photo credit: Laphoto1on Flickr
At Tuesday's Informational Meeting On Gowanus Superfund Designation
I don't know about you, dear Reader, but Mayor Bloomberg's opposition to having the toxic Gowanus Canal designated a Superfund site by EPA infuriates me.
After almost eight years in office, the best Mayor Bloomberg's administration could come up with as far as a clean-up plan, was to have City Planning rezone the polluted shores of the Gowanus Canal from industrial to residential, leaving it up to the developers to remove toxins before capping the soil with a layer of cement.
Obviously, that's a band-aid approach to a pollution problem of great magnitude.
Now, that EPA is stepping in, he doesn't want their help. That frankly doesn't surprise me. Allowing the federal government to take control would only shed light on the fact that the Bloomberg administration wasn't really serious about a thorough cleanup.
As someone commented yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg seems to be more concerned about cigarette smoke and trans-fats than about the hazardous toxins in the waters of the Gowanus.
Frankly, allowing development along the canal before such a comprehensive remediation is almost criminal especially since his administration knew the severity of the pollution.
If they didn't, they were just incompetent.
In my humble opinion, it is time for Bloomberg to step aside and let EPA take a shot at cleaning the canal. More importantly, he should be gracious enough to move over after two terms instead of seeking a third one.
Because if he didn't get it cleaned in 8 years, he won't get it done in 12.
What's your opinion?
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