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Northeast Regional Office
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Regional Activities in New York
Hudson River: The Sierra Club continues
to work to insure the timely clean
up and restoration of the upper Hudson River. We are represented
on several
stakeholder groups and have played a leadership role in efforts to
hold
General Electric accountable for the PCB pollution which has contaminated
communities and threatened public health for decades. The cleanup
plan was
first announced in August 2001, and was scheduled to start in summer
of
2005. It has since been delayed twice--until summer of 2007. We continue
to
work on insuring that there are no further delays. For more information,
contact the Northeast Field Office, ne.field@sierraclub.org
Ground Zero Project: The NYC
Field Office and Atlantic Chapter Air
Pollution Committee, working closely with Ground Zero workers, labor unions,
and community groups, are making important progress in obtaining cleanup of
9/11 pollution in NYC. We successfully convinced the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) expert panel to add toxic lead to the list of
contaminants to be tested. We still need to obtain better testing and
cleanup guidelines, and sufficient funding. Also, we are providing
information to the recently established 9/11 Health Coordinator on unmet
health needs related to 9/11. In late 2006, we produced a follow-up report
on Ground Zero pollution and the implications for future disaster
management. The executive summary and our full report can
be
read
at
www.sierraclub.org/groundzero.
Community Outreach Projects
Action Team -- The NYC Field Office and New York City Group worked
together to form an Environmental Action Team that is now providing
monthly, short-term activities to attract younger volunteers to the
Club. For the latest event, click
here.
BEC Energy Campaign -- This year's Building Environmental Communities (BEC) campaign in NYC will focus on one of the Club's top issue priorities: Energy. We will engage neighborhood residents and youth in activities designed to motivate them both to conserve energy and to urge the City, State and federal government to adopt the Club's smart energy solutions of energy efficiency and renewable energy. We will build volunteer activism through educational community forums and workshops. We will reach out with our message to new communities, such as communities of faith, homeowners, tenant groups, low-income housing groups, parent associations and others. To get involved, call the NYC Sierra Club office at 212-791-3600 ext 32 or send an email to Bob.Muldoon@Sierraclub.org.
You can find out about the
next upcoming event if you click
here.
Youth and Energy Initiative - NYC -- The Sierra Club’s Youth and
Energy Initiative is working to educate young people about global warming
and smart
energy solutions. Through
direct presentations to schools and grass roots organizing, we are able
to cultivate leadership within young activists in diverse communities
and connect them to Sierra Club events and local community greening projects.
To find out how you can get a climate change presentation for your local
school or to volunteer, please contact the NYC Sierra Club at 212-791-3600
ext 33 or at david.veliz@sierraclub.org
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The Sierra Club is celebrating a great environmental
victory on Staten Island; the plan to build an 82,000 seat racetrack
stadium -- with no rail transport and in the middle of wetlands --
was abandoned.
The Sierra Club NYC Group’s Staten Island Natural Resources
Task Force, together with Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, Staten Island
Citizens Against the Track, The American littoral Society’s
NE Chapter, and other environmental and community groups opposed
the project, and helped build public support for local politicians
who opposed it.
“ This is a great time for Staten Island, a great time for
the environment, and a great time for the Sierra Club,” said
Eliana Garcia, co-chair of the Sierra Club NYC Group’s Staten
Island Natural Resources Task Force.
The proposed racetrack would
have added to an already severe traffic problem on Staten Island
by using 8,400 cars, an estimated 950
busses, 635 recreational vehicles, and 80 or more ferries to bring
attendees to racetrack events. The project, which also included
a large shopping mall, would in total have brought around 95,000
people to an area without any rail transit or an adequate traffic
plan.
“
Nearly every person was going to come to this track in a
diesel or gasoline powered vehicle, spewing global warming gases
and other air pollution,” said Richie Villavicencio, co-chair
of the task force.
We were also concerned that the destruction of
14-15 acres of wetlands, as well as helicopters and noise on-site,
would pose a risk to
Staten Island's remarkable Harbor Herons Complex of wetlands and
bird habitat. Beautiful birds such as the Snowy Egret and the Belted
Kingfisher, as well as remarkable raptors such as the Northern
Harrier and Peregrine Falcon, forage in these wetlands.
As part
of the “Stop the Racetrack-Protect Staten Island” campaign,
Sierra Club volunteers informed community residents, groups and politicians
about the negative impacts that this project would have on Staten
Island. The Sierra Club also released a report, entitled, “Race
to Protect Staten Island,” which detailed many harmful impacts
that this project would have had on the environment and the quality
of life on Staten Island.
Our work helped save acres of wetlands,
protect wildlife and prevent more traffic and air pollution from
harming the quality of life on
Staten Island. A special thanks to Don Riepe, a member of the Sierra
Club NYC Executive Committee, for providing important leadership
on this issue. Congratulations and thanks to all of the Sierra Club
members and volunteers on Staten Island for standing up for the environment!
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