2017 GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY
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www.gowanuscanalconservancy.org
ANAL C US C ON S
10 YRS
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543 UNION STREET #1E BROOKLYN, NY 11215 TEL: 718.541.4378
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ANNUAL REPORT
OPEN | CLEAN | ALIVE
GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is dedicated to facilitating the development of a resilient, vibrant, open space network centered on the Gowanus Canal through activating and empowering community stewardship of the Gowanus Watershed.
G O WA N U S LO W L A N D S In 2017, we launched a vision for New York City’s next great park: The Gowanus Lowlands. This vision builds on years of close collaboration with the community, landowners, elected officials and agency representatives to advocate for a cohesive planning for open space and resiliency in a changing neighborhood. GCC partnered with SCAPE Landscape Architecture to develop the blueprint for a master plan, which envisions a network of parks and public spaces centered on the Gowanus Canal and connected to the surrounding watershed. It is a vibrant system that prioritizes access for everyone and shines a light on the Canal’s history and beauty against a backdrop of a healthy environment and safe, connected streets. At the heart of the Gowanus Lowlands vision is a clean and thriving waterway of aquatic habitat, community activity, and bustling industry.
GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 3
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Dear Friends, In August of 2017, the EPA began dredging the Gowanus Canal in the 4th Street turning basin. Leaning over the rail nearby, I wondered what might be hidden within the layers exhumed— ancient seeds preserved in peat; shards of giant shellfish; perhaps a bullet from the Battle of Brooklyn; and most certainly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals, sewage and various detritus, large and small, piece upon piece. A scoop of history, capturing the radical leaps and transformations that have defined this neighborhood that we share. Unpacking this history isn’t just an exercise in nostalgia; it is essential to our way forward, and it is the essential work of GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY. A resilient, vibrant and productive canal can only be achieved by incorporating what we’ve learned from the past and weaving it into the future. While oysters the size of dinner plates may never grace our shores again, there is no doubt that we still need a wild ecosystem to help keep Gowanus’s waters clean. And although barges, loading docks and factories are fewer and farther between, they are still a vital part of our waterfront economy. And for every stream disappeared and salt marsh hardened, there is an imprint for green infrastructure to better protect us and the canal. This synergy between the past and the future, between learning and imagination, between cataloging and building, is at the center all of our programs: from the Gowanus Lowlands open space master plan, to local middle school STEM education, to Green Team community stewardship. And all of them are only made possible by the participation and support of all of you. Thank you for digging through the layers with us and creating what’s next. Best,
Ben Jones Board Chair PS 32 students learn about native plants and seed propagation at the Pop-Up Nursery.
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2017 HIGHLIGHTS
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
SUPERFUND CLEAN-UP
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
EPA clean-up efforts at pilot dredging project, 4th St. Turning Basin, Fall 2017
UN
NEL
PLANNING STUDY AREA Probable neighborhood re-zoning
HIGH-LEVEL STORM SEWER (HLSS) Phase II: 2018-2020
8 MG SEWAGE TANK
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE SP
Green Team with highlevel storm sewer, 3rd Ave., Summer 2017
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HIGH-LEVEL STORM SEWER (HLSS)
K
Phase I: 2016-2018
4 MG SEWAGE TANK SUPERFUND PILOT DREDGE 4th Street Turning Basin 6T
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GOWANUS CANAL WATERSHED
Volunteers plant in a bioswale, Carroll St., Spring 2017
COMBINED SEWER OUTFALL (CSO) BIOSWALE 90 CONSTRUCTED GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT 15 CONSTRUCTED
ENGAGED COMMUNITY
SUPERFUND
GREEN AND GREY INFRASTRUCTURE FLUSHING TUNNEL
HLSS REZONING
SEA LEVEL RISE
SEWAGE TANK CONSTRUCTION DEVELOPMENT 2030
Artists, residents, students and local organizations gather at Expo Gowanus, the 3rd annual celebration of the neighborhood, Thomas Greene Park, May 2017
DREDGING BEGINS
2026
TIMELINE OF A CHANGING NEIGHBORHOOD
2020
And finally, we’re back at the Salt Lot—our stewardship center and outdoor classroom, with expanded gardens, compost and nursery—to hook new young gardeners, activists and volunteers on this special place.
Andrea Parker Executive Director
GT
2017
As we face dramatic neighborhood change, we are working closely with an incredible network of neighborhood partners to ensure this change allows a better Gowanus for all.We have grown both our professional staff and our job training opportunities in order to build an organization that can steward the future while providing opportunities to long-time residents.
SHIN
2010
In those 10 years, we have built capacity to spearhead a community-based vision for open space in Gowanus, while deepening our core programs to engage volunteers and students in hands-on stewardship and learning.
FLU
2006
Seven years ago, I volunteered at the Salt Lot to build a green roof on a shipping container and was immediately hooked by the collaborative vision of GCC volunteers. In our 10th year, I continue to be amazed by the depth of passion and commitment that our staff, volunteers and partners achieve every day.
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GREEN TEAM
LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT We build community capacity to install and manage gardens, bioswales, street trees, parks, and other public spaces that support a healthy ecosystem.
2017 was the first year of Green Team, a job training program for high school students in the Gowanus Watershed that prepares them for environmental careers and expands green job opportunities in Gowanus. Through field work and class sessions participants gained physical skills, including gardening, infrastructure maintenance, and plant identification; and the gained social skills including team-work and communication. Green Team apprentices are an integral part of our growing open space maintenance team, providing stewardship for priority areas of young urban forest, bioswales, parks, and public spaces.
M A I N TA I N | S T E WA R D
15 SITES M A I N TA I N E D
CARROLL PARK
GCC OFFICE CARROLL & BOND BIOSWALE
155 TREES M A I N TA I N E D
GREENSPACE ON 4TH CARROLL ST. PLANTERS 2017 HIGHLIGHT
SPONGE PARK
9,200 TREE VISITS
THOMAS GREENE PARK
THE SALT LOT GCC STEWARDSHIP & EDUCATION HUB
3RD & 3RD GARDEN
6TH ST. GREEN CORRIDOR
2,728 PLANTS PLANTED ENNIS PARK
10TH ST. PLANTING STRIP
WASHINGTON PARK
INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE STEWARDSHIP SITE TREE STEWARDSHIP CORRIDOR
CARROLL STREET PLANTERS We worked with Future Green Studio, NYC Department of Design and Construction, and Council Member Brad Lander’s office to install 12 planters along Carroll Street in October 2017. These gardens are an interim replacement for decadesold street trees that were cut down to build a high-level storm sewer as a part of Department of Environmental Protection efforts to reduce combined sewage overflow in the Gowanus Canal.
“Together, we are making Gowanus a model for sustainability, resiliency, and environmental justice, following many decades of environmental abuse and neglect. By employing young people from our community, by giving them job-skills for the future, and by making Gowanus greener, we’re investing in what matters.” COUNCIL MEMBER BRAD LANDER GREEN TEAM BY THE NUMBERS 1 CREW LEADER 528 HOURS J O B T RA I N I N G
1 2 B I O S WA L E S 3 PA R K S 1 5 5 TREES 378 HOURS F I E L D WO R K
5 APPRENTICES GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 9
N AT I V E P L A N T N U R S E R Y
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM Our amazing base of volunteers is essential to our work throughout the neighborhood. From our neighbors who drop in for a one-day project to our dedicated Volunteer Committee that meets monthly to plan initiatives and projects, we couldn’t function without them. VOLUNTEER PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS
9 4 1 T O TA L VO LU N T E E R S
3,333 HOURS VO LU N T E E R E D
299 LBS T R A S H CO L L E C T E D
Volunteers and students help grow a wide array of native plants welladapted to our urban conditions.
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE
23 PUBLIC + C O R P O R AT E E V E N TS
12 PLANTER B OX E S B U I LT
35 MEMBERS 10 CHAIRS 5 S U B - CO M M I T T E E S
compost
T H E S A LT L O T
Our greatest asset is our dedicated Volunteer Committee. Comprised of five subcommittees, they meet every month to strategize and plan programming. This year, Compost and Design-Build collaborated on a compost bike sifter design, Urban Forestry helped plan and initiate a Gowanus Tree Network, Outreach brought hundreds of neighbors to EXPO Gowanus, and Horticulture led volunteers in planting green spaces. outreach
h o r t i c u lt u r e
urban forestry
design-build
This year we returned to the NYC Department of Sanitation Salt Lot, our stewardship base and outdoor classroom.
The Volunteer Committee hard at work.
BIOBLITZ
138 SPECIES R ECO R D E D
300 TONS O RG A N I C S / Y R
The Salt Lot now hosts an NYC Compost Project facility, thanks to a collaboration between GCC, DSNY, Big Reuse and funding from District 39 participatory budgeting.
During our pilot BioBlitz, 12 taxa specialists set out to record what lives in and around the canal. 241 observations were made and 138 species recorded. GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 11
STEM GOWANUS CURRICULUM
EDUCATION PROGRAM Through service-learning, citizen science, walking tours, and STEM curriculum, we teach students and community members of all ages about the complex ecological and social issues of Gowanus so that they can become better advocates for change. CITIZEN SCIENCE
Graphics from the curriculum unit on Adaptive Design Solutions to Climate Change. Teachers from MS 88, Brooklyn Urban Garden School, and St. Ann’s School used this unit to support STEM learning and design.
In 2017, 160 7th grade students participated in a week-long design project that included site visits to Gowanus, stakeholder interviews, in-class design work and guest critics. Students created 3D models, both digital and physical, of Thomas Greene Park and proposed adaptive designs that included education centers to teach others about resiliency. Students presented their projects to address climate change at the local level to nearly 700 people, including elected officials and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Community Advisory Group. MS 88 students present design projects to EPA Superfund Project Manager, Christos Tsiamis at EPA Superfund CAG meeting. In 2017, we launched a Citizen Science Program with NYC Department of Education for middle school students. Using the Gowanus Canal as a field site, 100 students from 5 Brooklyn schools learned about Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) and tested several water quality parameters, including enterococcus, an indicator of raw sewage.
E D U C AT I O N P R O G R A M S BY T H E N U M B E R S
2,462 PEOPLE LEARNED ABOUT CSO
23 GOWANUS WA L K I N G TO U R S
17 SCHOOL S E RV I C E - L E A R N I N G E V E N TS
609 STUDENTS E N G AG E D I N P L AC E BASED LEARNING
100 STUDENTS 5 SCHOOLS E N G AG E D I N CITIZEN SCIENCE
MS 88 students participate in a stormwater design and installation project at the Nursery. GOWANUS CANAL CONSERVANCY 2017 ANNUAL REPORT 13
PEOPLE
Partners
Board of Directors
Full-Time Staff
Volunteer Committee
Chairman
Andrea Parker, Executive Director Jessica Goldberg, Stewardship Coordinator Diana Gruberg, Horticultural Manager Cait LaMorte, Development Director Amy Motzny, Watershed Manager Tasha Naula, Education Coordinator Christine Petro, Education Director Natasia Sidarta, Program Manager
Subcommittee Chairs
Ben Jones
Vice-Chairman
Marcos Diaz Gonzalez
Treasurer Richard Napoli
Secretary
Faizal Karmali
Part-Time Staff
Winfield Clifford Remko de Jong, Esq. Heidi Dolnick Alexandria Donati Anselm Fusco Richard Greene Stephen Hindy Richard Kampf Andrew Kimball Virginia McEnerney Lisa Melmed Leah Milcarek Andrew Simons Craig Wilson Ted Wolff, Esq.
Emma Garrison, Educator Destinie Lane, Gardener Ruth Nervig, Gardener Eugenie Nugent, Bookkeeper Michael Wasserman, Operations Coordinator
Emeritus
Fellows
John C. Muir
Anna Speidel Elena Day Hana Georg Lauren Salas-Schumann
Green Team Shakieva Harris, Crew Leader Elyi Flores Kwanzaa Handy Sumaiyah Shabazz-Scott Jayda Smith Adonis Wynter
Interns Marissa Fabricant Isabelle Furman Leo Gallagher Chloe Hernandez Katie Lowen Teresa Mariscal Karen Mason Naho Matsuzawa Luis Peromarta
Shari Baitcher, Outreach Shanna Blanchard, Horticulture Erin Johnson, Outreach Ben Leer, Design/Build Bob Lesko, Urban Forestry Liam Mahoney, Compost Jason Mortara, Design/Build Leila Mougoui Bakhtiari, Urban Forestry Ruth Nervig, Horticulture Bryan Simpson, Compost Annie Bergelin Lara Caballero Jonathan Chesley John Craver Jessica Dalrymple Elena Day Brian Dentz Eymund Diegel Alexandria Donati Hannah Edmunds Emma Garrison Ruth Hofheimer Nermin Kajosi Lindsay Karich Angela Lehn Christensen Klaus Lehn Christensen Julian Macrone Frederick Phillips Peter Reich James Riso Jennifer Roberts Lisa Shufro Sam Silver Michael Wasserman Leah Wener
27th Street Block Association 350 Brooklyn 8th Street Block Association ArtBuilt Artichoke Dance Arts Gowanus American Society of Landscape Architects Bronx River Alliance Brooklyn Bird Club Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Brooklyn Community Board 6 Big Reuse Bike New York Brooklyn Boulders Foundation Brooklyn Micro Grid Carnival of Connectivity Central Park Conservancy DecadesOut DLANDstudio eDesign Dynamics Families United for Racial and Economic Equality Fifth Avenue Committee Fresh Kills Park Friends of Thomas Greene Park Future Green Studio Gowanus Alliance Gowanus by Design Gowanus Community Advisory Group (CAG) Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Gowanus Houses Art Collective Gowanus Souvenir Shop Gowanus Swim Society Gowanus Wildcats Greenbelt Native Plant Center GreenSpace on Fourth GreenThumb Homage Skateboard Academy Hungry Marching Band KOKO NYC Langan Letter of Marque Theater Lower East Side Ecology Center Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
K-12 Partners Natural Areas Conservancy New York City Compost Project New York City Dept. of City Planning (NYCDCP) NYC Wildflower Week New York University Furman Center NYC Urban Field Station Old Stone House Open House New York Inc. Open Sewer Atlas Open Source Gallery The POOP Project Project Sound System Prospect Park Alliance Riverkeeper SCAPE SciArt6 Solar One South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation Spoke the Hub Textile Arts Center thread collective TreeKIT Trees New York Turning the Tide (T3) Working Harbor Committee
University Partners The City College of New York Cornell Tech Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York City College of Technology New York University Marymount Manhattan College School of Visual Arts Syracuse University
Avenues: The World School The Berkeley Carroll School Brooklyn Friends School Brooklyn Urban Garden School Girl Scout Council of Greater New York Gramercy Arts High School I.S. 24 Myra S. Barnes School International School of Brooklyn J.H.S. 223 Montauk Junior High School J.H.S. 234 Arthur W. Cunningham Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences M.S. 51 William Alexander Middle School M.S. 88 Peter Rouget M.S. 442 Carroll Gardens School for Innovation M.S. 447 The Math & Science Exploratory School P.S. 32 Samuel Mills Spole P.S. 56 The Lewis H. Latimer School P.S. 133 William A. Butler P.S. 261 Philip Livingston P.S. 372 The Children’s School The Packer Collegiate Institute Poly Prep Country Day School Rodeph Sholom School The Science and Medicine Middle School Success Academy Clinton Hill Sunset Park High School
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Benefactors Nancy Belkov & Jeff Parker Heidi & Sam Dolnick Remko de Jong Marcos Diaz Gonzalez Karen E. Heyman Steve Hindy & Ellen Foote Ben Jones Andrew Kimball John Lavelle Virginia McEnerney Wendy Moore Sara Sant-Amand The Simons Family Ted & Anne Wolff
Supporters Anonymous (1) Mark Benoit Melissa Benson & Kieran Beer Winfield Clifford Hillary Cohen Micah Craig Alexandria Donati & Jonathan Chesley Deborah Flynn Peter Flores Anselm Fusco M. Salome Galib Ethan Geto Lisa Goldfarb Katherine Hand Laura Hansen Faizal Karmali Richard Kampf Tricia Martin Alex McDonald Lisa Melmed John C. Muir Alarik Myrin Richard Napoli Noreen O’Louglin Jennifer Sage Robin Shanus
Corporate Supporters AECOM Citi Foundation Con Edison Cushman & Wakefield Joyland Management Langan mindbodygreen Monadnock Muchnick, Golieb & Golieb, P.C. Patagonia Soho Piper Jaffray & Co. Tough Mudder Veolia North America Villa Roma Productions
Agencies NYC Civic Corps NYC Dept. of Education NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection NYC Dept. of Sanitation NYC Soil & Water Conservation District NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation US Environmental Protection Agency US Forest Service, US Dept. of Agriculture
Elected Officials
Business Supporters
City Council Member Brad Lander
Dirty Precious DLANDstudio Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design Gowanus Grid & Electric, LLC Miranda Brooks Landscape Design, Inc. Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners
City Council Member Stephen Levin
Foundation Supporters ALLINBKLYN Lily Auchincloss Foundation Beatman Foundation City Parks Foundation GrowNYC Leibowitz & Greenway Family Foundation Park Slope Civic Council The Nature Conservancy Jordan & Jean Nerenberg Family Foundation The PepsiCo Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation
GOWANUS GREEN + BLUE 1 0 T H B I R T H D AY B A S H
Honorees Andrew Simons Turning the Tide (T3) Sims Municipal Recycling
Co-Chairs Marcos Diaz-Gonzalez Steve Hindy and Ellen Foote Ted & Anne Wolff
Gowanus Blue Sponsor AECOM
US Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez
Green Infrastructure Sponsors
In-Kind
Anonymous (1) Ben Jones Lisa Melmed The Simons Family Sims Municipal Recycling
Brooklyn Brewery Runner & Stone Table 87 The V Spot Whole Foods
STEM Gowanus Sponsors
Bioswale Sponsors
Brendan Aguayo Ben Herzog Architect, P.C. Martha Berry & Curtis Cravens Winfield Clifford Remko de Jong Delson or Sherman Architects Marcos Diaz Gonzalez The Durst Organization Forest City New York GBX - Gowanus Bay Terminal Industry City Langan Stephen Leone, Industrial Carting MacArthur Holdings Virginia McEnerney P.W. Grosser Consulting Quadrozzi Urban Enterprises Selldorf Architects Susan & Peter Stern Jay Walder & Susan Cummings-Walder Craig Wilson
Apiary Studio Debra Bondy, Compass David Briggs, Gowanus by Design David Burney Alexandria Donati & Jonathan Chesley Ecoterra Consulting Fringe Salon Impact Environmental Kedin Kilgore, Gowanus Grid & Electric, LLC Sandy Mayzel & John Gould Leah Milcarek & Rick McNerny Monadnock Kimberly Neuhaus, Neuhaus Design Architecture, P.C. Rogers Partners Sciame Development, Inc. Bruce & Sarah Shriver Lavinia G. Simons thread collective
Clean & Green Sponsors Cushman & Wakefield Heidi & Sam Dolnick
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F I N A N C I A L R E P O R T, F Y 2 0 1 7
In Fiscal Year 2017 (July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017), we grew our core programming and our advocacy capacity to respond to the rapidly changing Gowanus neighborhood. We also diversified our funding sources to lessen reliance on government grants, though city, state and federal agencies remain important funding partners. REVENUE & SUPPORT Membership
$8,641
Individual
$69,524
Foundation Support
$60,317
Corporate Support
$53,190
Government Grants
$188,614
Special Events Income
$147,314
Special Events Expenses
($35,721)
In-Kind Services & Facilities
$25,956
Program Service Revenue
$101,753
Total Revenue & Support
$619,589
EXPENSES
The Salt Lot is the eco-industrial heart of the Gowanus Lowlands. This image shows our vision for this peninsula, leveraging and coordinating the construction of a 4 million gallon sewage tank, ongoing salt and compost operations, and restoration projects through the Superfund related Natural Resource Damages Assessment, all overlaid with vibrant and immersive educational and stewardship programming.
Program Services
$472,161
Management & General
$67,464
Fundraising
$12,793
Total Expenses
$552,418
Changes in Net Assets
$67,171
Net Assets at Beginning Year
$48,001
Net Assets at End of Year
$115,172
*The financial statements for Gowanus Canal Conservancy as of June 30, 2017 have been audited by an independent, certified public accounting firm. Copies of the complete audited financial statements are available upon request.
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