Points of Agreement with the City Agreements Signed By the City on the Gowanus Rezoning

Comments to City Council on the Gowanus Rezoning

October 15, 2021,

Dear Councilmember Moya and Members of the Subcommittee on Zoning & Franchises:

Thank you for taking time during Tuesday’s public hearing to listen to testimony from the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) and other community stakeholders about the Gowanus area-wide rezoning and other actions in Gowanus. The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ)—a racially and socioeconomically diverse coalition of local groups focused on equity, inclusion, economic and environmental sustainability and justice—continues to call on the City to meet our priority demands for the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning.

We reiterate that GNCJ will not support the rezoning unless our top 3 demands and multiple priorities are met. Our coalition’s full demands are also endorsed by over 1,600 signers via Petition to the City of NY and DCP and can be found online at www.gncj.org/new-our-advocacy and as appendix A to this letter. As many of our Coalition members have testified throughout the ULURP Hearing the City must address our concerns before the final rezoning application is voted on by the Council.

To expound upon our coalition members’ testimony on October 12, we submit here as written testimony details regarding GNCJ’s demands and priorities and the specific funding and policy commitments we seek from the City. All of these commitments must be transparently reported to a Gowanus Zoning Commitment Task Force to ensure that these commitments identified are met.

August 2021

August 9, 2021

GNCJ on Environmental Protection Agency Letter to Department of City Planning

The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) has been steadfast in demanding that as part of the Gowanus area-wide rezoning the City of New York make up-front capital investments in NYCHA locally and be accountable to the local community through a task force as well as mandate net zero combined sewer overflow (CSO) from new construction because of the rezoning. 

In order to accomplish net zero CSO and as highlighted by the August 9th, 2021, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) letter to the NYC Dept. of City Planning, the City must 1) accurately model how increasing density will increase CSO and impact local hydrology, 2) require and enforce CSO mitigation in new development and 3) ensure City investment in infrastructure to completely mitigate any negative hydrological impacts of the rezoning.  

The City must invest in and require what is necessary to ensure responsible, equitable and sustainable growth especially given racial and economic inequalities in our society and the challenges we collectively face due to climate change.

Our Official Comments to Borough President’s Office on Gowanus Rezoning

July 22, 2021

Dear Borough President Adams,

Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) is a racially and socioeconomically diverse coalition that strives to elevate the voices of our community not yet heard in the City’s planning process, seek consensus on community priorities and make the case for a community plan based on principles of social, economic, environmental and racial justice.

As our Coalition members testified at your public hearing on June 30, 2021, GNCJ continues to call on the City to meet our priority demands for the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning. Our demands below have been endorsed by over 1,500 signers at Support GNCJ. This letter reviews our priority demands and both expands on their justification and suggests specific strategies to meet them. The City must provide programmatic commitments and investment for these demands in the Points of Agreement.

June 2021

June 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                
Thursday, June 3, 2021                                                                                  

CONTACT:
Sabine Aronowsky
(718) 237-2017 x:117
gncj@fifthave.org

GOWANUS NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION FOR JUSTICE
CONTINUES FIGHT FOR LOCAL NYCHA FUNDING & OVERSIGHT TASK FORCE AT ULURP HEARING 

Councilmember Brad Lander will join GNCJ today in a press conference prior to the community board ULURP hearing on the Gowanus Rezoning. Participants will assemble outside Washington Park at the corner of 4th Avenue and 3rd Street at 2:30pm. GNCJ members will be available to discuss the Coalition’s top demands in the Gowanus rezoning. (In the event of rain, please call 718.780.8280 to confirm that the hearing will proceed.) See comments from CM Lander and GNCJ members below.

BROOKLYN, NY - The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ)—a racially and socioeconomically diverse coalition of local groups focused on equity, inclusion, economic and environmental sustainability and justice—continues to call on the City to meet our priority demands for the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning. As the Gowanus rezoning public review process begins, GNCJ will keep a watchful eye on City officials to ensure that our demands are addressed before the rezoning is approved. 

GNCJ will NOT support the rezoning unless our top 3 demands are met. Our dealbreakers are:

• FIX OUR LOCAL NYCHA COMMUNITIES
  The City must dedicate upfront funding for full capital needs at local public housing developments—Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens—that meets the approval of residents. Based on physical needs assessments of the two NYCHA properties, their combined 5-year capital funding requirements total $274 million. Funding to improve Wyckoff and Gowanus must adhere to HUD Section 3 hiring policies to ensure local NYCHA tenants and low-income residents are hired to complete the work. 

• NO NEW COMBINED SEWAGE OVERFLOW (CSO)
  The City must ensure that new development does not increase pollution into the Canal. The City has shown that the new Stormwater Rule would reach this goal, but they still must commit to investment in infrastructure that will address sewer system capacity, preventative sewer maintenance, transparent reporting on implementation of the new rule, and completion of a comprehensive hydrology study that anticipates climate change.

• ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY
  The City must commit to funding and supporting a community-based Task Force that will provide progress reports in a timely manner and guarantee accountability for all commitments made through the Gowanus Rezoning.

"I stand with GNCJ on their three core demands for the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning. The City must provide significant capital funding to address the dire maintenance needs at NYCHA's Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens. We need real assurance that the City's new ‘stormwater rule’ will prevent any increase in combined sewage overflow into the Gowanus Canal. And City Hall must agree to establish a Community-Based Task Force to provide real oversight and accountability on all commitments. Through years of organizing with a broad and diverse coalition of community leaders, GNCJ has established clear goalposts that are essential for an equitable, resilient, creative, thriving, and inclusive Gowanus.” -Councilmember Brad Lander

“As a public housing resident and organizer working towards a just rezoning, Public Housing demands DCP take the NYCHA 2.0 language out of its DEIS. We have adamantly said ‘no’ to using RAD or infill to fulfill the GNCJ number 1 demand for upfront funding for Wyckoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses. We do support H.R. 235 sponsored by our federal representatives.” -Karen Blondel, Public Housing Civic Association

“The Unified Stormwater Rule is going to make a Net Zero CSO rezoning possible, but the community needs regular and transparent reporting, based on both models and real-time monitoring, to ensure that it works.  We stand with our partners in the Coalition in calling for a community-based Task Force that can hold the City accountable for ensuring that new development does not increase pollution into the Canal.”
-Andrea Parker, Executive Director, Gowanus Canal Conservancy 

“Environmental Justice demands that people of all races, incomes and cultures have a right to a safe quality of life in the environments in which to live, work, learn and play. This is not the case in Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens, where residents have been living in substandard and often dangerous conditions. 350Brooklyn stands with GNJC, demanding upfront funding for these local NYCHA developments. The fact that promises have been made, with little results to date, points to a need for the proposed Gowanus Zoning Commitment Task Force, to ensure that city commitments and developer requirements are met throughout the rezoning area, including commitments to residents of Gowanus and Wyckoff. Our community deserves no less.”
-Lynn Neuman, 350Brooklyn  

“An equitable and resilient recovery must include investments in Gowanus industrial employers, who provide vital services and quality jobs, and the essential workers in this sector. The Gowanus Rezoning needs to include investments like small business support services, infrastructure improvements, and workforce training to ensure that small businesses are able to remain and grow, and residents are able to access career-building jobs. We are proud to be part of GNCJ, fighting for a holistic set of priorities that center Gowanus' long-term residents and employers.”
-Jesse Solomon, Executive Director, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial
Development Corporation (SBIDC)

"Arts Gowanus is a proud member of GNCJ and we fully support its top 3 demands. They are 100% necessary to move our neighborhood forward in a responsible and equitable way. We also know that artists are crucial to the community and must be considered in this rezoning process. Artists can no longer be displaced in Gowanus. Artists helped to make Gowanus a creative and vibrant community, and ensuring they have access to long-term, affordable workspaces is the only way that spirit can be retained." 
-Johnny Thornton, Executive Director, Arts Gowanus

“The Gowanus Rezoning is a massive undertaking, significantly dependent on capital investments at the City, State and Federal level. No other rezoning plan has this economic complexity and interdependence. Literally hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent at three levels of government, not to mention by private developers, during the coming 15 years of the proposed rezoning.

This is not the time to end or suppress civic engagement. The City’s rezoning commitment tracker is a one-way information conduit that is insufficient to support community understanding and feedback on the status of rezoning promises. As successfully piloted in Sunset Park, the City must commit to support and staff a Gowanus Zoning Commitment Task Force, a transparent neighborhood-scale public/private partnership that will both provide timely and accessible information on the status of Neighborhood Plan commitments and opportunities for on-going community engagement.”
-SJ Avery, Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC)

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Visit our website for GNCJ’s additional demands and priorities. Support GNCJ’s demands and priorities by signing our petition, at www.change.org/SupportGNCJ, which has garnered more than 1,400 signatures.

GNCJ NYCHA Demands to City Planning Commission Hearing- Before You Rezone Fix Our Homes!

April 2021

GNCJ Letter to Resident Association Presidents and Boards of Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens

February 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 4, 2021

CONTACT
Sabine Aronowsky
917-657-2922
gncj@fifthave.org

GOWANUS NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION FOR JUSTICE RENEWS CALL FOR EQUITABLE ACCESS TO VIRTUAL ULURP PROCESS

BROOKLYN, NY – Following up on Judge Katherine Levine’s comments regarding the City’s need to improve accessibility for the Gowanus rezoning ULURP process, the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) would like to reiterate our recommendations from fall 2020 to the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP) and Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB6). 

During the January 28th hearing in which Judge Levine partially lifted a temporary restraining order halting the ULURP process due to concerns surrounding virtual public meetings, the judge noted that the City should provide “creative” alternatives for community members who lack the technology to view the ULURP proceedings. The judge’s suggestion to set up socially-distanced computer stations at large venues, such as the Park Slope Armory, echoes the recommendations GNCJ presented last September to NYC Planning Commission Chair Marisa Lago.

To achieve equitable participation and transparency during the Gowanus neighborhood rezoning ULURP process, GNCJ requests that the City improve and expand the virtual engagement process to offer additional opportunities for all to be heard. Particular attention needs to be focused on engaging the many local New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents who have been actively involved in the Gowanus planning process for years. GNCJ recommends:

• During hearings, hold small in-person public gatherings at large open spaces (parks, streets, school yards, public housing community centers) throughout the neighborhood for public testimony

• Set up locations within the community where people can record their testimony, and allow the recorded testimony to be played at hearings

• Broadcast public hearings live on public access television with call-in opportunities for public testimony

• Prioritize installation of free internet access, with residents’ approval, at NYCHA developments in Gowanus prior to formally beginning ULURP process

• Provide tablets, internet hotspots, and training for individuals not currently able to access virtual meetings

• Allow tech-savvy family members to assist individuals whose virtual participation might be compromised and/or allow for proxy testimony.

See our full letter to Chair Lago here.

Additionally, on October 28, 2020, GNCJ wrote to DCP and CB6 expressing the Coalition’s frustrations over a Gowanus rezoning meeting hosted by the community board via Zoom. The virtual meeting did not allow participation from community members, leaving them voiceless and unable to see other attendees or hear their questions and comments.

 For future meetings regarding the Gowanus rezoning, GNCJ recommends:

• Allow attendees to see fellow meeting participants, whether on video or a participants list

• Provide a transparent and fair sign-up method for attendees to comment and ask questions, either by using the Zoom Q&A function that allows all attendees to see the questions, or with a Google form that is shared with attendees

• Ensure a transparent and fair way of letting attendees speak in the order of sign-up

• Provide sufficient time for public questions and input. If any questions are not answered during the meeting, provide the responses in writing to participants afterwards

• Ensure all speakers are identified by name and affiliation.

See our full letter to DCP and CB6 here.

The Coalition hopes that Judge Levine’s similar suggestions on how to improve engagement will encourage the City to improve its practices for future meetings. As stated last September, GNCJ would like to schedule a meeting with DCP to discuss our recommendations in further detail.

For more information on Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice and our top demands for the Gowanus rezoning, please visit gncj.org.

January 2021

The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) hosted a City Council Candidates Forum on January 28, 2021 for Districts 33 and 39 in Brooklyn.

The participating City Council candidates included:

District 33
Elizabeth Adams
Victoria Cambranes
Sabrina Gates
Toba Potosky
Lincoln Restler
Stuart Sherman
Ben Solotaire

District 39
Shahana Hanif
Justin Krebs
Briget Rein
Douglas Schneider
Brandon West

January 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 22, 2021

CONTACT
Sabine Aronowsky 
917-657-2922
gncj@fifthave.org 

GOWANUS NEIGHBORHOOD COALITION LOOKS FOR
ECONOMIC & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN REZONING CERTIFICATION

BROOKLYN, NY – The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice (GNCJ) looks forward to the release of the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) connected to the anticipated upcoming ULURP certification of the Gowanus neighborhood rezoning by the NYC Department of City Planning once the current court challenge is resolved. When released, GNCJ will review the document thoroughly in connection with our Coalition’s demands and priorities. 

GNCJ—a racially and socio-economically diverse coalition—has been advocating together over the past 5 years for equity, inclusion, economic and environmental justice and sustainability in Gowanus. In February 2020, GNCJ formally presented its top demands for the proposed rezoning, outlining what the City of New York must include and commit as part of the rezoning moving forward.  While there has been movement on multiple issues including progress towards our mandate for net zero CSO, there has been no offer of City capital funding for urgent needs at Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens.  Last minute, behind-the-door negotiation at the end of ULURP is not acceptable, nor is it an equitable way of working with the community, especially NYCHA residents who deserve better.  Therefore, it is imperative that the City provides a clear offer of capital funding for Gowanus Houses and Wyckoff Gardens with sufficient time for it to be considered prior to the Community Board 6 vote during ULURP to ensure a fair and equitable process with the community.

The Coalition’s top three (3) demands for the Gowanus rezoning are highlighted below. See our full list of priorities here.

• UPFRONT FUNDING FOR FULL CAPITAL NEEDS AT GOWANUS HOUSES & WYCKOFF GARDENS
  The City must dedicate upfront funding for full capital needs at the two local public housing developments: Wyckoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses. All funding to improve public housing in Gowanus must adhere to HUD Section 3 hiring policies to ensure that local NYCHA residents and low-income residents are employed to complete the work.  

• NET ZERO COMBINED SEWAGE OVERFLOW (CSO)  
  Mandate net zero combined sewage overflow (CSO) from new developments being built as a result of the rezoning, through the following actions: (1) Accurately model how increased density will increase CSO and impact local hydrology; (2) Require and enforce CSO mitigation in new development; (3) Ensure city investment in infrastructure to completely mitigate any negative hydrological impacts of rezoning.  

• AN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SPECIAL DISTRICT WITH LOCAL GOVERNANCE
  Dedicated resources for and recognition of an Environmental Justice Special District with a diverse local oversight board that includes representation from public housing, businesses, industries, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and civic associations. The board would oversee the implementation of all City commitments and developer requirements, including the commitments to residents of the local NYCHA developments. 

Specific to GNCJ’s third demand, the Coalition believes a dedicated governance structure must be established to achieve clear and consistent communication as well as equitable collaboration among residents, local stakeholders, and government agencies as part of the rezoning. GNCJ looks forward to working with the City in assuring an equitable and sustainable future for Gowanus.

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The Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice is a racially and socio-economically diverse coalition made up of local groups focused on equity, inclusion, economic and environmental sustainability and justice. The Coalition seeks to amplify the voices of the Gowanus community that have not been heard in the City’s planning process, so that the residents who are most impacted by the rezoning will be the decision-makers in the future of their community. 

Support Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice’s demands and priorities. Sign our petition.

Our Official Letter to Community Board 6 and Department of City Planning

We are writing to express our extreme concern about the format and content of the initial “public” pre-certification meeting for the Gowanus Rezoning that CB6 hosted on October 22.  As we have previously stated, DCP and partners, including CB6, must facilitate equitable participation for local stakeholders and provide an informed, safe and transparent review process. 

For future meetings, there must be clear expectations shared ahead of time for community members taking part, both in terms of the format of the meeting, and the content that will be shared.  People are taking time out of their busy lives during especially stressful times, and need to know what they are dedicating time to.

Format - Community members must be able to actively participate in public meetings

There is no doubt that the Covid crisis has made community engagement more difficult, but community members must have clear and transparent ways to make their voices heard. More people may be able to attend a Zoom call, but the quantity of people is insignificant if the quality of engagement is lacking. 

The “webinar” style at the October 22nd meeting left community members voiceless, without knowledge of who was in the room, and unable to communicate. There was no question feature enabled, leaving attendees to pile their questions into the chat, which were then not addressed by the speakers/presenters. It was not possible to identify the person making posts in the chat (visually or through affiliation); and this anonymity seemed to encourage personal attacks. Asking participants to put questions into a google form, where no one can see them but the people who created this form, is not transparent. You must do better.

In the forthcoming pre-certification meetings, CB6, DCP and other agencies must ensure that:

• Attendees can see who else is in the meeting, whether on video or by participant list.

• There is a transparent and fair way for people to sign up to ask questions and give comments, either by using the Q&A function in a way that all attendees can see the questions, or a google form of which the results are shared with attendees

• There is a transparent and fair way of letting attendees speak, ideally by order signed up during the meeting time, similar to the process in an in-person meeting

• There is significant time allotted for public questions and input. If questions are not answered during the meeting, questions and answers should be distributed to participants afterwards.

• All speakers are identified by their name and affiliation.

Content - We need answers to the questions we have been asking for the past 4 years

The October 22nd meeting lacked any new information. In fact, there has been no new information on any of GNCJ's priorities or demands for a year. This is dismissive of, and disrespectful to, the community that has put years of work into this process. Upcoming pre-certification meetings must provide new content to address the questions we have asked over and over. The title, announcement and promotion of these meetings must make it clear what content the community can expect to learn.

There must be an additional meeting scheduled before ULURP begins on the following content:

Wyckoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses

• A clear and transparent plan for how the rezoning will provide full capital funding for Wyckoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses, beyond existing funds that have already been committed

• Details about the funding commitments for mold and lead remediation under the federal order that the City is already required to provided at Wyckoff Gardens and Gowanus Houses

• Information about what will happen if NYCHA does not address mold and lead by the court-mandated date

GNCJ request to DCP for equitable participation and transparent Gowanus review process

We ask that the City take the following three actions before starting the Gowanus rezoning ULURP:

1.) Release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) at least two months before starting the ULURP clock. There is no legal reason that the release of the DEIS and start of ULURP need to happen at the same time — historic precedent does not serve well in an unprecedented time of crisis. In order to ensure that the community is adequately informed and engaged, the City should release the DEIS at least two months before starting ULURP to give the community ample time to understand the environmental impacts of the proposal, how the City plans to mitigate impacts, and how responsive City Planning has been to the community’s comments on the draft plan to date.

2.) Provide an improved and expanded virtual engagement process to address the above issues and for additional opportunities to provide comments and public testimony. We are currently witnessing a historic community conversation around how to safely re-open schools and use outdoor spaces to foster effective education. This conversation has centered on the need for equitable access, and an understanding that virtual learning works for some children and their parents, but not at all for others. This is no less true when we look at community engagement in reviewing and commenting on major zoning changes whose impacts will be felt for generations. The city should provide additional opportunities and methods for the community to give comments and public testimony, including:

• Setting up opportunities for smaller group in-person gatherings to provide public testimony during public hearings using large open spaces (parks, streets, school yards, public housing community centers) throughout the neighborhood, using screens and projectors (this technique has been frequently used at rallies and marches, where screens are set up in a variety of locations), which could be tied into additional opportunities for virtual engagement training and distribution of PPE etc.;

• Setting up places within the community for people to record testimony to be played at hearings and allowing recorded testimony to be played at hearings;

• Broadcasting public hearings on live public access television with call-in opportunities for public testimony;

• Prioritizing installation of free internet, with resident approval, at NYCHA developments in Gowanus prior to formally beginning ULURP;

• Providing tablets, internet hot-spots and training for individuals not currently able to access virtual meetings adequately;

• Allow for tech-savvy family members’ to provide support for individuals whose virtual participation might be compromised and/or allow for proxy testimony.

3.) Release data necessary for an independent Racial Impact study of the proposed Gowanus area-wide rezoning prior to ULURP certification. Given the current economic crisis brought on by the pandemic, the rise in housing insecurity and the significance of up-to-date health related information, we urge DCP to collaborate with other agencies such as HPD, NYCHA and DOH (Department of Health) in the release of disaggregated data. This ensures the community and stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of outcomes and informed decision-making in the planning process. There is no need for these processes to be separate or siloed from each other particularly as the goal is to have a comprehensive neighborhood rezoning.

Equitable Workforce Investment

GNCJ Workforce Demands

GNCJ comments on the Draft Scope of Work for the Environmental Impact Statement

1. The City must ensure that public housing residents benefit from the rezoning. It must address the capital funding gap in the three local New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments: Gowanus Houses, Wyckoff Gardens and Warren Street Houses as well as create increased opportunity for public housing residents.

2. The City must strengthen the “Gowanus Mix” proposal by requiring industrial / art space instead of making it “optional” and must ensure enforcement through community oversight in the form of a nonprofit, mission-driven steward.

3. The City must study the impacts of the neighborhood rezoning on the adjacent Industrial Business Zone (IBZ)

4. The City must expand the proposed Gowanus Special Mixed-Use District to an Environmental Special District that addresses the unique environmental conditions in Gowanus.

Additional comments on the Draft Scope of Work from coalition member organizations:

• Park Slope Civic Council

• Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Survive and Thrive: Towards a Justice-Focused Gowanus Neighborhood Plan

The Beginning of GNCJ

The Gowanus neighborhood is slated for significant land use changes and new public investment by the City of New York as part of the Mayor DeBlasio’s affordable housing plan to build and preserve 200,000 units over 10 years. Historically, City actions and inactions have accelerated the displacement of existing low- and moderate- income residents and industrial and small commercial businesses, and have otherwise had a major impact on the area. Current neighborhood planning efforts in Gowanus present an opportunity to curb destructive real estate forces and to combat negative trends that continue to displace members of our community.