Thompson Trashes Proposed UES Waste Transfer Station - Quinn Stands Firm

"I don't care how many times I get booed from the Upper East side I'm not changing my position."   -  Christine Quinn - May 30th

The  $ 250 Million - 10-story high facility is the only marine waste transfer station being proposed by the Bloomberg administration in the middle of a high density neighborhood and in the middle of parkland.  Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.

The abandoned Department Of Sanitation East 91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station (above-center) is nestled between the Asphalt Green, a 9 acre recreational facility and  DeKovats Playground located on the Upper East Side. For years the community complained about the putrid smells originating from the sanitation facility and its operation. After vehement community opposition the station was finally closed in 1999 after nearly 60 years of operation. 

The community is currently fighting the building of a new much larger waste transfer station as part of Mayor Bloomberg Solid Waste Management Plan, (SWMP). Opponents argue that no other community is being forced to house a waste transfer-station directly in the middle of a public park located in the City's highest density residential community.

As part of the legal proceedings, Parks Department lawyer Alessandro Olivieri stated that the Asphalt Green, parks managed waterfront esplanade Bobby Wagner Walk, and DeKovats Playground were not parkland.

Mayoral candadate Bill Thompson signed the Pledge 2 Protect at a press converance yesterday.   Mr. Thompson was greeted by long-time E. 91 Street  Marine Transfer Station 
(MTS) foe NY State Assemblyman-and City Council candadate-Micah Z. Kellner.

The Bloomberg administration has long attempted to portray the opposition to the siting of the transfer station on E. 91st Strret as an "environmental racism" issue.

According to PLEDGE 2 Protect data however  62% more minority residents live in this area than at any other proposed site. There are more than 1,100 public housing units – only one other location has any public housing units, and that site’s total is 33.  The area around E. 91st has twice the amount of parks, fitness/recreational areas and bike/pedestrian paths than any other site. 

The MTS would also affect significantly more people than any other proposed marine transfer station, including more people (22,056) than the other six MTS combined and 35 times the number of families living in public housing than the other 6 MTS combined and over 30% more children than the other 6 MTS combined.  



The Pledge 2 Protect coalition believes that major waste facilities do not belong in any residential neighborhoods in the city.

Read More:

Christine Quinn accuses Bill Thompson of ‘environmental racism’ 
New York Daily News  - May 31, 2013  - By Erin Durkin and Tina Moore   

Quinn: Thompson And UES Trash Station Opponents Stand For More Asthma For Poor Kids
New York Daily News - May 30, 2013 By Erin Durkin

Christine Quinn Says Bill Thompson Backs ‘Environmental Racism’
Politicker - May 30, 3013 - By Colin Campbell

Thompson ‘dumps’ on Quinn
New York Post - By Sally Goldrenberg - May 31, 2013

Thompson Trashes UES Garbage Plan, Quinn Stands Firm
Bill Thompson takes a stand on a controversial garbage transfer station while picking up an important endorsement
WNBC - May 30, 3013 - By Melissa Russo

Upper East Side Garbage Protest Now Has 5 Mayoral Candidates on Board
Village Voice -  May 30 2013  - By Sydney Brownstone

Quinn, Alone, Stands Firm On An East Side Waste Station
Capital NY - February  23,  2013 - By Azi Paybarah

91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station Suit Dismissed - Group Vows To Appeal
A Walk In The Park - December 30, 2011

WHEN IS A PARK NOT A PARK - WHEN THE CITY WANTS 
IT TO BE A GARBAGE DUMP
A Walk In The Park - October 12, 2010 - By Tony Ard 

High Levels Of Methane Gas Repeatedly Found At Ferry Point Golf Course

Long a concern by area residents, high levels of dangerous methane gas have repeatedly been found at testing wells at the Ferry Point Golf Course which the city's taxpayers are building for Donald Trump. Instead of shutting down the site the State Department of Environmental Conservation has opted to increase the frequency of monitoring. The DEC did not explain how that would solve the problem. (Photos by Daniel Beekman/New York Daily News; Viorel Florescu for New York Daily News)  

Bronx

High levels of explosive methane gas have been discovered next to Bronx homes that abut a dump the city is turning into a golf course for Donald Trump, a Daily News investigation has found.

As construction of the $97 million links has accelerated this year, methane in quantities the state considers potentially volatile has been repeatedly detected in test wells just yards away from homes. Residents of this working-class neighborhood had no idea — and weren’t too pleased.

“That concerns me. What are we breathing?” asked Stephanie Machuca, whose Balcolm Ave. condo sits about 25 feet from a green-capped well that registered excessive amounts of methane in May. The Trump golf course is now under construction on top of a dump that was closed in 1963. The decomposing garbage that’s still underground creates methane, a highly volatile gas that’s been percolating under Ferry Point for years.  

Concerns that this methane could migrate into adjacent basements surfaced in 2000 when a proposal to turn the trash heap into a golf course first emerged. In response, the city installed wells on the site and around the edges of the course next to the neighborhood to measure the amount and track the location of the gas. 

Inspectors have since regularly checked the wells to make sure the methane doesn’t surpass what’s called a lower explosive level (LEL). They report the results to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“As a matter of practice of safety, if you have a basement that was 100% LEL and you turned on a light, you risk having an explosion,” said Ken Bresner, a DEC official tracking Ferry Point’s methane. 

Workers test for methane at Buttrick Ave. in the Bronx.  

Occasionally the test results showed higher levels of methane. But in recent months, the tests have regularly detected concentrations at the project’s edge far in excess of the LEL, records show. 

The state is aware of this rash of high methane levels. In response, it has decided not to shut down construction but to increase the frequency of monitoring. 

“We’re concerned about movement of landfill gas. This has been an ongoing concern,” Bresner said.

It’s not clear exactly why this is happening, but Bresner noted the recent construction at the site “could potentially disrupt gas under the surface.”   

In the last few months, construction of the links — which will be run by Trump on a 20-year lease — accelerated dramatically, with tons of soil dumped on top to shape the contours of the 18-hole course.  

(Photo: January 7, 2012. Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Read More:

Bronx residents outraged as $97 million golf course planned by Donald Trump is belching dangerous levels of methane

High levels of gas repeatedly detected in test wells just yards away from Ferry Point homes

New York Daily News - September 23, 2012 - By Greg B. Smith and Daniel Beekman

Report: Methane Reaching Dangerous Levels Near Planned Bronx Golf Course

WCBS - September 23, 2012 By Gary Baumgarten

Donald Trump In Sweetheart City Tax-Payer Funded Golf Concession Deal

A Walk In The Park - January 9, 2012  By Geoffrey Croft

Trump Picked To Run Ferry Point Park Golf Money Pit Boondoggle

A Walk In The Park - December 24, 2011 - By Geoffrey Croft

91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station Suit Dismissed - Group Vows To Appeal

The abandoned Department Of Sanitation East 91st St. Marine Waste Transfer Station (center) is nestled between the Asphalt Green, a 9 acre recreational facility located on the Upper East Side. For years the community complained about the putrid smells originating from the sanitation facility and its operation. After vehement community opposition the station was finally closed in 1999 after nearly 60 years of operation. Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

The community is currently fighting the building of a new much larger waste transfer station as part of Mayor Bloomberg Solid Waste Management Plan, (SWMP). Opponents argue that no other community is being forced to house a waste transfer-station directly in the middle of a public park located in the City's highest density residential community.

As part of the legal proceedings, Parks Department lawyer Alessandro Olivieri stated that the Asphalt Green, parks managed waterfront esplanade Bobby Wagner Walk, and DeKovats Playground were not parkland.

On Thursday a state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit - the third legal challenge looking to block the building of the controversial facility. The Gracie Point Community Council (GPCC) vows to continue its fight.

Manhattan

A state appeals court Thursday dismissed a lawsuit looking to block the city's controversial proposed $125 million East 91st Marine Waste Transfer Station — the third legal challenge to the plan that has been tossed out, according to DNAinfo.

The proposed waste transfer station, which could handle 4,290 tons of garbage a day, has long drawn fire from neighbors concerned dozens of garbage trucks rattle through the area every hour and hazardous waste storage next to a residential neighborhood and park.

The suit, brought by Upper East Side group Gracie Point Community Council, alleged that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation did not adhere to its own regulations when it granted the city a permit to construct the station in 2006.

“This is the third major victory for this important project — and it again affirms the well-considered and environmentally sound approach the City took in developing plans for the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station,” said Jane Gordon, a Senior Counsel in the New York City Law Department’s Appeals Division, who handled the appellate case. “We are very pleased the Court agrees that this latest challenge lacks merit.”

The City Law Department said they previously defended two other legal challenges against the station by community leaders and advocates.

Gracie Point alleged the station's permit should have been denied by the NYSDEC because the facility is a risk to public health.

"The [suit] asserts that NYSDEC has the power and the duty to ensure that transfer stations not harm public health, safety and welfare and it has the power to deny proposed permits for a transfer station when it would be harmful," the group said on its website.

"Also, it asserts that the proposed East 91st Street transfer station is not necessary because reasonable, existing and operating alternatives exist. The petition requests that the four requested permits, besides the tidal wetlands permit, be annulled or enjoined."

The law department counters that the station was approved by the City Council, will not be hazardous and will reduce traffic in the city.

"That plan, which largely replaces the City’s existing truck-based waste export system with a system that uses barges and railways to export waste in sealed shipping containers, resulting in a vast decrease in truck traffic on City streets, was approved by the City Council by a vote of 44-5 on July 19, 2006," the law department said in an email.

Gracie Point did not return an immediate request for comment.

It is not clear whether they will appeal the ruling.

Read More:

Challenge to Controversial 91st Street Waste Transfer Station Dismissed

DNAinfo - December 29, 2011 - By Ben Fractenberg

WHEN IS A PARK NOT A PARK - WHEN THE CITY WANTS IT TO BE A GARBAGE DUMP

A Walk In The Park - October 12, 2010 - By Tony Ard

Brooklyn Bridge Park Applies For Permit To Build Floating Pool

"Critics have long complained that the well-manicured waterfront park lacks enough recreation - and a floating pool could add a new dimension."

Brooklyn Bridge Park officials have applied for a permit from the State DEC to built a barge pool in the park.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Bridge Park could finally get its own floating pool, according to the New York Daily News.

Park officials want to build a new floating pool, like the wildly popular barge-borne one that docked in the Brooklyn Heights harbor four summers ago, and last week took the first step by applying for a permit with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"It was popular. It drew visitors from all over Brooklyn, the city, and 12 foreign countries," said state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights).

"Having recreation that makes this park the citywide star that it can be is very important, and having a floating pool in the harbor would help the park reach its potential."

The city's only floating pool - called the Floating Pool Lady - has been stationed in the Bronx after its Brooklyn debut at Pier 2 near the Fulton Ferry Landing during the summer of 2007.

Park officials are hoping to construct a permanent pool atop the East River on the north side of Pier 5 near Atlantic Ave., but haven't yet raised the $5-10 million it would cost.

"It is a lot of money, but [for] a $350 million park to have a pool is an important amenity for a small fraction of the cost," Squadron said.

Critics have long complained that the well-manicured waterfront park lacks enough recreation - and a floating pool could add a new dimension.

Read More:

Brooklyn Bridge Park applies for permit to open up its own floating pool a la Floating Pool Lady New York Daily News - January 4, 2010 - By Erin Durkin and Jake Pearson

Bloomberg Rejects Proposal For The City To Pay To Maintain Brooklyn Bridge Park - Taxes Eyed

A Walk In The Park - December 21, 2010

Internal DEC Memo Warns Governor Against Further Agency Cuts

"This is an administration that is openly disdainful of any and all things environmental," said Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, a Long Island Democrat who is chairman of the chamber's Environmental Conservation Committee.

ALBANY

An internal memo from the Department of Environmental Conservation paints a bleak picture of a gutted agency unable to accomplish its full mission if Gov. David Paterson achieves the job cuts he wants, according to Times Union.

If DEC cuts the 209 jobs demanded by the governor, the agency will have lost 22 percent of its staff since April 2008.

To reach this latest cut, DEC may have to turn over unspecified programs to either federal or local officials, according to a memo sent by the agency to the state Budget Division and obtained by the Times Union.

The unsigned, undated memo warns that fewer polluted sites would be cleaned up, fewer regulators would be available to oversee the potential natural gas drilling boom in the Marcellus Shale, and stocking of game fish could halt.

In order to avoid cuts to programs that protect human health or address immediate environmental damage, the memo suggests the most logical places for deep cuts would be outdoor recreation and sports -- including skiing, fishing, hunting, camping and hiking.

"Many of our programs are hanging by a thread. The public would be shocked to learn how thin we are in many areas," it states. "DEC is in the weakest position that it has been since it was created 40 years ago."

DEC spokesman Yancey Roy referred comment on the memo to the state Budget Division, which did not return a call. Roy said he was not aware of any pending layoff notices at DEC.

In April 2008, DEC had 3,775 staffers; Paterson's goal of 209 further job cuts, coming on the heels of 260 staffers who left last month under an early retirement program, would reduce that to 2,926 by December. Paterson has called for a total reduction of 2,000 additional state workers by the end of the year, although unions have threatened legal action to block that action.

"This is an administration that is openly disdainful of any and all things environmental," said Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, a Long Island Democrat who is chairman of the chamber's Environmental Conservation Committee. "This is penny-wise and pound foolish. We are paying a price for this, and already are unable to access federal funding for ourselves and not-for-profit agencies because DEC no longer has the people to do the paperwork. How dumb is that?"

Read More:

DEC warns governor against further cuts

Times Union - October 19, 2010 - By Brian Nearing