Elected Officials, East Siders Protest City’s Premature Search For Builders Of East River Garbage Station
New York, NY - Today, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Liz Krueger, Assembly Member Micah Kellner, and members of the East Side community joined to speak out against the City's move, reported this week, to seek competitive bids to construct a massive maritime garbage transfer station (MTS) on the East River waterfront despite the City's failure to secure the necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) to move the project forward. This week they joined with other elected officials to write to the NYC Department of Sanitation expressing their opposition to the City’s move (see below).
The Army Corps of Engineers is currently considering a permit request and mitigation plan by the NYC Department of Sanitation to build the proposed garbage transfer station. The Corps indicates that the necessary data to complete its evaluation has not yet been submitted, and reiterates that the City's application for an expanded "footprint" on and in the East River is still pending.
“I am truly amazed that the City is moving forward in seeking construction bids for this project when they don't have all the permits that are required to build it,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens). “The City needs a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build over the East River. They don't have it. And, in our view, they shouldn't get it. It is clear that this project is an environmental disaster, and that it will exert a negative impact on essential fish habitats in the East River. And it will have an extraordinarily serious environmental impact on the individuals who live, work and play in this community. Simon and Garfunkel said it best in a song that was literally about crossing the East River: ‘slow down, you move too fast,’” said Maloney.
“Our community has been clear in our opposition to the construction of this facility, but now residents of the East Side have reason to be doubly outraged. In soliciting bids before completing a host of other necessary steps, the City government has attempted to jump the gun and short-circuit its responsibility to safeguard the East River environment and our communities,” said NYS Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan).
“Mayor Bloomberg wants to build this waste transfer station on a foundation of false facts and misleading data. The Mayor has no regard for the harmful effects this will have on our community. His judgment stinks worse than the garbage trucks that would be forced through our neighborhood,” said NYS Assembly Member Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan, Roosevelt Island). “Luckily, the Mayor doesn't get the final say. Ultimately, it's up to the Army Corps of Engineers to determine if this permit is appropriate. I am confident when they have all the facts, the Army Corps of Engineers will stop this waste transfer station dead in its tracks.”
Although not able to attend the press conference, Congressman Charles Rangel (D-Manhattan, Bronx), NYS Assembly Member Daniel Quart (D-Manhattan), and Council Members Jessica Lappin (D-Manhattan, Roosevelt Island) and Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan) each submitted statements opposing the City’s move this week to solicit competitive bids to construct the proposed facility.
“The explosion that occurred in the engine room of the North River sewage treatment plant in Harlem last summer forced the evacuation of hundreds of my constituents. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection's decision to discharge millions of gallons of untreated sewage from Manhattan into the Hudson and Harlem Rivers also forbid people from swimming at four city beaches on Staten Island and in Brooklyn. Every effort should be made to delay the issuing of the RFP until the Army Corps of Engineers receives and reviews the city's mitigation plan from the Department of Sanitation,” said Congressman Charles Rangel.
“The proposed waste transfer site is inappropriate for this densely populated residential neighborhood. Residents, especially children, and the marine life in the East River would all be adversely affected by this project. The US Army Corps of Engineers should be allowed to complete their evaluation before any permitting begins. I call on the City to defer moving ahead with any plans at this time,” said NYS Assembly Member Daniel Quart.
“A garbage dump does not belong in a residential neighborhood, and we won't stop fighting until the Mayor trashes this plan,” said NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin.
“This site continues to be totally inappropriate for a garbage station,” said Council Member Garodnick. “How the City can move forward with an RFP before the Army Corps. of Engineers has concluded its inquiry makes absolutely no sense,” said NYC Council Member Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan).
Background:
The proposed facility, which will have a large presence on the East River, would process as much as 4,290 tons of garbage per day, causing an endless line of garbage trucks to rumble through a densely-populated residential area to converge on the proposed site. The East River ecosystem has been revitalized as water quality has improved in recent years and this facility will have a significant impact on the marine life in the East River. The proposed site is adjacent to two large public housing developments, many high-rise residential buildings, and Asphalt Green, a sports complex that serves thousands of New York City kids every day. The proposed site is also located in a hurricane flood zone “A”, considered most at risk for potential flooding and storm surges.
A copy of the letter sent by the elected officials to the City this week appears below.
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January 27, 2012
The Honorable John J. Doherty
Commissioner
Department of Sanitation
346 Broadway
New York, NY 10013
Dear Commissioner Doherty,
We are surprised to see that the Department of Sanitation has issued a competitive bid regarding the Marine Transfer Station proposed for 91st Street and the East River (MTS) before the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) has issued a permit for the facility.
According to the ACE, the New York Department of Sanitation still has to provide fisheries data which is necessary for the ACE to complete the required Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Under regulations issued pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, ACE must complete the EFH consultation prior to making a permit decision.
Clearly construction of the MTS cannot commence before the ACE issues its permit. The National Marine Fisheries Service did not believe that the City's present mitigation plan was adequate and clearly had concerns about the MTS's potential impact on EFH in the East River. We believe that the MTS would have a significant negative impact on the delicate eco-systems beginning to return to the East River, as well as on the health of our constituents, and we hope that you will reconsider your position on this matter before construction moves forward.
Very truly yours,
CAROLYN B. MALONEY
Member of Congress
LIZ KRUEGER
State Senator
MICAH KELLNER
Member of Assembly
DAN QUART Member of Assembly
JESSICA LAPPIN
City Council Member
DAN GARODNICK
City Council Member