From left: A rendering of Toll Brothers’ planned Bond Street development, the Gowanus Canal

The fate of the Gowanus Canal and its controversial Superfund status is expected to be determined this month, in a decision that could hinder large-scale development plans for the surrounding area for decades. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which decided last April to put the site on its priorities list despite the city’s own efforts to clean it up, has scheduled a public information meeting for Thursday to discuss “what has been going on with the remedial investigation of the contamination and what we plan on doing,” according to a spokesperson for the agency. The spokesperson did not reveal when a final decision would be made. The city, along with business group Clean Gowanus Now Coalition, of which luxury home builder Toll Brothers is a part, has been lobbying against a Superfund designation, arguing that the city should be able to follow through with its plans for the site. The group has thus far been successful in slowing down the EPA’s decision, which had been expected last November, but sources told Crain’s that the EPA is likely to make the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site in the end. Toll Brothers had been planning to purchase three parcels of land on the canal to build a mixed-income residential complex but has said it will renege on the plans if the site is a Superfund. “Given the way Superfund sites work, it could be a decade or more from now before clean up starts,” said David Von Spreckelsen, a vice president at Toll Brothers. “We just don’t have that time horizon. We will most likely walk away from the properties.” [Crain's] [more]

Toll Brothers has been hit with a breach of contract lawsuit by the owner of 363-379 Bond Street, the site of its planned mixed-use condominium and retail development alongside the Gowanus Canal. The developer entered a contract to purchase the site from Joseph Phillips and Citibank, N.A. in September 2004, making a down payment of $5.75 million on the purchase price of $21.5 million — later revised to $20.6 million. The deal was contingent on the city’s approval of a rezoning plan that would convert the property from manufacturing to residential, which was granted last March. But when the Environmental Protection Agency sought to add the Gowanus Canal to its Superfund National Priorities list one month later, Toll Brothers began to have second thoughts, refusing to close the transaction because such a designation would make the site unmarketable. Phillips, however, claims that Toll Brothers’ should have done its due diligence prior to entering the contract. The company conducted an environmental study prior to the EPA’s announcement, which concluded that remediation would be “not overly burdensome.” Toll filed a countersuit against the landowner in October. [Pardon Me For Asking]

From left: 153 Second Street, 404 Carroll Street

The four acres of Brooklyn land by the Gowanus Canal that was to become a 400-condominium-unit complex called Gowanus Village is for sale again, and this time, bidders can try to acquire the three properties at 153 Second Street, and 404 and 430 Carroll Street individually or as a set. The land was originally on the market in 2008 for $27 million, but developer Africa Israel took it offline. The property listings on brokerage Massey Knakal Realty Services’ Web site now ask interested parties to make an offer, but do not specify an asking price. [Brownstoner] [more]

After setting a timetable for the Gowanus Canal cleanup effort, Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s office has released more details on the waterway project.
The $150 million plan to improve the water quality in the canal will
include upgrades to the water pumping station and the existing
flushing tunnel, according to the Brooklyn Paper. Additionally, the
plan includes dredging sediment in the canal to help reduce the potent
smell that many residents find offensive. The Gowanus Canal has been
fraught with debate in recent weeks, as the Environmental Protection
Agency considered granting it Superfund status
and watchdog groups threatened legal action against alleged commercial
polluters.

As the Environmental Protection Agency finalizes its Gowanus Canal Superfund decision, another polluted Brooklyn waterway could be made eligible for a federal cleanup. Newton Creek, a 3.8-mile rivulet in northern Brooklyn, near Greenpoint, has accumulated a tremendous amount of pollution due to its position near industrial neighborhoods, according to the EPA. While federal officials debated a possible Superfund designation for Newton Creek in April, EPA officials said that the fetid waterway is in dire need of immediate action. “By listing the creek, EPA can focus on doing the extensive sampling needed to figure out the best way to address the contamination and see the work through,” George Pavlou, the EPA’s acting regional administrator, said.

Riverkeeper, a New York environmental group, has officially warned three alleged Gowanus Canal polluters that they have 60 days to halt their mucky practices or they will be served with a suit. The warning sets a timetable for Sixth Street Iron and Metal, Ferrara Brothers Building Materials and 107 Sixth Street LLC, the companies against which the watchdog group filed intent to sue notices last week. This announcement comes amid fierce debate over whether the Gowanus Canal is eligible for a federally overseen clean up, a plan that both Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council member Bill DeBlasio openly oppose. But Riverkeeper lawyer Josh Verleun said that the environmental group’s action is a separate matter from the federal “Superfund” designation. “The thing people worry about with Superfund is that anyone who has ever owned property in the area can be held responsible for pollution,” Verleun said. “But these three are each really discrete issues.”

Riverkeeper, a non-profit watchdog group, is taking three Brooklyn companies to court over their alleged pollution of the Gowanus Canal. Riverkeeper filed intent to sue notices against Sixth Street Iron and Metal, Ferrara Brothers Building Materials and 107 Sixth Street LLC, all of which, Riverkeeper claims, dumped hazardous materials in the canal. Joshua Verleun, a Riverkeeper investigator and staff attorney, said that the action signifies his group’s vigilance. “It’s a shot across the bow,” Verleun said. “It’s a way of saying we’ve been patrolling, we caught you doing this, now you need to do something about it.”

While Governor David Paterson had, in a surprise move, called for a federally funded clean-up of the Gowanus Canal last year, he now says that the Environmental Protection Agency should consider another proposal from Mayor Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s plan had been the target of criticism from the EPA and Gowanus residents in the past. The original clean-up plan involved removing toxic sediment from the canal bed. Paterson’s original plan would cost an estimated $400 million, which was to be supplied by federal funds and money collected from polluters, according to the EPA.

After saying last week that it had canceled plans to open a store on Third Avenue in Gowanus, Whole Foods now says it is “actively working on plans for a store at the Gowanus site,” the Brooklyn Paper reported. The project has been delayed for several years as a result of the recession and because pollutants were found at the site. The company made its announcement about abandoning the Gowanus project on the day the public comment period ended for a federal proposal to label the canal a toxic Superfund site. [more]

Whole Foods has canceled plans to open a market on Third Avenue and 3rd Street near the Gowanus Canal, which would have been its first Brooklyn location, the Brooklyn Paper reported. A Whole Foods spokesperson said the Gowanus land would probably be sold but that the company still hopes to open a location elsewhere in Brooklyn. Pollutants found at the Gowanus site had slowed construction, and local residents had also criticized the store’s plans to include a 420-space parking lot. [more]