What's truly scary? Join the Pre-Halloween Red Hook "Toxics Tour"!
Saturday, October 17, 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Join the fight against a new fracked-gas power plant. Come out for a Red Hook "Toxics Tour" and Rally on Saturday, October 17, from 3 to 5 pm. The tour begins on the Esplanade, at 754 Columbia Street, across the water from the Gowanus Power Plant. From there, it makes stops at various industrial sites, the Red Hook Farms, the closed ball fields, Red Hook Public Housing and its "ghost trees," and Coffey Park, plus a visit to high water marks left by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Along the way, hear from Karen Blondel, leader of Gowanus Coalition For Justice, Carolina Salguero, founder of PortSide New York, and other wonderful speakers at the forefront of this fight for change. We’ll finish our tour at the spectacular waterfront near the Artists’ Pier to discuss, sign petitions, and celebrate.
Click here for RSVP and further info.
Hate combined sewage overflow? Love environmental justice? Sign the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice petition
The Department of City Planning has announced its intention that it will certify the Gowanus rezoning in January 2021. This will start the clock ticking on the ULURP process (Uniform Land Use Review Procedure) that will decide the area's future. Sign the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice's petition. It demands that, as part of this process, the city must fix Gowanus public housing, prevent additional sewage from flowing into the Gowanus Canal, and designate Gowanus as the nation's first environmental special district.
Plastic-free progress: let's push it further.
The progress: Representative Hakeem Jeffries has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act (BFFPPA), which our allies at Beyond Plastics call "the gold standard of federal legislation to make meaningful reductions in the amount of plastic pollution in the U.S." The bill would shift the burden of cleaning up plastic waste to the corporations that make the waste by creating a nationwide beverage container refund program. It would also ban certain non-recyclable single-use plastic items, establish minimum recycled content requirements for beverage containers packaging, and food-service products, and spur massive investments in U.S. domestic recycling and composting infrastructure.
The challenge: To convince Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to sign on as a co-sponsor too. We will be holding virtual events targeting Gillibrand, so please watch this space.
Meanwhile, let's urge New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to bring the "Straws and Stirrers by Request" bill to a vote. Here's a link with his phone number and a script you can use.
Life after the election: Bring your ideas to our November 12 working meeting
Our work continues no matter what happens on November 3. At our next monthly meeting, hear updates on 350Brooklyn's campaigns, then share your ideas for moving these projects forward. There's so much to do! We'll keep working on:
- Fighting a fossil fuel plant in Gowanus
- Campaigning for Renewable Rikers
- Pushing for NY Renews' Climate and Community Investment Act while we monitor the progress of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
- Presenting more Climate Wednesdays programs with Brooklyn Public Library
- Advocating for the Green New Deal and for reduced use of plastics
- Raising our media profile
- And more, with your help!
Advance registration is required. Register here.
Be part of our work! Volunteer. Donate.
350Brooklyn takes local action to solve the climate crisis. We are an all-volunteer organization and welcome people of all backgrounds, skills, and availability. Interested in volunteering? Contact [email protected]. While we are an affiliate of 350.org, we are programmatically independent and our financial support comes solely from our members. Can you offer financial support, at any level? Donate here.
