Next Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group General Meeting: Tuesday, June 23, 6:30 p.m.

Please join us for our June 2026 General Meeting, on Tuesday, June 23, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., conducted via Zoom video conference.

Join the meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81431345410?pwd=drb4lhEv7H8OQJ4xQ7j60aZuv3tzci.1

Meeting ID: 814 3134 5410
Passcode: 052446

DRAFT AGENDA (all times are approximate)

6:30 – 6:40 p.m.: Welcome and CAG Member Introductions

6:40 – 7:15 p.m.: EPA Updates and CAG Q&A / Public Comment and Q&A as time allows

7:15 – 8:30 p.m.: CAG Business and Committee Updates

  • Archaeology and Historic Preservation Committee
  • Outreach Committee
  • Water Quality/Technical Committee
  • Administrative Committee
  • Facilitation Committee
  • Land Use Committee – Gowanus Protection Framework Resolution

8:30 p.m.: Adjourn

Guests are always welcome to comment and ask questions using the chat function.

All Gowanus CAG meetings are open to the public, unless specifically noted otherwise.

Minutes of the Gowanus Canal CAG Outreach Committee’s June 8, 2026 Meeting

Attendees: Jason Schwartzman (Facilitator), Emily Mitchell, Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Erica Eliason, Lisa Bowstead, Katie Bishop

CAG Resolution: At the next CAG General Meeting, it is expected that a resolution will come up for a vote, entitled, “The Gowanus Protection Framework.” The resolution includes a list of commitments that the CAG will make, many of which will fall upon the Outreach Committee to carry out. The Committee went through the list of commitments, and the consensus is that it’s do-able. The following are the commitments (in italics) and key points from the discussion:

Play a productive role in the broader community to address issues, concerns, questions or complaints about the remediation impacts, including:

Commitment A – Host annual Town Hall meetings where agencies provide high level overview and progress of all remediation activities, so that all neighbors are able to learn about the ongoing work

  • Generally viewed as doable but recognized as a logistical challenge.

Commitment B: Manage an active website and social media presence that amplify agency updates

  • The committee agreed that the CAG website might provide links to more technical, longer, and more comprehensive type information published by others.
  • The committee discussed the fact that social media needs to use “hooks” and be more engageable to reach community members who aren’t currently involved or informed about efforts to clean up the contamination in the Gowanus Canal and the surrounding land.
  • This commitment was recognized to be do-able but a heavy lift, with questions about website and social media management.

Commitment C: Manage a live list of active remediation projects, that compiles the above information provided by agencies

  • This commitment drew the most discussion, and the consensus within the Committee is that it is the heaviest lift.
  • The committee walked through the Gowanus Oversight Task Force website, which may provide a model for the design of how active remediation projects may be presented and tracked.

Commitment D: Develop and implement an outreach plan to reach community members throughout the neighborhood that may not be represented on the CAG.

  • The Committee confirmed this to be a top priority.
  • The Committee brainstormed ways to increase its outreach–street outreach to sign up people interested in information about the superfund and upland cleanup process, and piggybacking on existing communications being sent out by other groups to their audience (there are a number of regular email blasts put out by local groups that may be friendly to CAG messaging, including elected officials, local press, and other nonprofits).

Minutes of the May 4, 2026 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Archaeology & Historic Preservation Committee

Attendees, CAG Members: Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Moderator. Louis Kleinman, Eymund Diegel, Katia Kelly, Michael Kilian, Jason Schwartzman, Joseph Alexiou, Peter Reich.

Guests: Irene Baker, National Grid; Aaron Kaufman, Gowanus Remediation Trust.

You can watch a video recording of the meeting here. Please enter passcode fp^+^7v^ for access.

1. Get the Storyboard out to the community – It is already integrated on Arc GIS and we can share. Arts GIS is a multi-media platform that allows photos, video, text and audio and the Story Map is the Hx of the Gowanus Canal.

Getting our stuff out there

2. Shared materials with committee to send first tranche to Johnny & Emily (Arts Gowanus) for the Walkabout Tour. Many of the Gowanus Graffiti items are already on Michael’s Instragram site but Joseph and I are building out the Google docs for sharing with Arts Gowanus. Eymund has material that can be added.

3. Then we can share the other Gowanus dredged material

Minutes of the Gowanus Canal CAG Outreach Committee’s May 11, 2026 Meeting

Attendees: Jason Schwartzman (Facilitator), Emily Mitchell, Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Erica Eliason, Lisa Bowstead, Alexandra Dadourian

1. Review Outreach’s Information Dissemination

The committee reviewed the existing two-page Superfund fact sheet (last content-approved November 2017). The content remains largely accurate, but the Committee agreed that some updates are required. 

Actions: Natalie Loney/EPA will be asked to provide dates for the timeline, and once we have that, Emily will incorporate the updates. (Further Update as of 5/15 – Natalie agreed to provide the updated info, and it turned out that Andrea Parker has the original InDesign document and agreed to update the document once we hear back from Natalie).

2. Outreach Committee Priorities for 2026

The committee reviewed an existing list of Outreach Committee priorities toward understanding each and figuring out if the list remains our commitment – anything to add or drop?

Public Meetings and Town Halls: The CAG is expected to hold four in-person monthly meetings per year open to the public. Separately, a town hall — a larger, advertised event with EPA/DEC/DOH/DEP officials, as relevant, presenting to the broader community — is a distinct goal. The Thomas Greene Park outdoor event is scheduled for October 3rd and is an opportunity for outreach on the planned remediation of the park.

Creating Materials for Outreach: The Committee identified opportunities for outreach that include meetings with tenant associations in new canal-adjacent buildings, businesses within a block of the canal, community centers, schools, and warm-weather events like Carroll Park’s Flea Market, and events hosted by the Gowanus Dredgers.

Read more »

Missed our April 2026 General Meeting? You can find a recording here.

If you were unable to join us via Zoom for our April 28th general meeting, you can view a complete video recording of the meeting below, or open it in a new window here.

Please click on any of the following dates for recordings of our March 24th, February 24th, January 27th, December 2nd, and October 28th general meetings.

For recordings of our June, July and September 2025 meetings, please click here.

And for video of most of our meetings from April 2020 to April 2025, please visit our Vimeo page. Click on any of the videos to view the recording of the desired meeting.

Gowanus Canal CAG April 28, 2026 General Meeting

Minutes of the Gowanus Canal CAG Outreach Committee’s April 13, 2026 Meeting

Attendees: Jason Schwartzman (Facilitator), Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Alexandra Dadourian, Lisa Bowstead, Erica Eliason, Katie Bishop, Celeste LeCompte

1. April Thomas Greene Park Event & Outreach Opportunity

Alexandra shared the flyer for the upcoming Gowanus Spring Festival at Thomas Greene Park, which is an opportunity for outreach. A one-page update on the plans for the Park’s remediation was drafted and shared after the meeting (included in these minutes), which Friends of Thomas Greene Park will make available at the event. It was decided to additionally make available as a handout the Gowanus Superfund Info Sheet (also included in these minutes).

Alexandra invited CAG members to use the event for outreach, and several members expressed interest.

2. Event Posting rubric–are we good with it? Next steps?

The CAG website includes announcements about events, and the Outreach Committee was asked to clarify the rules for what’s in- or out-of-scope for posting. We reviewed a decision-making rubric that was generated at our March committee meeting, and it was approved to send to the full CAG for approval (included in these minutes).

According to the rubric, the Thomas Greene Park event is eligible for posting, but requires a CAG vote. Celeste volunteered to create a Google Form that Jason will use to get a decision from the full CAG.

3. Where are we with the website? Next steps?

The Outreach Committee is responsible for updating the CAG website. Celeste shared the details of what is the bottleneck in terms of transferring “ownership” and content of the website to a new platform. She shared the Google Drive’s folder where the website material is saved, with the following addresses:

· Gowanus CAG Outreach Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HjC-sXqNtLcAxE8JO3mLwis_j2krEvaO

· Gowanus CAG Outreach Folder/Outreach Resources/Website Relaunch: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1R7Od9R5oxUluaiYZ2Mr9UiUk2K_l1O-A

· Approved 2024 CAG Document Outlining Updated Website: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tU0ilJp7z_p0Ov07P98-GlC4JYdcuQ2ZdxbQF7Bq8y4/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.6hhi9anvwei2

Missed our March 2026 General Meeting? You can find a recording here.

If you were unable to join us via Zoom for our March 24th general meeting, you can view a complete video recording of the meeting below, or open it in a new window here.

Please click on any of the following dates for recordings of our February 24th, January 27th, December 2nd, and October 28th general meetings.

For recordings of our June, July and September 2025 meetings, please click here.

And for video of most of our meetings from April 2020 to April 2025, please visit our Vimeo page. Click on any of the videos to view the recording of the desired meeting.

Minutes of the March 2, 2026 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Water Quality & Technical Committee

Attendees, CAG Members: Joan Salome-Rodriguez (Moderator), Erica Eliason, Corinne Jenner, Katia Kelly, Emily Mitchell, Jason Schwartzman

Guests: Irene Baker, National Grid; Aaron Kaufman, Gowanus Remediation Trust.

You can view a video recording of the meeting here. Please enter code 7+AkN60k when prompted for access.

Joan shared the outfall map provided by Victoria at EPA at our request. Follow up question – how many of the outfalls are from new construction? Joan replied to ask Victoria, “How many of those outfalls, if any, are from new construction?”

We also wanted to know what Brian Carr meant by “first flush,” “second flush” when he used those terms at the General CAG meeting when discussing CSO events. Joan wrote him an email to ask.

What is the objective for the level of clean water once the canal is cleaned? 

Implementation of the remedy will improve the surface water quality of the Canal by controlling and substantially eliminating sheens and preventing contact of the surface water with the contaminated sediment.  

Joan sent emails to Victoria and Natalie covering a few questions – can CSO be measured at the outfalls with real-time data? Also sent email to DEC and DOH re: flood kits for basement flood testing. 

Follow-ups on Action Items

1. Any acknowledgement from Fagel, Waldron or Smith to our resolution re: dissolved oxygen levels? – Erica reported – no response.

2. What is EPA’s demand for responsible parties to maintain an operation and maintenance plan (OMP) for the Gowanus Canal clean-up strategy? Who will ensure that the OMP is done going forward? Will EPA continue to check that the water quality remains good and that the cap is intact? Does EPA have an OMP Plan? Where is it? Katia followed up on these two questions – any answer? Not yet.

3. To the best of the Committee’s knowledge, neither the DEC nor NYSDOH has ever performed a comprehensive hydrology and hydrographic study for this neighborhood as the Gowanus is in a FEMA flood zone A. According to EPA, DEC is currently completing a Gowanus Canal areawide groundwater study to evaluate the current hydraulic conditions, including groundwater elevations and flow direction. This study was scheduled for completion in late 2024. Joan & Steve & then the entire CAG with an inquiry by Emily Mitchell followed up with Aaron Fischer. Aaron answered. Joan drafted a follow-up for committee review as to whether contaminant sources would be included in the report. So did Jason. I include Jason’s here because it is better.

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Minutes of the March 2, 2026 Meeting of the Gowanus Canal CAG’s Archaeology & Historic Preservation Committee

Attendees, CAG Members: Joan Salome-Rodriguez, Moderator. Katia Kelly, Michael Kilian, Peter Reich, Jason Schwartzman.  

Guests: Irene Baker, National Grid; Aaron Kaufman, Gowanus Remediation Trust.

You can watch a video recording of the meeting here. Please enter passcode +D$t3q8= for access.

1. Checked status of the Storyboard with GRT. Chronical Heritage is working on setting up an account with a platform for activity. No certain date yet. Arts GIS is a multi-media platform that allows photos, video, text and audio and the Story Map is the history of the Gowanus Canal. Aaron reports that it is undergoing final internal review and may be published later in March.

Getting our stuff out there

2. Peter shared info on the Affordable Arts Fair at the Starrett-Lehigh Building – 621 West 26th Street in Manhattan.

3. Share materials with committee to send first tranche to Johnny and Emily (Arts Gowanus) for the Walkabout Tour. Joan has gathered her Gowanus Graffiti photos and put them in a zip drive for Johnny and Emily. Everyone else should start to do the same. Michael to help her put it in a Google Doc so it can be shared and maybe have locations?

4. How the WalkAbout works – There will be a QR code there that folks can use that takes one to a website with a map the viewer uses to find their current location and see what was there before the re-zone. Will invite Johnny and Emily to an upcoming meeting. https://gowanusimprovementdistrict.org/get-involved is where the Walkabout link lives. The actual Walkabout link is here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/c878d7e5ed124f27942a436244695ebb

5. Jason created an excel document that compares what materials already exist in various walking tours. It gave us a good starting point to decide on materials. We went over it together.

NYS DEC Public Meeting on Proposed Brownfield Cleanup of Public Place Site, Wednesday, March 25, 7 p.m.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will hold a public meeting at P.S. 32 at 420 Union Street in Carroll Gardens on Wednesday, March 25th, at 7:00 p.m., to discuss the proposed brownfield cleanup plan for a portion of the Public Place/former Citizens MGP site.

Members of the public are invited to provide comments on the proposed cleanup effort, described in the project fact sheet, at the meeting and during a 45-day comment period that concludes on April 25th.

The Draft Remedial Action Work Plan and related project documents can be found at https://extapps.dec.ny.gov/data/DecDocs/C224012/.

You can sign up for site-specific email updates from NYSDEC here.

For project related questions, please contact:

Aaron Fischer, Project Manager
NYSDEC, Division of Environmental Remediation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233
(518) 598-7799
aaron.fischer@dec.ny.gov

For project-related health questions, please contact:

Michele Dolan
NYSDOH, Bureau of Environmental Exposure and Investigation
Empire State Plaza
Corning Tower Room 1787
Albany, NY 12237
(518) 402-7860
beei@health.ny.gov