Lou Reed, James Gandolfini and Laurie Anderson at Tribeca Protest. Photo by Scott Gries"Enough is enough", said Tribeca resident Kirsten Dunst. After all, the neighborhood already has over 400 UPS and FedEx trucks and a garbage garage. Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, James Gandolfini, Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Michael Stipe, John Slattery and Talia Balsam agree. Last week, these folks along with 600+ people gathered at the Saatchi & Saatchi building on Hudson Street to protest the Bloomberg Administration's plan to dump a three-district, 120' high garbage depot, a 34,000 gallon fuel storage facility and a 5,000 ton salt shed onto the neighborhood.
This is not a "not in my backyard" situation. The city wants to truck in garbage from all over Manhattan. It's a terribly ill-conceived proposal. And we all know that New York City has seen its share of downright stupid proposals. Just imagine if Robert Moses had had his way. He wanted to level what's now Soho and portions of Washington Square and run a super highway through it? Thankfully, one woman, Jane Jacobs, galvanized support and stopped him.
Local activist and Tribeca Community president Carole DeSaram says, "the City's plan is total insanity -- to take billions of dollars of development rights and literally build a garbage garage".
"Where the city is going to find $500 million in this time of fiscal austerity is beyond me," said Richard Sloan, professor of Behavioral Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. That's a half-billion dollars to ruin the neighborhood and reduce property values (and property tax revenue) and compromise the health and safety of the area residents.
Lou Reed, always succinct, says, "To take that kind of facility and put it right across the street from two parks is beyond my comprehension and environmentally irresponsible."
Fortunately, The Tribeca Community Association has a better plan. They propose accepting garbage from two adjacent districts, but not with the unfair burden of trucks and garbage from as far north as 59 St. and Lexington Avenue. The community plan, dubbed "St. John's Park at Hudson Rise!" integrates publicly accessible green space with critical sanitation services without devastating the neighborhood.
I am currently reading Russell Shorto's amazing book, The Island at the Center of the World, and so Laurie Anderson's remarks really hit home. "Is this really what the coast of Manhattan should look like? When you see what other cities do with their riversides, it's startling to see how long it is taking New York to realize we live next to this national resource, a national treasure. The Hudson River is an inspiring and beautiful part of our city."
I agree. For more information or to help fight the dump...
Visit the web site
Email
Sign the online petition
Make tax deductible donations to 501.c.3 non-profit: Tribeca Community Association, 533 Canal St., NY, NY 10013
Protest to Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler: 212-788-3191
Protest to Speaker Christine Quinn: 212-564-7747
Other cities do it.
Groups fighting to protect and green their communities know that placement of toxic, dangerous facilities, is nasty back room business, with selfish, sordid solutions. Historically environmental racism prevails, thrusting disproportionate concentrations of facilities onto poor communities of color, without resources to fight the onslaught.
In the case of this 3-district mega-facility, 5000 ton salt shed, 34,000 gallon fuel depot for Hudson Square---a neighborhood with the worst congestion and highest asthma rates in NYC, and 2nd worst air quality in the northeast --- other unholy alliances and contaminated designs drive the dump. This community is expendable because they aren't a robust voting block. Ultra-ambitious Speaker Quinn, elected to represent them, long ago abandoned them, their health and well-being. Mayor Bloomberg's loaded cabal, privileged to overpower anyone who opposes him, is another scary story. Pernicious posse lusting after 3rd terms?
Only Council member Charles Barron with a history facing off against hogs-wild wielding power, had the guts to vote with the community ---not even his district --- and didn't even flinch.
Check out Hudson Rise: A beautiful alternative green design with 2-district garage above 2-acres of parks. Encouraging that intelligence and vision are alive within the community. Why won’t their elected officials wake up --- Or just roll over and get out of the way.
(Suburban Philadelphia) ...they succeeded.
I was under the impression that NY was still sending their trash to Bucks County....
The community plan, dubbed "St. John's Park at Hudson Rise!" integrates publicly accessible green space with critical sanitation services without devastating the neighborhood. The plan is incredible, beautiful and GREEN. And that's what we all want for our downtown community, we have such little GREEN space as it is.
WHY is the Sanitation Dept., being so bull headed about accepting something the community is behind and they still can have their facility? Makes no sense. The Commish and the mayor's office need to wake up and see how to make this alternative plan work. Otherwise we all need to get out and march on city hall, seems that's the only way to get attention these days.
(Not that I'm complaining about tourists -- they help keep this city going, too! Please, come visit us! See our beautiful salt piles and garbage garages!)