Please read the press release below and come join the rally.
Dear Neighbors,Please join us Monday at noon for a press conference and rally in support of bringing "shore power" to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Along with the community we have been pushing for shore power for a long time -- now we are holding this "Stop Choking Brooklyn" rally because we can't wait any longer!Switching to shore power -- so that ships can hook up to the electric grid instead of idling their engines in port -- would stop tons of unnecessary and life-threatening pollution, which is equal to thousands of cars idling.The Port Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency have obtained $15 million in funding to build the necessary infrastructure. However, for shore power to become a reality, the Economic Development Corporation, which operates the cruise terminal, Carnival Cruise Lines which uses the terminal, and New York Power Authority, which delivers electricity to the terminal, need to come to a final agreement about the price of electricity.Join us on Monday to rally for an agreement now, so the work needed to bring shore power to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal can begin and idling cruise ships stop choking Brooklyn!
Here are the specifics on the event:
What: Rally to Stop Choking Brooklyn, with free surgical masks for
everyone, to show just much pollution is spewing into Red Hook
When: Monday, January 3rd, noon
Where: corner of Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street
We hope you’ll join us on Monday to rally for a cause that will make our community an even better place to live!
Thank you,
Councilmember Lander and Senator Squadron
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1 comment:
Hey Katia. Thanks for promoting this. I'm sure you're aware that this is not only about air quality in Red Hook - the pollution from the ships shows no respect for neighborhood boundaries and affects all of our neighborhoods - Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Street, and beyond. Ship pollution - from all types of ships - is a problem for our entire city. Mitigating the cruise ship pollution in Brooklyn would be the first small step in eliminating these harmful yet avoidable emissions from our air, and our kids' lungs.
That shouldn't downplay the importance of ths plan, however. The Port Athority, in a statment made to the Public Service Commission in support of this plan, stated (read my latest post for the link to their statement) that plugging the Brooklyn cruise ships in to shore power would save an estimated $9 million per year in health costs to Brooklyn residents.
That means that currently the yearly monetized health cost to Brooklyn residents of the cruise ship pollution alone is $9 Million - that's per year, in cancer, asthma, heart disease and premature death.
That's important.
Thanks again for covering it. See you at the rally.
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