Superfund Happening!

From the New York Times:

"The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday that it was designating the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn a contaminated Superfund site, paving the way for a cleanup of decades-old pollution there. 

The decision comes as a blow to the Bloomberg administration, which had proposed a cleanup that would avoid such a designation. The city argued that the federal designation could set off legal battles with polluters, defer completion of the cleanup and torpedo construction by developers deterred by the stigma of a Superfund label. 

The E.P.A., which first proposed that the canal be designated a Superfund site last April at the urging of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, made its decision after reviewing comments from the public, city officials and others."

News Flash: Red Hook still Rough

As if we didn't already know it, despite Ikea, lobster rolls, water taxis and key lime pies, Red Hook remains very real. Over the past week weeks, the 76th Precinct has received reports of a trio of armed robbers who have brandished weapons in an effort to get their victims to hand over cash. From Courier-Life:

"“Three in a row is a pretty serious thing,” said John McGettrick, the co-chair of the civic group. And the actual number of robberies might actually be higher, he said. “Sometimes there is an unfortunate tendency not to report a crime that’s committed against you,” McGettrick said, adding that he has heard anecdotally that there was more than three recent robberies.

“Young people using guns to engage in criminal activity — that’s a bad combination,” he continued, “and that has heightened the level of concern.”

Corey said he understood the fear, and reacted quickly to the situation.

After the first incident, the precinct deployed extra cops to the area, a tactic that proved successful when cops nabbed a member of the trio the next day.“The additional resources resulted in the arrest Monday evening,” the top cop said."

"Clean Gowanus Now!" vs the EPA

We've seen why the group "Clean Gowanus Now!" may not be exactly what they claim to be in their press release. Now, courtesy of Courier Life, we've got some quotes from group members, to go up against word that a Superfund designation may come tomorrow morning or Thursday at the latest. Who will win?
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"“The EPA has been spinning everything from day one,” said David Von Spreckelsen, a senior vice president at Toll Brothers, the national homebuilder planning a multi-million residential development along the banks of the canal, and a member of the coalition Clean Gowanus Now! “They are trying to hide the impact that this will have on the neighborhood, so I would tend not to believe them,” he said.""

VERSUS

"“If you asked me to put money on it, I think they will announce on Thursday,” said the person, who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the agency about the controversial designation, and requested anonymity.

But a decision may come even sooner than that.

The EPA will be making an announcement to reporters on Tuesday at 10 a.m., “related to the Gowanus Canal.” No additional information was provided by the agency, nor was an official confirmation provided."
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“It is astonishing that the EPA has either not read, or does not understand the new FHA regulations, which plainly and clearly state that there is a new, much higher standard and risk evaluation for making loans at Superfund sites,” said Ethan Geto, a spokesperson for the coalition."

VERSUS

"While the employee received no official word about the designation — which has been vehemently opposed by the mayor, along with developers and landowners who say it will stifle development along the polluted waterway for decades — the person said that signs are pointing to an imminent declaration.

“In my heart of hearts, I think it will happen this week,” the EPA employee said."
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“HUD’s approval process does require lenders consider a wide variety of environmental conditions, only one of which is proximity to a Superfund site,” she said. But in fact, several of these listed environmental conditions already exist for development locations near the Gowanus Canal, even in the absence of a Superfund designation."

VERSUS

"The EPA typically designates Superfund sites in March and September, and EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck recently said that a decision would come early this month.

Superfund sites compel entities responsible for polluting a site to pay for its clean-up. The agency has said that the cleaning the canal, once a vital cog in the Industrial Revolution, would span 10-12 years."
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I guess we'll have to wait until the official announcement is made. But it sure looks like that was a short lived opposition!

"Clean Gowanus Now": An Oxymoron

A group calling itself "Clean Gowanus Now" has apparently formed, with the intention of opposing the proposed Superfund Designation of the Gowanus Canal. They put out a press release which hit the wires last night, which is filled with all types of goodies, misstatements and lies. Lets break it down:

"The Clean Gowanus Now! Coalition has discovered that new federal regulations will block the construction, and possibly the renovation, of thousands of homes within 3,000 feet of Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal if the Canal is designated a “Superfund” site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."

Wrong. There are no "new" federal regulations relevant to Superfund, and nothing IN the Superfund program will block construction, renovation, lending or anything.

"The survey refutes recent statements by EPA representatives that Superfund designation won’t impact lending to homeowners in the area."

Again, lending is not stopped by Superfund designation, only FHA-backed loans in the immediate area. Notice how the press release does not mention anything about number of FHA-backed (condo) loans in the study area? I wonder why...

"These lenders have financed projects that require a significant amount of environmental remediation in industrial neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Long Island City, but they uniformly responded that it would be nearly impossible to secure financing for a development project adjacent to the Gowanus if it is designated a Superfund site."

So, what this says is that if you want condos (whose lower purchase prices generally make them more eligible for FHA-backed loans) like we've seen go up in Long Island City and Williamsburg on the shores of the Gowanus, you should oppose Superfund designation. Hmmmm....

"The coalition’s members include the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; the Partnership for New York City; the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation; the Business Council of New York State; Africa-Israel, U.S.A.; Bayside Fuel Oil Depot Corporation; Brooklyn Bridge Realty, Ltd.; Friedknit Creations; Foro Marble, Inc.; The Jewish Press; Jobco, Inc.; L&M Development Partners; Magnifico Enterprises; Monadnock Construction, Inc.; Nevins Canal Corporation/Nevins Street Realty; Regal Home Collections; The Ribellino Family; Debbie & Buddy Scotto; Selectively Evolving Environments, Inc.; the Tinneny Family; Toll Brothers, Inc.; and Union Place, Inc."

So, the coalition is made up of those who stand to financially benefit from not having Superfund designation in place, and others influenced by the Mayors office? Again, shocked!

"Importantly, backing away from the impending Superfund designation and allowing the City to proceed with its alternative plan bears zero risk from an environmental perspective." 

Except of course for delaying the eventual (thorough EPA) clean up process.

"Toll Brothers, which has spent millions to go through ULURP and design their residential project..."

And this matters why?

"Further, the EPA/Superfund scope of work does not tackle the combined sewer overflows (CSOs) that today are the number one source of pollution of the Gowanus Canal. The EPA has stated that their cleanup of the Gowanus will consist of dredging sediments at the bottom of the Canal, but at 300 million gallons of raw sewage annually (NYC DEP's statistic), CSOs are the main current contributor to pollution in the Canal (and the pollution that is most visible, smelly and disturbing to area residents). CSOs will be alleviated only through the City’s planned infrastructure upgrades..."

Wrong. Are they actually arguing that FHA-backed mortgages are needed for the City to implement their planned infrastructure upgrades? Is the City's credit that bad?

"In contrast, the City already has obtained a commitment from National Grid, a likely Superfund target, to work with the City to fully fund Phase I of the cleanup, which is estimated to cost between $10 and $20 million. National Grid has indicated that it is prepared – under a City-led effort – to voluntarily put up tens of millions more as its share of the cleanup."

If I were National Grid, I would be throwing money at the City as well! Anything would be better than paying for the actual pollution cause by their site, which is what the Feds would do.

Conclusion:

Not a strong showing by the Superfund opposition. I doubt that anyone has said that the EPA's Super Fun Superfund program is perfect, but the City's plan is half-baked at best, and at worst, done solely so that condo builders can build more condos. The fact that their argument boils down to "if we don't do a good enough job, they can just Superfund anyway" only makes their opposition all the more laughable.

You're probably here from Curbed.

Bat Cave gets some coverage

The Bat Cave (which you can make an offer on here) has been home to squatters for some time, including some particularly offensive ones who also lived in the Whole Foods site for a while. It sure was fun to live on 3rd or 2nd Streets as these lovely individuals stalked up and down the street at all hours of the night, transferring a bit of chaos from their world into ours.

Bluejake actually had the stones to venture inside the Bat Cave recently, so check out what it looks like from the inside.

via Curbed.

Kentile

More Nothing From Whole Foods

As first reported here, Whole Foods has begun the process of doing something to it's site on Third and Third. What it is, as they say, ain't exactly clear. A meeting last night was supposed to clear things up, but to no one's surprise, it didn't. And it is certainly understandable that Whole Foods is questioning what to do with the property. They probably can't get ANY realistic financing for development of the site, and are questioning whether or not a Whole Foods would even be feasible in this economy. So, their indecision, while certainly frustrating, is nonetheless understandable.

There are plenty of recaps of the meeting, but the Post's was the first out there, so:

"John Bogdaski, an environmental consultant for Whole Foods, told members of Brooklyn Community Board 6’s environmental committee last night that site preparation work for cleanup of the two-acre site at Third Avenue and Third Street began earlier this month and that it should be decontaminated and ready for future development by the end of April.

The problem is Whole Foods is still trying to salvage the store-part of the project by finding development partners, although Bogdaski said the chain “is still committed” to building the supermarket.

He said in the coming weeks contaminated soil and three leaky underground storage tanks containing benzene and other cancer-causing substances would be removed and trucked away.

The cleanup of the site was originally supposed to be done in conjunction with construction of a new store. Instead, Bogdaski said the site would be covered with two feet of clean fill in preparation for potential development."

New Concrete Plant in Red Hook: Why The Controversy?

As humans, we are very protective of our environment, and feel powerless when we can't control it. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work when we're discussing property that is owned by someone else, and is zoned for something that we don't want to see. The new U.S. Concrete plant in Red Hook is a perfect example of this.

First there was the Times article about concerns of air quality, where they chronicled certain residents fears (founded or unfounded) and opinions that perhaps Red Hook, of all places, was more appropriate for apartments than for heavy industry, because of it's waterfront location. Why did this article not mention that water-borne transportation is some of the greenest transportation that you can find, taking trucks off of the streets with every barge delivery, making Red Hook and Gowanus MORE suitable for heavy industry than nearly any other neighborhood? There is a reason so many concrete plants are along the Gowanus and waterfront, and thus, why those areas are zoned for heavy industry.

Next came A View From the Hook's coverage of the same, which postulated many of the same points as the article, but added perceived impacts on schools athletic departments and recreational facilities. As someone who has participated in innumerable Saturday and Sunday soccer games in Red Hook, I can tell you that the Red Hook fields, which are in decidedly mediocre condition, are some of the most picturesque in the city. Other fields around the city are immediately adjacent to, or built on top of, landfills, slaughterhouses, highways and rail yards. Before raising specific concerns about this specific location, perhaps zoning regulations should be implemented city wide which mandate a certain distance from heavy industry that a ball field must be. But that would require some foresight.

Now comes Explain the Plan's update on the situation. And finally, we hear a voice of reason, from, as usual, Community Board 6's District Manager, Craig Hammerman:

"“Local zoning allows the cement plant to operate,” said Craig Hammerman, manager of Red Hook’s Community Board 6. “All they need to do is apply and get permits.”"

In zoning codes, there exist what are called performance standards for special permits, conditional uses, special uses, or whatever your local jurisdiction might call them. They are uses which are permitted, but only once you have met certain criteria; additional setbacks, environmental mitigation, buffers, hours of operation, etc... These standards allow uses which are maybe not ideal, but feasible, to be permitted, with these additional conditions or level of review.

Since U.S. Concrete has seemingly met every level of review asked of them, they have every legal right to open for business. If the 600 residents who were so opposed to this plant are committed to the effort, they will need to be involved with PlanNYC's air quality monitoring or in crafting regulations which would keep things like this happening in the future. Of course, if one more area of city is not zoned for industry, where will all of the industry go? Will Brooklyn become a sea of condos and fro-yo shops?
Photo source: CUNY Journalism Department

Charles Carroll: Our Namesake?

Most people know that Carroll Gardens is named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. But who exactly is Mr. Carroll? Fans of Nicholas Cage action movies will probably identify him as an obscure Mason who passed down a secret held by Mr. Cage's character's family for centuries. Shockingly, this is not the truth!

Neither obscure, nor a Mason, the third in a line of four Charles Carrolls to settle in Maryland, Mr. Carroll signed the Declaration of Independence and lived a long, long life. He died in 1832 at the ripe old age of 95, after amassing a fortune and overseeing the construction of many estates and buildings in and around Maryland, include one of the main buildings at the Johns Hopkins campus.

So, what is Mr. Carroll's connection to Carroll Gardens? Well, turns out...not much. Much like other historically important figures (two good examples from our time would be Malcolm X and President John Fitzgerald Kennedy), locations, schools and streets are named after Charles Carroll, without any direct connection to him.

Since this area of Brooklyn used to be known as South Brooklyn (a name that dates back from the time when this was the southernmost extent of the town of Brooklyn), the name Carroll Gardens is relatively recent, and is really just an amalgamation of the signature gardens designed by Richard Butts and the prominence of Carroll Park. What is funny about this is that most of the other streets in the neighborhood were named after prominent local families or individuals; Sackett, Hoyt, Henry, Clinton, Hicks.

So why is it that we don't live in Sackett Gardens, or Hoyt Gardens? Probably the same reason that this area isn't referred to as "Marbury Towers".
Image Source: University of Maryland Archives

Carroll Gardens Residents Love to Work

The Grocery, one of the first great restaurants which turned Smith Street into Brooklyn's Restaurant Row, is run by the husband and wife team of Sharon Pachter and Charles Kiely, who are also neighborhood residents. The New York Post did a nice little article which featured them for Valentines Day:

"In Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, restaurant owners and chefs Charles Kiely and wife Sharon Pachter say their personal experiences drive them at the Grocery, on Smith St., which is across the street from their apartment. 

The menu changes nightly at the charming little spot, but the rule for the couple in the kitchen has stayed constant for a decade. "Everything is a negotiation," says Kiely, "when it comes to every decision, whether it's to do with the kitchen, recipes, plating a dish, portion size or running the restaurant." 

One of their newer negotiations involves caring for the six chickens they adopted last June (but that's another story). "We're both strong-headed and opinionated," says Pachter. "Because of that negotiation, we come up with the best solution."

"People look at the way we work and can't believe that for 10 years we've spent all days and nights together," she adds. "One of the secrets — we take turns ­giving in.""

One lovely feature about The Grocery is their personalized service from this couple, who often come out table side to deliver their creations.

Image from Brownstoner. Wrote this on Sunday, but Diana got it up first, so check out Cobble Hill Blog.

Ferdinando's Foccaceria

Edible Manhattan chose Ferdinando's Foccaceria as it's location to interview King Phojanakong, the Brooklyn Chef behind Asian tapas. An interesting location choice, but one that gets at my heart strings. Francesco is from Carini, the town close to Palermo that my family originates from. I played soccer with Francesco's son, Christian, in high school, and it is also one of the few places left in the neighborhood where you can still get panelle, vastedde and frutta di mare.

"Francesco Buffa, the Sicily-born chef and owner, grew up cooking his childhood chow, like the street food favorite vastedda (spleen served with ricotta and a sprinkle of pecorino Romano, all stuffed between fresh focaccia), and naturally turned his passion for his cuisine into a local eatery.

We ordered the arancina special, a breaded rice ball filled with a brawny amount of chopped meat and peas, fried to a crispy blond shade and topped with just enough red sauce to fill the plate. The chickpea panelle (that’s a chickpea flour fritter) sandwich was also brilliantly fried, but it was then topped with a spoonful of ricotta and grated cheese and nestled ever so gently in focaccia.

We also had the pasta con sarde, a straightforward spaghetti noodle, but with a foreign-to-me flavor combination of sardines with wild fennel, pignoli (Italian for pine nuts), raisin and spices."

In recent years, Francesco (who also is a landlord in the area) has tried to make some improvements to the business, including an expanded wine selection and a back garden. However, it seems like the clientele are still the same. Which is good for us, but not necessarily great for the future of the business.

via Word on Columbia Street.

Snowman!

Hey Marty: Brooklyn is not Manhattan

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is nothing if not the eternal optimist. Thrice during my years in New York's public schools, Marty gave the same speech to graduates, always ending with the unsheathing of a plastic light saber and an exclamation of "May the Force Be With You!"* His openness with his personal life and his efforts to seem in touch with the "everyman" are to be commended.

However, some of his recent comments are a bit shocking. First, he shamefully stopped the Prospect Park West bike lane plan. Maybe he thought Prospect Park West ran through Williamsburg or Borough Park? Now, he is vying (unrealistically) to turn Fourth Avenue into "Brooklyn's Park Avenue". From the New York Post:

"“I have long imagined this bleak stretch of road transformed into something reminiscent of the tree-lined portion of Park Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side,” Markowitz gushed. “My hope is … for a stunning thoroughfare reaching from Atlantic Avenue to the Atlantic Ocean!”

Along with the floral additions to Fourth Avenue, Markowitz’s vision includes a revitalization of the area through street furniture (a la Times Square), wide pedestrian walkways and space for vendors.

Still, it is unclear how feasible the facelift is, given that there is almost no room for tree roots under the sidewalk, which is above a series of shallow subway tracks."

Keeping in mind that architecture students love to dream big, but apparently have no regard for the feasibility of their big dreams, we've heard this before, in reference to the Fourth Avenue rezoning.

But doesn't every city need a place for auto-body repair and chop shops, or even light industrial uses? Surely the residents of the new towers on Fourth would be none to appreciative of the bachata music coming from a 24-hour flat fix shop at 3 am!

* Anyone else wonder if the proper response is "And also with you"?

Old St. Mary's School Gets Recycled

While using hundred-year-old farming tools to dig my car out of the recent snowfall, I thought that to be the ultimate in "repurposing". However, the Brooklyn Eagle is reporting that the old St. Mary Star of the Sea school on Court Street will now house the International School of Brooklyn, a specialized bi-lingual primary school.

"ISB was launched by Dr. Habiba Boumlik and Executive Director Rebecca Skinner in March 2003. “We are thrilled to once again expand ISB to reach our goals for growth and development and to continue to meet the needs of Brooklyn families for quality education with a global outlook,” said Skinner. The new location is scheduled to open its doors to pre-K through fourth grade students in September."

Although I am excited at the bi-lingual mandate of this school, another vestige of Old Carroll Gardens bites the dust.

via Brownstoner.

Sewer Pipes in the Gowanus Canal?

Does anyone have any idea what exactly these huge pipes are doing floating the Gowanus Canal, moored to a bulkhead like some Mary, Queen of Sewers? It appears that they are closed at either end, which keep them airtight and afloat, but are they for some sort of city project? Perhaps something to do with the EPA's ongoing tests for possible Superfund Designation? Seems like a small amount of pipe to have to find space to store.