Landfilling & Sludge Management Proposals Remediation of contaminated dredge spoils should happen locally. This includes the more contaminated coal tar sludges from the upper part of the Canal. I support the proposal to have a remediation facility built on the Gowanus Bay Terminal site in Red Hook. It will provide an opportunity to rebuild the Red Hook waterfront on a more sustainable, community friendly partnership model. Because it is uniquely sited at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal it can help advance the goals of the City’s Coastal Resiliency Plan to create storm surge breakers that can help reduce flooding levels in Red Hook and Gowanus. General Gowanus Canal floodwater entry points in the Watershed The Gowanus Bay Terminal waterfront redevelopment plan supports the City’s commitment to improving air quality by reducing freight truck traffic on local highways and increasing facilities for low emissions waterborne transport. Air pollution from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway is currently the primary environmental health hazard for local residents, far greater than any risks from buried Gowanus industrial pollutants. Supporting the lowest carbon footprint solution by looking at local water borne based scenarios and maintaining a sustainable industrial waterfront will help reduce air pollution while finding a common ground for the sometimes competing land uses that will revitalize the Gowanus Canal and its watershed.
2012 Red Hook proposed oyster reefs wave breakers, Scape_Landscape Architecture, Rising Currents MOMA Exhibit