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Lawsuit won’t delay Public Place cleanup, but will they ever break ground? by Oscar Fock

At the beginning of October, National Grid, the energy company primarily responsible for cleaning up the Gowanus Canal and the former Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant site (also known as Public Place), filed a lawsuit against 40 defendants, claiming they’re not doing their part to clean up the canal. Following the news of the lawsuit, concerns arose among community members that […]

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Residential composting takes big strides throughout the city, by Katherine Rivard

In a time when the City’s Administration seems awash with scandals and resignations, few NYC bureaucrats have been as effective as Jessica Tisch, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY). The citywide composting program, which requires all residents to compost their organic materials, is just one of several sweeping DSNY initiatives implemented during her tenure. The program was rolled […]

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I wet to a BMT feedback session, by Brian Abate

There have been a few large community meetings and some smaller ones following Mayor Adams’ May 14 announcement about a  planned transformation of the local waterfront. This has been the plan of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) who is tasked with leading the transformation. I attended one of the smaller sessions on October 23. Four people showed up to […]

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63 Tiffany brings out politicos on Halloween morning, by Brian Abate

Residents of 63 Tiffany Place, neighbors, community members, and politicians all gathered for a rally outside of the 70-unit apartment building. There were about 100 people in total including all local city and state politicians, including even Shahana Hanif, who came over from Park Slope office. The building’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is expiring and that means all […]

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DEP, EPA propose alternatives for next phase of CSO tank construction, by Oscar Fock

In early August, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced they had finished the first phase of the construction of the combined sewer overflow (CSO) tank that will sit between the Gowanus Canal and Nevins Street. This phase, which included building a deep underground concrete perimeter around the site, has been a source of concern for neighbors for […]

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The city now wants blue highways. Jim Tampakis has advocated for it for years, interview with Oscar Fock

New York City is remaking the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a waterfront fit for the 21st century. One plan the city has for the marine terminal is to act as a hub for its “blue highways” initiative, an effort to move some freight from the streets to the city’s waterways. 120,000 trucks pass through the city each day, with many […]

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Toxic vapors not necessarily bad says Health Dept., by Oscar Fock

Parents, community members and state officials gathered in the gymnasium of P.S. 372 — the Children’s School — in Gowanus on Thursday, Sept. 19, for a presentation from the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health on the agencies’ soil vapor intrusion investigation, which began last year. In September 2023, the state launched a Gowanus-wide investigation to uncover […]

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The community shows out at first BMT public workshop, by Oscar Fock

After years of talk and several failed attempts, it seems that the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) will finally get a long-overdue facelift. In May this year, the city traded a container terminal on Staten Island to the Port Authority for 122 acres along the Red Hook waterfront. The plan is to transform the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into “an asset for […]