- What type of barrier would they be using to keep the coal tar
out of the water? (if i understood this correctly, it would basically be
a barrier wall sunk into the canal between it and the upland banks--it
would have "wing shaped" ends above ground to collect whatever rainfall
or runoff was naturally produced in order to contain and collect it in
order to prevent it from leeching into the canal--there would
also be coal tar collection wells placed along the wall, (spaced along
the proposed green path, [for lack of a better term]) at various points
to continue catching the remaining highly toxic coal tar still moving on
the site

-- What type of barrier, if any, would they be using to keep the
gooey substance contained within the Public Place site area? (just that
single barrier wall along the Canal)

-- How could we be sure that the coal tar could not be diverted
and make its way under our (existing) homes since only a uni sided
barrier is to be employed? (this was a bit confusing since coal tar
can and does move, but perhaps not very far (?). Since there is no plan
to completely surround the site with a barrier wall, although that is a
method that has been employed at other sites for whatever reasons, must
we assume that the coal tar will just inherently know not to cross smith
or fifth streets??? do we know for certain that it has not?

Mr Cross listened and answered each question and informed the
attendees that "many of the same questions" brought up at the CAG
meeting were brought up years ago as well, but that did little to
assuage the concerns of the group.

Another surprising fact Mr Cross announced was that the wells
installed on the Public Place site had already yielded more than four
thousand (4000) gallons of coal tar! Many of us were completely
unaware that there was anything more than continued testing going on at
that site at this point.

A National Grid employee mentioned that activity at the Public Place site could be found at their website (http://www.citizensmgpsite.com/)

The CAG members asked if the DEC would be willing to attend a CAG
committee meeting at a future date--and both Mr Cross and Mr Ryan, the
Director of Remedial Bureau C, graciously agreed.

Clearly there is still a great deal of concern among many CAG
members coupled with a great deal of uncertainty as to how effective
this remediation will be--not only for those who may eventually reside
on the remediated properties, but questions about what type of
consequences may befall the surrounding, existing residences as a result
of the cleanup close by.

CAG members are busy preparing their questions now. CORD invites
you to send your questions and concerns as well. You may reach us at cgcord@gmail.com.
We will be happy to share your thoughts with the DEC when they attend
the next CAG general or committee meeting if you cannot attend yourself.

In spite of the sparse turnout, it was a very lively meeting. CORD
certainly looks forward to another question and answer session with the
DEC as well as continued progress reports on those old gas sites.

Respectfully yours,

CORD
www.carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com
cgcord@gmail.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