Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club

Annual Meeting
2024-02-22 18:30 - 2024-02-23 20:00 (America/New_York) | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
The public is welcome to attend The Gowanus Dredgers annual meeting at the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse (165 2nd st.) to discuss activities, ideas and goals for the upcoming season on the Gowanus, Red Hook, Long Island City and Staten Island. Activity Committes will deliver program reports and announce agenda and goals for this year. Bring your ideas and willingness to get involved on the Gowanus or other shorelines as we work to reconnect everyone with our NY-NJ Estuary.
Agenda:

Sign-in & setup
Introductions and 2023 season recap
Financial update / 2023 Season fundraising goals
KSI, RHB, and LICCB Updates
Other Goals / Feedback for 2023 (open group discussion)
Close of meeting

Work Day March: Repairs, New Projects and other hands-on fun
2024-03-16 10:00 - 17:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Help us fix up the Bunker to get ready for the season, or if the weather is bad, build out projects at the Boathouse. Check in as the date gets closer for more info.
Jos adding signage to the Bunker.

Understanding the NRDA Process
2024-03-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
As part of the ongoing Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, the federal government is required to study the impact of both the historic pollution and its cleanup on natural resources (fish, wildlife, air, water, etc.) and their uses (everything from habitat to breathing to boating) — and to identify funding and projects that will restore or replace those services.
It’s a complicated process — known as the Natural Resources Damages Assessment (and Restoration) — that involves multiple federal agencies, the companies and state agencies held responsible for the pollution and its cleanup, and people like us — the community! There’s a lot of jargon, some very confusing grey areas, and a lot of formal processes, too.
The federal agencies responsible for the Gowanus Canal NRDA have released their draft plan for how they’ll start their research, and you can make comments on that plan before April 15. Join us for a hopefully fun evening of learning together what it is, how it works, and how you can make an impact on restoration plans for the canal.

Download the Gowanus Canal draft assessment plan
Read more about the NRDA+R process

March Monthly Meeting
2024-03-21 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Socialize with the Dredgers at our BOATHOUSE (165 2nd St,) to discuss the latest updates on Gowanus and get involved. We continue to plan new and fun events on our shoreline and waterway.

MONTHLY MEETING
Third Thursday of the month, 6:30 PM
165 2nd St. (THE BOATHOUSE)

The Boathouse Jam
2024-04-03 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-10 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-17 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-24 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-01 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-08 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-15 18:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-22 18:00 - 20:30 and 1 more date | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Wednesdays April 3 through October 30th, 2024 6:00 – 8:30 PM
The Boathouse Jam is hosted by the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club to activate our shoreline while fostering the continued resurgence of acoustical collaborations in Brooklyn. We are inclusive of all – young & old, new & seasoned musicians. Just bring a smile and your musical instrument and/or your voice to join our one night makeshift band.
Christian Apuzzo leads most sessions. He is a Brooklyn-based vocalist, guitarist, and music educator. Long Island-raised, this musician started his journey as a certified public school music teacher but has since found the wide-open pastures of the freelance music world in NYC. Playing mostly folk, bluegrass, and country music, Christian plays with numerous groups all over our five boroughs including bluegrass group Cole Quest and the City Pickers and local supergroup the Grass Messengers. He also teaches music lessons and classes for all ages at Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Free but a $5 suggested donation is encouraged, limited beverages are provided.
The Boathouse is located at 165 2nd Street, Brooklyn NY between Bond Street and the Gowanus Canal. Sessions are rain or shine, we gather outside the Boathouse unless it’s cold or raining then we move inside.

First Aid & CPR Class for Mariners
2024-04-14 11:00 - 16:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Add valuable rescue skills to your toolbox by taking this certification class. CPR & First Aid is required to be a Trip Leader, we hope you join us!
You can register for the workshop here. Members get a discount so now is the perfect time to join or renew!

April Monthly Meeting
2024-04-18 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Socialize with the Dredgers at our BOATHOUSE (165 2nd St,) to discuss the latest updates on Gowanus and get involved. We continue to plan new and fun events on our shoreline and waterway.

MONTHLY MEETING
Third Thursday of the month, 6:30 PM
165 2nd St. (THE BOATHOUSE)

[If the weather is nice, we may re-locate this meeting to the 19th St. Bunker. Follow us on Instagram or sign up for our mailing list to stay informed.]

Earth Week Shoreline Clean & Green
2024-04-20 10:00 - 16:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Join us at the Bunker (2 19th St.) for an Earth week shoreline clean & green!
We’re going to get the site ready for the upcoming season opening in May. Our plans include working on the OPTI habitats, creating some planters on the site and sprucing up everything to get ready to welcome the public for walk-up paddles and guided tours. We’ll also continue projects started last work-day.
Wear clothes you don’t mind getting a bit messy in. We have limited facilities on-site (a porta-san) so bring potable water and some snacks, and don’t forget your sunblock! If the weather is nice we may conclude the day with a quick paddle.

Ukulele Cabaret: Night of 1000 Dollys
2024-04-20 17:00 - 21:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Two Doors Down from the ordinary, step into a Smoky Mountain fairy tale. This spring, the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse transforms into a Dolly Parton paradise. Big hair, dazzling sequins, and country classics await! Don’t just Think About Love, come experience it in every strum and harmony! RSVP here.
Featuring Amie Amis, Angus Loten, Claudia Goddard, Dana McCoy, The Dry Runs, D’yan Forest, J Walter Hawkes, Jamie Scandal, Katie Down, Les Chauds Lapins, Lloyd United, Makalina, Pete Sturman, Rush Kress, The Shiny Squares/Les carrés brillants and Ukelinda and hosted by Sonic Uke.
Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That with your fabulous Dolly-inspired outfits? We’re not just Islands in the Stream – we’re a whole ocean of Dolly love!
Join us at:
Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse
165 2nd St, Brooklyn
Dress Code: Sparkles, Rhinestones, and Country Charm!
https://ukulelecabaret.com/

"Broadchannel" by Mia Martelli
2024-04-26 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-04-27 19:30 - 20:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
“Broadchannel” is a solo by Mia Martelli that visits childhood bedroom performance-making.
Photo by Kiana Kodama
The early 2000s-era sounds, drawings, lighting, poems, and unfinished choreographies created in private are put on display and repurposed as a platform for contemporary questions around aging, spirituality, and environmental collapse.
Improvised dances emerge in response to the rhythm, colors, and temperatures of the newly subtropical waterways of South Brooklyn and the Rockaway Peninsula. The rapture – dolphins breaching in the Gowanus Canal – and horror – six-foot-wide whirlpools flooding the same neighborhood – serve as non-fiction mythology, shaking the prospect of building a future in a place surrounded by water.
RSVP for the performance here. FREE, donations encouraged.

Understanding the NRDA Process - Part Two
2024-05-02 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
As part of the ongoing Superfund cleanup of the Gowanus Canal, the federal government is required to study the impact of both the historic pollution and its cleanup on natural resources (fish, wildlife, air, water, etc.) and their uses (everything from habitat to breathing to boating) — and to identify funding and projects that will restore or replace those services.
It’s a complicated process — known as the Natural Resources Damages Assessment (and Restoration) — that involves multiple federal agencies, the companies and state agencies held responsible for the pollution and its cleanup, and people like us — the community! There’s a lot of jargon, some very confusing grey areas, and a lot of formal processes, too.
The federal agencies responsible for the Gowanus Canal NRDA have released their draft plan for how they’ll start their research, and you can make comments on that plan before June 14. Join us for a hopefully fun evening of learning together what it is, how it works, and how you can make an impact on restoration plans for the canal. This is part two, you can review part one here.

Download the Gowanus Canal draft assessment plan
Read more about the NRDA+R process

A Persistence of Cormorants Poetry Reading
2024-05-05 13:30 - 15:30, 2024-05-19 13:30 - 15:30, 2024-05-26 13:30 - 15:30 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
A Persistence of Cormorants is a summer-long poetry reading series on our shoreline featuring accomplished and exceptional poets from the New York area, many of who live in Brooklyn. On each of the scheduled Sundays, from 1:30 to 3:30, up to four featured poets will read for 10 to 15 minutes each.
Gerry reads poetry at the canal
The readings will be followed by open mic time limited to ten readers (one poem no longer than 3 minutes) who have signed up the day of the reading on a first come basis.
Reading will be outdoors at the Gowanus open shoreline and we invite you to engage with the emerging Gowanus Canal habitat as we witness the EPA conduct their SuperFUN/d cleanup program. Event may move to inside the boathouse if it begins to rain or we want to escape the summer heat. If other activity is occurring on the street or esplanade, event may move inside.
Participation is free but we encourage donations to sustain the efforts of the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, an advocacy stewardship organization who has been representing neighborhood interests for over two decades.
May5th: Safia Jama, Ruh Danon, Elaine Sexton, JoAnne McFarland 19th: Willa Schneberg, Kristine Esser Slentz, Silvia Thomas, John Leo
June2nd: Cheryl Fish, Anton Anton Yakovlev, Leah Umansky, KC Trommer 9th: Sarah Arvio, Dennis Nurkse, Mervyn Taylor, Estha Weiner23rd: JoAnna Solifren, Sara Marron, Arden Levin, Jason Koo30th: Scott Hightower, Sara Sarai, Bruce Whitacre, Dan Kaplan
July14th: Broadstone Books: Myra Malkin, Meredith Trede, Stephanie Laterza, Marcia LeBeau21st: Dan Nester, Carley Moore, David Francis, Linda Russo28th: Gerry LaFamina, Maddy Barnes, Sara Wallace, Sarah Gutowski
August4th: John Deming, Miranda Beeson, Amy Holman, Jason Schneiderman11th: Jordan Franklin Matthew Thornburn, Alex Long, David Geoff18th: Myra Shapiro, Richard Levine, Carl Rosenstock, Barbara Elovic25th: Linda Lerner, Linda Kleinbub, Ron Kolm, Bill Considine
September8th: Abigail Welhouse Jiwon Choi, Austin Alexsis, Karen Neuberg15th: Michael Broder, Indran Amirthanayagam, Erin Lynn, Amy Lemmon22th: Tina Cane, Zoe Ryder White, Caitlin McDonnell, Denver Butson, Terence Degnan29th: Neil Shepard, Hilary Sideris, Kristina Anderson, Anthony Cappo
October6th: Lisa Andrews, Lisa Badner, Karen Heldebrand, Grace G13th: Broadstone Books: Susana H Case, Lynn Mcgee, Amy Barone, Margo Stever, Mary Maloney

Birding By Canoe
2024-05-11 08:00 - 10:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Birding by canoe, what could be better? Gowanus is an industrial area teeming with wildlife. Paddling along the canal and the mouth of the Gowanus bay is a great way to experience the vast biodiversity around us. Get your [Tickets] now!
We’ll head out in the morning from our 19th St. Bunker Launch site and see what kind of birds and wildlife we can find. Loyan Beausoleil, Bird Program Manager for the Washington Square Park Eco Projects and of Your Bird Story podcast, will be our birding guide. We’ll watch for water birds fishing and swooping and migratory birds hanging out in trees along the shore. If we’re lucky we might spot an osprey working on its nest!
Tickets are required to join, check back soon for a link. Each canoe will have up to 3 people. Solo paddlers are welcome, you will be paired with other members of the group based on experience and comfort in a canoe.
Weather (wind, waves or evidence of storm) may cancel programming with one hour advance notice. Meet at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club 19th St. Launch, 2 19 St, Brooklyn, (off of 3rd Ave.), wear sunscreen and bring a bottle filled with water. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site.
Local Nature Lab is committed to nurturing a love for nature and promoting biodiversity conservation through education, outreach, and hands-on experiences. The NYC Urban Bird Explorers program is made possible by a Blake-Nuttall ornithology grant.
Proceeds from ticket sales support the work of both the Gowanus Dredgers and Local Nature Lab.

May Monthly Meeting & Paddle
2024-05-16 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Socialize with the Dredgers at our BUNKER (2 19th St, off of 3rd Ave) to discuss the latest updates on Gowanus and get involved. We continue to plan new and fun events on our shoreline and waterway. The agenda will include:

updates on summer plans for canoeing Gowanus Bay and more
collaboration with other recreational organizations
chatting about volunteer opportunities
special voyages for members and friends of Gowanus Dredgers
post-meeting paddle!

Meet at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club 19th St. Launch, 2 19 St, Brooklyn, (off of 3rd Ave.). If you plan to join the paddle, wear sunscreen and bring a bottle filled with water. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site. All paddlers must sign a waiver.
Weather (wind, waves or evidence of storm) may cancel the paddling portion with one hour advance notice. In case of inclement weather, meeting will be relocated follow us on Instagram or sign up for our mailing list to stay informed.

Let’s Restore the Gowanus Canal Together: Understanding the Natural Resource Damages Assessment Plan, Part Two
2024-05-21 18:30 - 20:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Commonly referred to as NRDA, the Natural Resource Damages Assessment is an important piece of the Gowanus Canal Superfund project that will help restore fish, wildlife, habitat and human uses of the canal that were lost to both industrial pollution and the more recent remediation work.
The group of federal agency representatives that will oversee this process recently released a draft of the plan (PDF) for how they will determine what impacts have occurred, the economic value of those loses (a.k.a. damages), and what restoration or enhancement projects will receive funding from the pool of money collected as a result. Now, they want to hear feedback from the community on this proposed plan through a public comment process.
The public comment period has been extended and is now due June 14. It’s just the first of many steps along the way to a canal that has more wildlife, more habitat and more boating and fishing access (we hope). You can help!
These sessions, hosted by local journalists Lillian Ruiz and Celeste LeCompte, are meant to help Dredgers (and other Gowanus neighbors who want to join) better understand the NRDA process, dig into the current draft plan, and equip ourselves to provide effective input on the process. At this session, we’ll be helping YOU craft comments to submit.
No experience or prior knowledge is needed, and all levels of familiarity with the Canal and the cleanup are welcome.
This is part two, you can review part one here.

Download the Gowanus Canal draft assessment plan
Read more about the NRDA process

Free Walk-Up Paddling
2024-05-25 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-06-02 13:00 - 16:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Stop down and launch a canoe for a self-guided paddle from our floating docks at the Gowanus Dredgers Bunker Launch Site! Limited to the mouth of the Gowanus Canal to 9th Street and Free (donations encouraged). Please note, this activity is NOT at our 2nd St Boathouse.
Bring a friend and we’ll outfit you with equipment and give quick navigation instructions at the dock. Self-guided voyages can be limited to 15-20 min. if there’s a crowd but otherwise, we expect you to return to the dock 15 min. prior to closing. Upon request, we will provide gloves and bags so you may remove trash found along our estuary. We launch from the end of 19th St / off 3rd avenue and it is first come, first served.
Weather (wind, waves or evidence of storm) may cancel programming with one hour advance notice. Meet at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club 19th St. Launch, 2 19 St, Brooklyn, (off of 3rd Ave.), wear sunscreen and bring a bottle filled with water. Close-toed shoes are recommended, and wear clothing you don’t mind potentially being splashed. Use a restroom before arrival, as we have limited facilities on-site. All paddlers must sign a waiver, minors require guardian signature on site to authorize canoeing.

Unheard-of Ensemble : Not in Fact Dead
2024-05-25 19:00 - 22:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Bunker (19th St.), 2 19th St., Brooklyn, NY
Unheard-of Ensemble‘s Cultural Ecologies returns! The first performance at the Bunker (2 19th Street) features ensemble members and composer-performers Ford and Iva presenting two premieres. Ford’s work sets the murky, sentimental poetry of Brad Vogel, Gowanus local and former Dredgers captain with video created in collaboration with artist Bonnie Ralston, while Iva’s work explores her connection to her Mexican culture through Aztec myth. FREE RSVP & Canoe Tickets available here
Featuring Special Guest Vines

About the Cultural Ecologies Series: Unheard-of Ensemble, in collaboration with the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, features world premieres and cutting edge music by artists exploring climate change, race, technology’s impact on our mental health, and feminism presented in a setting that brings people closer together in an open and adventurous way. These free performances will take place at the Gowanus Dredgers Bunker as well as their paddle-in movie location (both ADA accessible). The audience will be able to attend the performance either via canoe (reserved in advance via donation to the Dredgers), sitting on one of the Dredgers’ new docks, or on shore via an accessible location. Each performance opens with a talk given by members of the Dredgers about their work in the Canal.
About Unheard-of: Ford Fourqurean (clarinet), Matheus Souza (violin), Iva Casian-Lakoš (cello), and Daniel Anastasio (piano) are Unheard-of, a Brooklyn-based clarinet, violin, cello, and piano quartet performing dedicated to connecting new music to communities in New York and across the United States through the development and performance of adventurous programs using technology and interactive multimedia. Unheard-of is committed to the idea that new music belongs in every community, and implements this mission through concerts and educational workshops throughout New York as well as on tour. Unheard-of originally started as a commissioning project by Ford and Daniel in 2014 to expand the chamber music repertoire for clarinet and piano. The group formed as a quartet in 2018 and has since grown into a nation-wide community across multiple artistic genres. With an approach that is open and welcoming of all voices, Unheard-of strives to be a vehicle for development and growth for voices novel and experienced, experimental and traditional, uncomfortable and accessible.

Arts Gowanus presents: Gowanus Art Parade – Creatures of the Canal!
2024-06-01 14:30 - 21:00 | Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club Boathouse, 165 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY, 11231, United States
Come one! Come all! March with Arts Gowanus and creatively show everybody your Gowanus love ❤️!
All are invited to join us on Saturday, June 1 in the inaugural Gowanus Art Parade!
The theme is Creatures of the Canal – Real or Imaginary. Come rain or shine, join us and show us your creature creations!
Wear your art! Don your wackiest, most inventive, most Gowanus-y outfit! Transform yourself into an edgy egret, a harried heron, a crabby crab, a jaunty jellyfish, a yummy mummichog, a poised porpoise, a radioactive rat, the legendary Sludgie the Whale, or any fantastical canal creature you fancy!
Carry your artwork! Posters, sculptures, puppets… bring them all! We want to see your most wondrous and bizarre creations come to life! Just make sure they are mobile and easy to carry throughout a procession.
We’ll meet in the alleyway between 543 Union and 280 Nevins at 2:30pm and kick off the march at 3pm. The procession will traverse an iconic Gowanus bridge, traipse along the waterfront, and end at a community street festival at 2nd Street in front of the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse.
The outdoor fest will feature Mookntaka‘s spectacular interactive sculpture Hedgehog, live music, and fun activities led by local organizations. Inside the Boathouse will be an art exhibition by Manju Shandler, and after the sun sets – in usual Arts Gowanus fashion – an afterparty!
More details to come, but start preparing now for what’s sure to be an unforgettable event – a Gowanus Carnival in the “Venice of Brooklyn!”
