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Voice of Gowanus

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COMMUNITY GROUP FILES INJUNCTION IN COURT TO PREVENT FURTHER DEVELOPER RECKLESSNESS AS JUNE 15TH DEADLINE FOR 421a APPROACHES

Posted on Press Releases by Voice of Gowanus · June 09, 2022 11:48 AM
June 09, 2022
Contact: Voice of Gowanus

DEVELOPERS FLOUT EPA

PILE DRIVE INTO TOXIN-FILLED GOWANUS SITE

***

COMMUNITY GROUP FILES INJUNCTION IN COURT TO PREVENT FURTHER DEVELOPER RECKLESSNESS AS JUNE 15TH DEADLINE FOR 421a APPROACHES

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN – Community coalition Voice of Gowanus doubled down on their lawsuit to require legitimate impact analysis at toxic sites in Gowanus as developers defied the EPA and drove piles into Superfund sites with no prior notice or EPA approval. The reckless pile driving endangers community health and sets a terrible precedent that developers’ greed can supersede the power of federal agencies.

Motion for Injunction Filed in State Court

In line with the demands of their Article 78 petition, Voice Of Gowanus has filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop Gowanus Rezone-related construction activity in the area. As stated in the filing, "even the City-drafted Environmental Impact Statement concedes that 'any redevelopment involving subsurface disturbance could potentially increase pathways for human exposure to any subsurface hazardous materials present.’"

Greed Speeds Dangerous Push to Break Ground

Developers have pursued a brazen effort to drive piles and pour foundations without proper safety precautions or oversight in their race to meet the June 15th deadline for the 421a tax credit—a developer giveaway that former Council Member Brad Lander and former Mayor Bill de Blasio allowed to run rampant via the massive Gowanus Rezoning pushed through late last year.

“This is absolutely outrageous,” said Miranda Sielaff, a member of Voice of Gowanus, who lives near the site of the incident. “How is every level of government – city, state, and federal – failing to keep these developers in check?”

Voice of Gowanus sent a letter to elected officials—including NYS Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon and Council Members Shahana Hanif and Lincoln Restler—who had previously reached out to state and city agencies, flagging the incidents. VoG pushed for these representatives to go further, demanding that a Stop Work Order be put in place until a safety review could be conducted by EPA and inviting those officials to support their legal action.

Community Anger, A Petition Emerges

Sielaff and fellow members of Voice of Gowanus launched a petition that has now blown past 500 signatories. Anger is palpable in the blocks surrounding the pile driving. And for good reason.

“Residents are fired up,” said Martin Bisi, a local small business owner in Gowanus. “It’s one thing for a community member to have no knowledge of this pile driving into a poisoned site. But it’s another for the EPA to receive no notice and then be ignored when it demands that the work be halted.”

Breaking Open Toxic Land, Risk of Fumes

The Gowanus incident took place on the notorious Public Place site, a former manufactured gas plant site that remains riddled with coal tar even after a limited remediation that the EPA has publicly criticized. EPA officials have repeatedly questioned the city’s plan to build housing and a school at this location, given the risk of toxic vapors from contamination soaked deep into the soil. A rep from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation stated at a public meeting that developers were allowed to proceed in order to meet the June 15th 421a deadline in a shocking move that put the interests of developers over the health and safety of the community.

####


PETITION: Demand an Immediate Temporary Restraining Order on ALL Pile Driving in the Gowanus Rezone Area

Posted on Take Action by Voice of Gowanus · May 20, 2022 3:44 PM

Are you hearing the pounding? Is your house shaking? Do you smell chemical odors?


This past week, crews began pile driving on Parcel 3 of Public Place, the former Citizen's Manufacturing Gas Site located on Smith Street near Nelson Street. The vibrations were so intense that nearby buildings were shaking and potentially suffered structural damage. 

That same week, piles were being driven on a property along 3rd Street, next to the Third Street bridge. The noise reverberated throughout the neighborhood.

And this is just the beginning, as developers in the newly rezoned 82 blocks in Gowanus are starting the foundation work for their 22-30 story high rises.  The Gowanus is former marshland, and many of these developments will need hundreds of piles to hold them up. 

If you agree that the Gowanus is on shaky ground, click here to sign the petition.

GOAL: 750 signatures

Thanks to a rushed rezoning process, this community is looking at years of noise and disruption alongside a Superfund remediation. We need assurance that the land, water, and air are clean before development begins.  Instead, our elected officials have undermined the health and safety of our residents as well as put our existing housing infrastructure around these sites at risk of collateral damage. 

 

Driving Pile into Toxic Plume

Driving pilings through toxic contamination, as exist the Brownfield and former MGP sites surrounding the Canal, can create pathways for those toxins to enter the air and the water surrounding the area, as shown here.

Real Estate sharks are rushing to begin work on their foundations before June 15th, when the 421-a Tax Credit is slated to expire. In their haste, they are putting the community at risk. The pile driving on the Public Place site in particular is of grave concern since the environmental clean-up of this Brownfield has not yet been signed off by the US Environmental Protection Agency. When reached via email, the EPA stated that it had not been informed of the pile driving and was "concerned".

Concerned yet? Click here to sign the petition.

What’s most concerning is that the former Citizens Gas Works plant (Public Place) is known to have pockets of coal tar pollution 100–150 feet below ground, which will remain even after the Brownfield clean-up. This means that the 80–90 foot piles that are currently being driven deep into the ground may create vapor shafts for toxic gasses that are released into the surrounding area including a public park, the ISB school and St. Mary’s church.

Since we cannot be sure that all safety regulations are being followed, since permits are being issued for sites that have not yet been fully environmentally remediated, we are demanding an immediate Temporary Restraining Order on ALL pile driving in the Gowanus rezone area.

Please, sign your name to this petition now and demand a strategy that does no harm.

Add signature

Let's Put People Over Profits in Gowanus!

Posted on Latest by Voice of Gowanus · April 22, 2022 12:48 PM

The Gowanus Rezone is an Environmental Disaster In the Making

In November 2021, the City approved an 82 block rezone of Gowanus, sweeping major environmental issues under the rug.

The Rezone:

  • Will Put People on Highly Poisonous Land
  • Will Make Sewage Problems Worse
  • Ignores the Realities of Climate Change
  • Endangers the Clean Up
Read more

Maureen Koetz Explains VOG's Lawsuit on WBAI

Posted on Latest by Voice of Gowanus · April 18, 2022 1:03 PM

Last week, VOG's own legal counsel Maureen Koetz addressed the VOG lawsuit and the many political and environmental issues that surround the Gowanus rezone with host Michael G. Haskin's on WBAI's radio program, "Living for the City."  Below, you can listen to the entire show, or read the transcript of Maureen's conversation with Michael. 

Read more

BOMBSHELL LAWSUIT THROWS GOWANUS REZONING INTO QUESTION

Posted on Latest by Voice of Gowanus · February 28, 2022 4:28 PM

The future of the Gowanus rezoning is anything but certain as community coalition Voice of Gowanus filed a new lawsuit today vigorously attacking the profoundly illegal rezoning, highlighting multiple violations of federal and state environmental law. The suit, filed by Voice of Gowanus, Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus (F.R.O.G.G.) and area residents, goes far beyond what any other recent neighborhood rezoning challenges have alleged, setting out multiple causes of action. 

Read more

Join Us

Posted by Talli Somekh · November 18, 2020 8:45 PM

Add your email below to stay up-to-date on the latest news and actions regarding the proposed Gowanus Rezone. (ONLY your email address is required to sign up below.)

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Blog

Posted on News by Talli Somekh · November 14, 2020 1:17 PM

VOGs Sends Follow Up Letter on Request for EPA Investigation

Posted by Voice of Gowanus · June 14, 2022 10:50 AM

VOG Sends Letter Requesting that EPA Perform Full Investigation of Compliance Failures

Posted by Voice of Gowanus · May 16, 2022 10:32 AM

Let's Put People Over Profits in Gowanus!

Posted by Voice of Gowanus · April 22, 2022 12:48 PM

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