Friday, October 4, 2013

To Repeat: Monday was a MONUMENTAL Day in CG/Gowanus!

                                   CG CORD Newsletter 10/04/2013          

Hurricane Sandy Floods Gowanus Canal to Bond St. 10/2012  Photo c. Triada Samaras

Hello from CORD!

We could not have said it better ourselves:

Monday 9/30/2013 was a MONUMENTAL day for Gowanus/Carroll Gardens and there is so much to celebrate!

With the the EPA's ROD/Record of Decision announced on Monday, the final plan to clean the highly contaminated Gowanus Canal is now public record.

"After 150 years of environmental abuse, which turned it into one of the most contaminated bodies of water, there is a plan to remediate the 1.8 mile toxic canal, and that plan has just been written into law" 
LINK
http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-monumental-day-for-gowanus-epa.html

This event did not happen in a vacuum.

CORD would especially like to thank the EPA, whose tireless persistence and passion led to this decision.  The following extraordinary people must be noted:

EPA Region 2 team including EPA Regional Manager, Judith Enck;  Walter Mugdan, EPA Region 2's Director of the Division of Environmental Planning and Protection, Christos Tsiamis, EPA Region 2 project manager for the Gowanus Canal, Brian Carr, EPA Region 2 lawyer, and Natalie Loney, EPA Region 2 Community Involvement Coordinator.
In addition we would like to mention Bob Percersepe and the folks in the EPA/ Washington, DC office.

Furthermore, numerous others worked diligently over many months/years to make sure the Gowanus Canal would receive a full and comprehensive cleaned up and CORD would like to mention several elected officials including: State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, other community leaders, and many others including the Gowanus Canal CAG/Community Advisory Group;

To read the EPA’s Record of Decision for the Gowanus Canal or for more information on the canal, go to: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/gowanus/ or visit EPA’s document repository located at the Carroll Gardens Library at 396 Clinton St. in Brooklyn, New York.

CORD!

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