I hate the term conspiracy theory. It irks me. Often valid ideas get this moniker, as well as ideas that clearly deserve the term. That said, if Joe Blow murders someone, he is a murderer. If Joe Blow and Joe Shmo decide to murder someone, that is called conspiracy murder. See how that works? If more than one person conspires to do someting illegal, it becomes a conspiracy. Now when most of the city council conspires against the will of the people of New York (in this case – Greenpoint, Brooklyn) – what shall we call that?
On the day of the public meeting regarding the proposed massive developments in Greenpoint there was a change of venue, the meeting started an hour late, the meetings were split into two separate rooms where they overlapped, and every other issue on the table was discussed before the Greenpoint Landing was brought up.
This ensured the smallest amount of people who came out to protest were heard. Also much of the contact information provided by councilman Levin was inaacurate, or flat our wrong. Was done on purpose? Do the majority of the city council (who are in the pockets of these developers) want to supress the will of the people? They did.
If you need anymore proof of how disgusting the City Council is, watch this short video on Willets Point. Willets Point is an area in Queens where there are many junkyards and auto repair stores. It became the epitome of the American dream. The majority of these owners were born in other countries, worked hard, saved their money and opened up a business in America. Now the city has sold the 23 acres of land where their businesses are for $1 to developers who are slated to get $46 million in subsidies. The business owners are being thrown out and the city is not compensating them fairly. This is more of the same by these people who could care less about you.
Councilman Levin (the man in the above photo) – told Kim Masson of savegreenpoint.org that if enough people come out and voice there opinions, the city council will vote against it. But he still voted to approve the development.
He also goes on to say “Greenpoint will finally be getting the open space and affordable housing that it deserves.”
Do you think Levin does represents our best interests?
Now there may be a few people on the City Council that actually care about the people, but I’m still looking for one.
Please email and call him and let he know how you feel. 718-875-5200 [email protected]
We did a couple of interviews with Kim, we got a lot of buzz, we got people going to the meetings, but the will of the people was suppressed.
I now will hand this over to Kim.
Instead of another interview, here is a letter she wrote to illustrate the whole situation as it stands of now, and what we can still do.
You will also see below the map of “the plume,” which is knowledge clearly being suppressed by the developers and those who appease them.
Kim Masson:
It was said of the Love Canal—one of worst environmental disasters of our day—could have been avoided. Nothing rings more true than the City Council’s decision to approve the rezoning of Greenpoint Landing. Despite the desperate cries of thousands of Greenpoint residents who spoke out in opposition, it is clear our voices are still not being heard.
Steve Levin proudly announced, “Greenpoint will finally be getting the open space and affordable housing that it deserves.”
Time and time again Greenpoint residents have heard this familiar siren’s song, a lure of promises to provide open space and affordable housing. We are here to say there is nothing affordable if the lives of children and teachers are at risk because they are forced to attend a school or play in a park steps away from a Superfund site, which to date has no funds for a clean-up. This land is also buffered against EPA Superfund Site Newtown Creek in a designated floodzone.
The contamination at Superfund site Nuhart Plastics is far-reaching and still growing. In a map obtained by the Department of Conservation, a large plume of cancer-causing liquid phalates sits at the school site’s front door. Greenpoint Landing developers, city officials–including our own City Councilman Steve Levin, and the School Construction Authority know about this fact and still refused to investigate ANY alternative school sites.
This gross negligence on the part of City Agencies is unacceptable. Turning a blind eye to the obvious truths about toxic contamination makes decision makers is no better than the polluters. The promise of a thorough clean-up is not good enough when alternative sites were not explored. Why were no alternate sites considered? Because that would raise construction costs. It is with great shame I call City Councilman Steve Levin our representative and neighbor.
We urge you to distribute this map to everyone you know so that the truth may come out. Call Governor Cuomo and tell him to stop the this before it’s too late—(518) 474-8390.
Disaster may still be avoided.
Thank you Kim.
Watch this video. Go to 2:46 and watch the council-members squirm in their seats as Kim brings up the issues of toxicity.
CLINK ON THIS Nuhart Plume! THIS IS A LINK TO THE PDF FILE OF THE TOXIC PLUME! Take a good look.
Mind you the plume is five feet deep in some areas. At the end of the day this is a PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE! GO!
some more info,
EPA presents Phase 1 findings on Newtown Creek at Cag Meeting, by James Curcuru, December 12, 2013:
http://gwapp.org/2013/12/epa-presents-phase-i-findings-on-newtown-creek/
Data Collection Plan, Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study, Newtown Creek, prepared by Anchor QEA, L.I.C., October 2011:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/newtowncreek/pdf/final_newtowncreek_datacollectionplan_10252011.pdf
DEC Environmental Site Remediation, Site Record for the Former NuHart Plastic Manufacturing (includes data from April 2010):
http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/derexternal/haz/details.cfm
try this DEC link and type in Site Code: 224136
http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/derexternal/index.cfm?pageid=3
A lot of Greenpointers are upset with the plans to build a bunch of high rises in our neighborhood. Personally, I’m excited about having more of the waterfront open for recreation and general enjoyment, but I definitely worry about the way it will change the character of our community, not to mention the strain on the G train.
That said, let’s be honest here: the reason so many Greenpointers are upset about the project has nothing to do with worries about the environmental impact, the fact that the towers will be in the flood plain, or the potential health impacts. It’s fair to say that most all of the people complaining about these issues already live in Greenpoint and are already exposed to these risks. This is New York City–we’re exposed to all sorts of hazardous things every day. If you were really worried about the toxic plume, you’d move to some other part of the city, or maybe somewhere else entirely.
I understand that because of the rezoning that happened years ago, there’s not really a way to stop the project on aesthetic or city planning grounds, but pretending that “all we care about is the safety of the children” is disingenuous.
You can find this by following the link b gives:
Site Health Assessment
It is unlikely that people will drink contaminated groundwater since the area is provided with public water. It is also unlikely that area residents will come in contact with contaminated soil since it is under the ground surface, however, if the site is redeveloped, construction workers or future site occupants may come in contact with site related contamination in soil if it is not handled properly. Also, the potential for nearby residents and building occupants to breathe site-related contaminants that may migrate into nearby structures via soil vapor intrusion needs to be evaluated.
Phil, pretending that all we care about is the safety of the children would be disingenuous if that was the case. We also care about the teachers, the workers building the school, the neighbors in the surrounding area, and all the corruption that will take to get the project off the ground. In case that you didn’t realized, one of the main objectives of the last Greenpoint Landing hearing was to debate the elementary to be built literally by the superfund -nowadays, with one year old data on the expansion of the area’s toxicity, perhaps even on top of the Nuhart superfund. And, as I guess you know, elementary schools usually have children around them, so it’s really hard not to talk about them when talking about schools. You should read a bit about what all we care about before misrepresenting it by pretending that you know what is it. For example, the fact that the city has wasted enough millions of dollars in several fiascos similar to this one in recent years, and it would be nice to save that money for once. What do you think?
I live no more than a block away from Duraflex Hart. I’m terrified about the upcoming remediation. My husband & I witnessed the coverup in the 1990’s when folks in Hazmat suits were on the block and NYPD, FDNY, … no one would explain why. We experienced the ooze that used to develop in our air conditioners that faced the air filtering system on top of Duraflex Hart. My family experienced asthma symptoms when the facility was in operation. Long story short, there’s some nasty chemicals underground. And when the remediation takes place, DEC will be the overseeing agency. The same agency that allowed the hazardous site on Manhattan Ave between Clay and Box to be cleaned up in a way that dragged that dust and debris along Manhattan Ave. My daughter and I were sick with autoimmune flares at the time, which we believe was aggravated/caused by places like Duraflex Hart to begin with. So when people say there’s a real threat lurking in this area, they aren’t off base or disingenuous. It’s for real. I think the school is front and center on the group’s radar because it’s the most blatant of the environmental insults going on here.
I used to defend Steven Levin when I first met him. But that was before I saw him campaigning for reelection on my block and decided I wanted to bring a few new neighborhood issues to his attention and gauge his response. Issues stemming from the homeless shelter, aggressive homeless people sleeping in the doorways or even lobbies of residential areas and the repeated completely lack of police action from greenpoint police (only a mere few blocks away) when called. Something that results in people having to defend their property and themselves in an almost vigilante way that hardly seems fair to either party. He had no answer or even interest in a solution to these issues, so I lost interest in him. I also saw that while campaigning, he made no attempt to reach out to the young people because he knew the older citizens were more likely to vote. He literally would walk down the street only stopping people over 60, and I had to interrupt him to get his attention. That may be a smart campaign technique in terms of voting %s, but the young people are funding this neighborhood economically, and the total disregard for what we’d like the neighborhood to stay, shows me where his head is at. He told me that if I had a problem with the police action, I should really attend a meeting. Well, we working residents of greenpoint can’t spend our time re-hashing the same corncerns that we are telling DIRECTLY to our elected representatives. These meetings are set up so that we have a false sense of participation, but realistically, we don’t. Mr. Levin will never have my vote. Approving 10-15,000 new residents into an area that already has major transportation issues that have never been addressed and blocking our view of the skyline is a total disservice to anyone NOT living in those buildings. I’m sure we’ll see no improvements to the G train and just expect those extra 10,000 people to cram aggressively into those late trains every single morning. Clearly those of us already paying to live here don’t matter.
I’m very upset with the development too. I’ve lived in Greenpoint all my life. But I must say that Steve Levin or his rep Rami are among the only few people that even attend the monthly meetings at the homeless shelter. And from experience, I can tell you that telling your elected officials about your issues is NOT the only thing that you need to do to make change. He cannot push issues forward without the push from his constituents. The fact is that we need more people speaking up.
It is interesting to note that the Newtown Creek Study Area map on page 10 of the EPA data collection report shows most of the land to be developed by Greenpoint Landing as part of the study. And it is even more interesting to read this paragraph on page 11: “The majority of land around Newton Creek and its tributaries is designated by New York City (NYC) as one of NYC’s six Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). NYC’s designation of the area around the Study Area as a SMIA reflects NYC’s determination that the anticipated future uses of surrounding property include maritime industrial uses as well as other compatible industrial uses.” I guess that building residencies and schools is nowadays some kind of compatible industrial use (as I am sure it is not a maritime industrial one. I also guess that much has changed between the date of the EPA study, Oct. 2011, and the last hearing of the URLUP, Dec. 2013, when our councilman informed us that “a disapproval of the actions before us today would not prevent the Greenpoint Landing project from going forward.” Shame on all of them.
Considering these towers got approved under Yassky and Reyna maybe we should point some conspiracy theories that way. Clearly none of you newbies were part of the fight against the 20o5 waterfront rezoning when these towers were approved (or ANY other city council hearing) because room changes/ time changes are all pretty normal. I do think that the hearing time is meant to curb citizen participation since most of us work during the day but I don’t really know how to make city hall not a 9-5 job…. I still don’t understand what Save Greenpoint wanted to do…..stop a school? The towers weren’t on the table- contrary to the misinformation spread, those towers got sealed 8 years ago. From someone who was on the street and blocking traffic on Bedford in 2004 trying to stop the rezoning, I can place the blame at a lot of people’s feet for the overdevelopment of our waterfront– Diana Reyna, Vito Lopez, David Yassky, Amanda Burden, Mayor Mike — seems like crazy talk to claim that Levin is part of some conspiracy…. (Of course these are the same people that think de blasio, the biggest fan of Atlantic yards is going to rush to the rescue and stop development in nyc….) There are lots of plumes in this neighborhood- none of them are going to stop gentrification…….
Please, stop embarrassing yourself by boasting how much you think you know and showing how little you really know — it ain’t pretty, dude.
You are such a retard. For your info, the hearing was not to stop the towers. The hearing was so that the people was heard, a foreign concept for Levin who, like you, thinks that already knows everything. The plumes won’t stop gentrification, as you say; the EPA will.
Watch the video of the last hearing. Go to 3:12:30 to hear a lawyer barfing incorrect data about the extreme toxicity of the area. Contrast his data on Nuhart Plastics Superfund (3:15:30) with the data provided in the map of the site. Decide for yourself who is lying to you and don’t forget to tell Councilman Levin what you think about it.
http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Video.aspx?Mode=Auto&URL=aHR0cDovL2NvdW5jaWxueWMucGVnY2VudHJhbC5jb20vZmxhc2gvbWVkaWFfcGxheWVyXzc5OGMuc3dmP3NlcnZlcj1ueWMtcnRtcC5wZWdjZW50cmFsLmNvbSZhY2NvdW50PWNvdW5jaWxueWMmdmlkZW9GaWxlbmFtZT1OWUNDLVBWLUNILUNPTTEzMTIwNS0xMzQ2MDUubXA0&Mode2=Video#.UqH-2bhvP5U.gmail
The city council is a totally corrupt body of crooks that answer to those who rent them. Despicable low lives each one of them; no exceptions. This project can only be stopped by serious civil action like heavy protests and making the lives of these corrupt bastards very difficult. If the people must be heard, then they shall do it not in turning their voices over these so called representatives but must take action themselves. It’s hard but nothing else works. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. So fight on if you must and do not give up.
This is a ridiculous and totally unproductive comment. There are a lot of good, hard working people on the council, and their jobs are made a lot more difficult when journalists go out of their way to misrepresent the case at hand. This blog knew full well what was on the table and how the land use process works and printed false and misleading posts anyway. It’s disappointing, irresponsible, and counter productive.
btw I appreciate the call to action, but if you don’t understand the tools of the machine, you are a long way from being able to dismantle it. The fourth estate is supposed to illuminate the process in order to empower. I don’t see that happening here.
Paraphrasing yourself, this is a ridiculous and totally unproductive comment. There’s a majority of people riding the gravy train on the council, and they make a lot more difficult the jobs of journalists by going out of their way to misrepresent the case at hand. This blog knew full well what was on the table and how the land use process works and still printed just half of the truth and had to be aided by leading posts anyway. Then, you say ‘It’s disappointing, irresponsible, and counter productive’, but that can be true, false, or half of each depending whom you’re referring. If it is the council, you have two thirds right: Every developer involved in the issues at hand will tell you it is very productive (for them, that is).
Steve Levin is freaken schmo joe, steve is a puppet for the shakers and doers in williamsburg greenpoint shakeoffs . Steve its time to retire, there i a opening at the bedford laundrymat and also as a milk man delivery dairy queen.
Levin has never been on our side.