"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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