"Put simply, if we treat the Earth over the next forty years the same way we did over the previous forty, the planet will be in serious peril that we will not be able to reverse."
From Michael Bloomberg's campaign web site
Pardon me for asking, but why is Mayor Bloomberg so intent on derailing the Environmental Protection Agency 's listing of the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site? Ever since the EPA announced that it was considering placing the canal on its list of the nation's priority cleanup sites, the Bloomberg machine was set in motion to stop the designation. To counter the federal agency, the city quickly came up with its own clean-up plan, for which it neither had the scientific expertise nor the funding.
Why the rush by the city to out-EPA the EPA? Most certainly, because long ago, Mayor Bloomberg had promised his developer friends, like the Toll Brothers, that they could make millions off the banks of the Gowanus by building luxury condos. He had visions of 12 to 14 story buildings with thousands of units of housing along the waterway. Just think of the profit! All the City needed to do was to re-zone the area from industrial to residential use. Sure, the banks of the canal were toxic, but that was just a small technicality. The City was fine with letting individual developers clean up their own sites.
It seemed like such a win-win situation for the Bloomberg administration and for the developers. Most Gowanus residents, however, were not as comfortable with the arrangement. Though they showed up at every community meeting on the subject, though they shared their concern about the toxic nature of the area and questioned the safety of bringing families to live on the waterway, their voices were conveniently ignored.
It was all a done deal long before local residents had ever been informed of the plan.
But then, a rather big wrench was thrown into the works. In April, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had nominated the Gowanus Canal for consideration to be added to the National Priorities List (NPL), also known as "the Superfund list" for short. If added, the Gowanus would be entered into the EPA's cleanup program. which would include intensive study and analysis of the nature of the hazardous materials and pollutants within the canal, identification of the parties that have been responsible for the pollution, and a supervised cleanup.
That was bad news for Team Bloomberg. The Superfund listing could derail their carefully laid plans, the area would be stigmatized and developers would get cold feet, they opined. Existing house prices would plummet, they insisted.
They were so intent on keeping the Gowanus from being listed, that they came up with their own "better and faster" plan to clean up the canal. They also created a very lengthy document, which they handed in as part of the agency's public comment period.
But that was still not enough. Recently, Mayor Bloomberg personally started lobbying against the Superfund designation by calling Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, the head of EPA in Washington, to make a case against the Superfund listing.
That makes me 'super' angry. An overwhelming amount of comments sent to the EPA by local residents regarding this matter are FOR the designation. Mayor Bloomberg totally ignores that little fact. He pretends to be speaking on our community's behalf, when in reality he is representing his cronies.I have no doubt that the EPA and Administrator Jackson will only consider science, when making the decision on whether to list the Gowanus Canal as a Superfund site. I trust that they will make the right decision and take charge of this environmental disaster.
I do however resent the meddling of our mayor in matters that should be left up to scientists. These are hardly the actions of a "Green" mayor. Shame on him.
Related reading:
Mayor Bloomberg, Your Band-Aid Approach To Gowanus Clean-Up No Solution
Gowanus Superfund: City And Elected Officials Spinning As Fast As They Can
Last Night's CB6 Gowanus Superfund Meeting: The Pros Vs. The Amateurs
Regarding Gowanus Superfund Designation, Our Local Pols Are Showing Incredible Lack Of Leadership
'Why The Gowanus Should Be A Superfund Site' By Tom Angotti, PHD
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10 comments:
Two large Marine One-esqe helicopters just flew down my street and over the canal. I assume President Obama was on one of them. I hope he got a good look at and whiff of the canal.
I heard that Bloomberg is REALLY pushing hard. EPA comments were 80% PRO-SUPERFUND. The Community has spoken!!! And tha facts remain what they are. THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE CANAL CLEANED UP IS THROUGH SUPERFUND. ONLY EPA HAS ALL THE TOOLS NEEDED. The ONLY reason Bloomberg is pushing for the alternate plan is not to clean it up, but for the real estate lobby. Real estate still does not get it thateven if it is not called a Superfund site, IT STILL IS!!! The toxins etc etc will be there not matter what you name the site. Remember that Toll Bros said the canal was not really THAT dirty. And a community pro-development activist(BS) was quoted in the paper as saying that the canal was really NOT THAT DIRTY!
WE NEED THE SINCERITY OF THE EPA TO CLEAN UP THE CANAL!!! Margaret
2:19 - I just hope that helicopter wasn't Bloomberg lobbying Obama. Hopefully it was the EPA with Obama. I can dream, can't I?
Margaret,
In addition, the canal will remain on the NPL until it is cleaned. In other words it can be listed as superfund at any time if the City can't get the job done. I would think that along with the flooding issues would be enough for people to think twice about purchasing a luxury condo on the banks of the canal.
I hope that the EPA finds the fortitude to stand up to Bloomberg and his corporate attorneys masquerading as environmental engineers and not cave to his oppressive tactics.
Superfund NOW!
Gowanus needs Superfund now! The EPA should condemn all property and evict all tenants within a 1/3 mile of that toxic waterway and start the cleanup already.
Why does EPA need to respond to comments? The EPA is not elected so there's no check on their decision anyway. What are the names of the EPA people making this decision - can we call them?
Even Scotto asked for Feds to Superfund Public Place 30 years ago. The EPA needed to wait for Ferrara Brothers to do more contamination so they can sue for more money.
7:37 The EPA does not need to condemn all property within 1/3 mi radius nor evict all its tenants in order to do its work. Perhaps you are not aware that it is the work of the community members within that 1/3 mi radius that has been instrumental in addressing the need to truelly clean up the area, that has been concerned about health. You mention that Scotto asked the EPA to Superfund Public Site 30 years ago. If that is true, then he should be welcoming Superfund now. That would be great news to hear. Last I heard he was vehemently against Superfund, because it would get in the way of big residential development projects he had invited into the area. He said Gowanus was clean enough to build on as is.
I have a question: Has any current tenant along the Gowanus stopped polluting? Has any recent tenant (gone now, but polluted between 1970 & 2005) been saught for clean-up fees or pollution fines?
If the city can't handle it's current backyard Gownaus Problem, then what makes Mike & Co. think he can build our future?
Mayor Bloomberg needs to stay out of what should not be a political process and let the EPA do its job and make its decision based on their scientific findings.
He is behaving like a tantrum prone toddler and if he is so gung ho to have the city clean the canal he should offer to pay for it out of his own pocket instead of relying on speculative funding through WRDA.
Mayor Mike is worth 16 Billion* by latest Forbes I read. BIG $$$ POWER. Just look at the fancy mailings for his re-election campaign campaign. He must have flexed a lot of muscle to get that rich. You'd think being that rich he could be a little more gracious and work to do some good for the community instead of for his wealthy real estate pals. He and the City are NOT equipped to clean up the canal. EPA Superfund was created to do JUST THAT! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/16/bloomberg-lp-worth-25b-ma_n_113169.html
Do whatever is needed to keep Bloomberg's development friends out. They will ruin it for the existing community and make it nice for the monied.
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