Ida Raises New Climate Concerns For Gowanus Rezoning: Lawmakers

BROOKLYN, NY — Record-breaking rainfall from Hurricane Ida that inundated New York City last week has underscored a need for city officials to reanalyze the Gowanus Rezoning in light of climate change, according to lawmakers.

At a rally on Thursday, lawmakers and activists renewed a call that the city update its study of whether sewer overflow in the Gowanus Canal will be increased by the rezoning, which is estimated to bring 18,000 new residents to the neighborhood surrounding the polluted waterway.

The current study claims the rezoning will not increase sewer overflow, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently pointed out in a letter that those conclusions rely on outdated rainfall data from 2008.

"Are you telling me, New York City, that the events of the last two weeks doesn't call for the data to be revisited?" U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez said at the rally. "The city needs to get it right before it proceeds."

The remnants of Hurricane Ida brought a level of flooding to Brooklyn, as well as across New York City, that Borough President Eric Adams said was unlike anything he's ever seen.

The storm broke rainfall records in Central Park that had been set only 10 days earlier during Tropical Storm Henri and killed at least 13 people, including a man found in the Gowanus Bay.

Velazquez and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon cited the record-breaking storms in a new letter about the concerns with the city's study, known as the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio this week.

The lawmakers first flagged concerns about the DEIS when the EPA wrote to City Planning Commissioner Marisa Lago earlier this summer.

On top of the outdated data, the EPA points out that the city does not take into account its sea-level rise projections when analyzing the rezoning plan. It also notes delays in the city's responsibility to build two tanks needed to finish the EPA's clean-up of the canal, which activists have contended is needed before the rezoning.

"The City’s recalcitrance in following EPA’s orders for this Superfund site, combined with its use of Pre-Sandy, Pre-Superfund data in the DEIS tells us that NYC is making believe that it can do business as usual," Simon said at the rally. "The City shouldn’t play games with data to evade remediation and costs. Mother Nature will not be fooled."

When asked about the call to update the DEIS, a spokesperson from City Hall maintained that the rezoning plan takes climate change into account.

“Gowanus’ zoning codes haven’t been updated since 1961, and our plan reflects the needs that’ve emerged in all the decades since – including climate resiliency protections," Deputy Press Secretary Mitch Schwartz told Patch. "Paired with the City's coming storm water rule, the Gowanus Plan significantly reduces unsafe sewage overflow. It also adds jobs, services, and housing in a high-opportunity, transit-rich neighborhood. It’s the right plan at the right time.”

The concerns come as the Gowanus Rezoning nears the final stages of the city's review process, which it started the year after a delay brought on by a months-long legal battle. It is slated to face the City Planning Commission next.