LIC Community Boathouse Founder

I believe this well explains the failed 2011 Gowanus Dredgers federal lawsuit against me (c.v 11 5985, decided in 2014). I'm sad to see that many of my concerns were affirmed over the years and wish I had known about SLAPP laws at the time, but the federal decision in my favor empowers volunteers to sever the LICCB's bonds to the Dredgers. That plants the seed of hope.

SLAPP Suits: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) After winning a legal battle involving a coal executive and a giant squirrel, John Oliver explains how SLAPP suits are designed to stifle public dissent. Con...

Nearly Every Brand of Bottled Water Contains Microplastics - NOVA Next | PBS Researchers found small pieces of plastic in 93% of bottled waters.

The High Seas Are Being Exploited. Exploration Must Keep Pace. The opportunity cost of doing nothing — a whale nursery gone unprotected, or a powerful antibiotic gone undiscovered — would be an immense and irreversible loss.

Annual Citywide LTCP Public Meeting Join representatives from the NYC Department of Environmental Protection for the annual Citywide Long Term Control Plan meeting. While the City has held waterway specifc meetings throughout the year, this meeting will focus on the whole CSO Program*. Agenda items will include: Status updates on each...

Nov. 5: Canoe for Butterflies and Plants!

Nov. 5: Canoe for Butterflies and Plants!

Explore Astoria via NYC Ferry - New York City Ferry Service by Mitch Waxman Mitch Waxman started the Newtown Pentacle in 2009 to document his adventures along the Newtown Creek (and in the greater harbor and city beyond). He served the City of New York as a Parade Marshall, was named the Newtown Creek Alliance’s group historian, is a Steering Committee membe...

Freakishly warm days = paddling opportunities! A super mellow hug up the Queens shoreline to learn about great food organizations. Ends with a feast!

Oct 21: Harvest Paddle! Eat. Paddle. Love.

June 5, 6-9pm: Green Drinks in LIC! (An environmental community happy hour.)

June 5, 6-9pm: Green Drinks in LIC! (An environmental community happy hour.)

NASA launched an unprecedented study of Greenland’s melting. Now, the data are coming in The new information suggests the possibility of a more rapid rate of global sea-level rise.

On December 8, 2011 at a public meeting hosted by LaGuardia Community College, a small clique ended elections at the LIC Community Boathouse (Victoria Olsen, a crony of John McGarvey, said to view her as a "benevolent dictator"), ended fiscal transparency, wrongly asserted that the fiscal conduit Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club owned the LICCB, and began a campaign of bullying and rumor mongering that culminated in a wave of secret meetings and expulsions.

At that same meeting the much smaller Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, through attorney Gerald Dunne, served a lawsuit against me, to shut down this page. Despite my numerous attempts to settle in exchange for a restoration of elections and fiscal transparency managed by a trusted third party like Waterfront Alliance, the GDCC insisted on a federal trial. The case was CV 11 5985. Dunne tried to intimidate me and was foul mouthed in the very halls of the courthouse. Judge Pamela K. Chan paused the trial to chastise Dunne for being disrespectful to me (he was stupid enough to put some of his bullying in emails).The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club lost on both counts: the GDCC does not own the LICCB and this page does not infringe on the LICCB trademark.

Sadly the LICCB has yet to return to good governance. Former Chair Ted Gruber was responsible for much of the toxic culture, but his "expulsion for life" this year was decided in secret meetings without due process. And really, "expulsion for life" from a community boathouse? Louis Kleinman of Waterfront Alliance was never elected as Vice Chair of the LICCB but served in that role honestly and with competence and generosity. There was no justification for his summary removal from that position without any public process or communication with him. Other volunteers were banned for years for their association with Gruber, again without any due process. This in unjust and absurd. These actions were taken by John McGarvey, who claims to be Chair of the LICCB without election. Indeed, at the trial he dismissed the idea of elections and said leaders were chosen from within his clique because he or she "seems cool."

Indeed, the previous Chair told me that he simply handed the title off to McGarvey. This summer McGarvey used LICCB boats outside of programs to participate in an event that mixed copious alcohol with boating, a clear violation of common sense, insurance policies, and American Canoe Association standards. See photos here.

LIC Community Boathouse volunteers, you deserve better. Demand elections and financial management monitored and executed by a trusted outside group. Lawyers Alliance for the Public Interest or the NY State Attorney General might offer guidance.

I look forward to a happier, more inclusive, successful year for the LIC Community Boathouse in 2017.

Jeff Bridges: Plastic Is a Substance the Earth Cannot Digest Open Your Eyes is narrated Jeff Bridges. The video shows how worldwide reliance on disposable plastic packaging and utensils is poisoning our bodies,