Today was the official groundbreaking ceremony for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, which former slave traders Barclays has the naming rights for. I was going to try and make the protests against this ceremony to mark the destruction of Central Brooklyn, the increased sewage load on an already over flowing sewage system and the increased gridlock in an already over crowded road system. But I couldn't skip work today. So I missed it. From what I hear, not that many elected officials made the groundbreaking either...perhaps realizing how unpopular the traffic, street closings and sewage overflows are going to be. And maybe when taxpayers realize how much people like Bloomberg, Marty Markowitz and Vito Lopez are making us pay for Ratner to make money, people will like it even less. But now the damage begins.

Here is the statement from Councilmember Tish James on the groundbreaking:

“He, who has money, has power, influence, and ultimately politicians.  read more »

Sustainable South Bronx is one of the best organizations in the city, addressing environment, health and poverty all at the same time. Here are a couple of excellent upcoming events for Sustainable South Bronx.

Happy Hour with Sustainable South Bronx
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Bruckner Bar and Grill
1 Bruckner Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10454-4411
Cost $25 in advance, includes 2 free drinks and appetizers
RSVP by March 19, 2010 at Brown Paper Tickets
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/99880
Contact: Laura Johnson Avanessian at ljohnson@ssbx.org or 646.400.5433

4th Annual Hunts Point Hustle
5K Run/ Walk Race

on the future site of the South Bronx Greenway

Saturday, May 22, 2010
9am
Hunts Point Riverside Park
Calling for Volunteers!

To volunteer, call 646.400.5432 today.

Sponsorship Opportunities! Call 646.400.5433 today for information
on a variety of sponsorship opportunities.

Not able to give right now? Ask about other ways in which you can support
the Hunts Point Hustle and Sustainable South Bronx!  read more »

Well, perhaps soon my wife's pictures of the slime in the Gowanus canal (we beat the NY Times to it by more than a year) may become a thing of the past. Today the United States Environmental Protection Agency finally designated the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site, designated for cleanup. I think we can all greet this with relief, with the exception of developers who wanted to develop the site with stink and slime intact for reasons which I cannot understand unless their greed has just decayed their common sense. I can only imagine real estate agents trying to move luxury apartments as that Gowanus stink wafted on the breeze.

But now a real cleanup is in the works thanks to Obama's EPA. Here is the Press release from State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, an early supporter (along with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab) of Superfund designation as the best way to clean up the canal:

Senator Velmanette Montgomery on EPA Superfunding the Gowanus Canal:
THANK YOU!  read more »

Harold Ford jr.'s run for Senate is dead...

"A penny for the old guy"

Hillary Clinton, the very accomplished, brilliant wife of a very popular President, moved to New York to run for the Senate. She was widely criticized initially as a "carpetbagger," but in the end won our confidence and won her Senate seat. Hillary is an exceptional person and NY State appreciates exceptional people even if they come from elsewhere. Even though it didn't pass Congress (due to the exact same Democratic divisions and Republican obstructionism we are seeing now), I think many appreciated her efforts and recognized her Healthcare plan as something America sure could have used.

Harold Ford, jr., the failed Senate candidate from Tennessee and Wall Street fat cat, somehow convinced himself he was as exceptional a person and Hillary Clinton and thought he could follow in her footsteps. Moving from Tennessee he thought he could waltz into the Senate, banking on dissatisfaction with so-far only appointed Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  read more »

As Joy, Jacob and I strolled along Union Street, we noticed that even in the middle of winter (Feb. 20, 2010) the Gowanus Canal stank. And when we neared it, this is what we saw.

Photos by Joy Romanski

View from Union St. Bridge over the Gowanus:

Closeup 1:

Closeup 2:

 read more »