Bronx Council for Environmental Quality » Blogs

MAYOR’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS ’2012

tdomf_7b75b — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:19:02 +0000

I attended Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s State of The City Address at Morris HS. Having failed at securing car-pooling, I was lucky to find a pkg spot so close to the school. There were police officers everywhere for blocks around. I went to represent BCEQ as Joyce Hogi’s guest. The little auditorium was full.
(u>There was entertainment: A belty chorus from PS12, and a flashy group of Irish Dancers. Bronx flavored music provided …by students from one of Morris’ four mini-schools. A young SS teacher, who was a recent MHS graduate spoke eloquently about how his life experiences made his job all the more relevant. BP Diaz, Jr. welcomed the mayor, who arrived (videographically) in a hailed black street limo. Ed Koch was in the video, and in the audience. See the whole show on TVNYC. Mayor Mike spoke of Gouverneur Morris, a signer of the Dec of Independence, who is honored by BCEQ’s Teacher Env.Education Annual Award. He mentioned a few famous graduates, including Ms.Marshall, a City Councilperson from Queens, who was in the audience. He should also have mentioned Morris Alumnus Hector Aponte, who was my best biology student ever! (-: during the nine yrs I taught there. Mayor Mike mentioned saving waterfronts, but not Harlem River. The presentation was well-organized. Then tonite I attended the Speak-Up Planning Meeting at Ranaqua. No refreshments or souvenirs at State of City, but PIZZA with x-tra cheeze and anchovies at the BxPkSpkUp Planning Mtg.

This post was submitted by I-C LEVENBERG-ENGEL.

Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week

karen — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 22:13:49 +0000

Please read this important message from the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Dear Concerned Citizen,

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a destructive invasive insect that has already killed over 50 million ash trees in neighboring states, and has now been detected in seven counties in New York State. The first step to effectively manage EAB is to identify current infestations, and slow the spread. To do this, we need more people aware of the insect to be able to report possible infestations, and to help slow the spread by not transporting firewood.

This year NYS DEC is working to get a Governor’s Proclamation for Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week. EAB Awareness Week has been proclaimed by many other states for the past several years. This will be the first year for New York. We hope to have a press release about it, but in addition we need to take actions to increase EAB outreach and awareness.

This year, we would like to implement the EAB ash tree tagging program. This is an outreach tactic that other states have used, and has been reported as very successful. To do this we will create and print cards (or tags) that will be attached to ash trees using ribbon to tie around the tree. Please see the attached picture for an example of what the tag will say.

The goal is to get as many ash trees tagged as possible during awareness week (May 22- 28).

To do this we will need many volunteers across the state to place tags in their local community, or park/recreation area. If you or your organization would like to participate in this project to tag ash trees, please contact the DEC at the contact information listed below by April 29^th.

NYS DEC will provide you with all the tags and ribbon that you need.

In addition, I will also need to know the intended location for deployment of the tags to guarantee that we do not have overlap between groups, so please let me know the specific locations of tag deployment (neighborhood, park name etc.). Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) will also be doing this project for Arbor Day, and they will hopefully leave their tags up through Awareness Week as well. CCE will be sharing their deployment sites with me to avoid overlap.

The tags can be removed anytime. However, I do recommend removing them before the end of summer, to avoid them breaking and becoming litter. Plus, some land owners may only want them left up for a week or so.

Possible sites for tagging: (remember to get permission from land owners early, try to pick locations that are heavily visited, and do as many sites as possible!)

County, City or Town parks

Community street trees

Forest recreation areas: trailheads, Campgrounds, other popular spots

Also, if you are near current EAB infested areas (see map in attached document), focus around towns near infestations.

I hope you are as excited about this project as I am, and please let me know if you have any ideas on how we can make this a success.

Jason Smith

NYS Department of Environmental ConservationDivision of Lands and ForestsOffice of Communication, Training and Enforcement Coordination

625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-4250Email: jpsmith@gw.dec.state.ny.usOffice: 518-473-6227Mobile: 518-522-0034 Freshen up the air around you with New York source seedlings. Tree and shrub seedlings are available for sale from the Saratoga Tree Nursery until Mid May. All products grown on site. Quality is what we strive for.
Go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7127.html for more information.

“Putting an End to the Climate Change Myth”

tdomf_7b75b — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:11:19 +0000

What do U think of this Letter To The Editor that was published in my favorte local paper?
March 10, 2011 Letter to The Editor

Putting an end to the climate change myth
What has the Environmental Protection Agency accomplished other than to destroy businesses and harass citizens?
It is the duty of Congress to make laws, not regulatory agencies, and no authority is given to either by our Constitution to regulate the environment.
The police state socialism must be stopped.
Climate change has existed for thousands of years, and is caused by variations in the energy released by the sun, not some guy backing his SUV out of the garage. The frauds in the environmental movement picked a great winter to talk about global warming, another contrived lie!
Restore our republic.
Lawrence Burke

To read my online comment, pleae go to http://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/Putting-an-end-to-the-climate-change-myth,48197

This post was submitted by I-C LEVENBERG-ENGEL.

PRESIDENT EMERITUS’S BLOG – April 9th ’2011

tdomf_7b75b — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 17:49:27 +0000

It’s been a busier week than usual for me, with no fewer than five meetings in three days.
On Tuesday, Dr.Dena Robins and I attended (1) “What’s Water Worth”, a panelist discussion in Barnard Hall. Afterward, we had (2) meeting of BCEQ Education Committee..
(3) On Wednesday evening I attended a meeting of VOBEC, my summer residence’s environmental commission, of which I’m one of seven officially appointed members.
Thursday there were two evening events: (4) another environmental panel in Columbia U Low Library, an impressive building with a entrance staircase rivaling that of AMNH and the Met. (5) Annual Riverdale Nature Preservancy Membership Meeting at Riverdale Neighborhood House, with G.O.K. as the guest speaker.
Here’s my take-away on the events:
(1) Hydrofracturing Panelists: Paul Gallay, Executive Director Riverkeeper; Caswell F. Holloway, DEP Commissioner; Martin Stute, Professor of Environmental Science Co-chair, Department of Environmental Science; and an industrial consultant from the Independent Oil & Gas Association.
Caswell Holloway made a fine presentation, and altho not trained as a scientist, seemed well-versed on hydrofracking issues of import to DEP. His first words were, “Drink NYC Tapwater”, as he held up his glass with a flourish, which delighted the audience. I learned from his presentation that only 6% of NYS Marcellus Shale is within the NYC watershed. That seems to me an easy enough chunk to declare off limits? As one of his final remarks, the Riverkeeper Director mentioned that Air Quality needs to be added to the concerns over Hydrofracking.
Also in the audience were Suzannah Glidden and Dr. Marion Rose of CWCWC, who are well known to Riverkeeper’s Executive Director. Dr.Rose mentioned her concerns regarding biosolids that may be contaminated by Radium 226-228 with levels of alpha radioactivity many times higher than the drinking water standard.
For a long moment the Q&A became uncomfortably provocative when someone from the audience refused to cease a loud, hostile interrogation in which he seemed to hold the industrial scientist personally responsible for a litany of (deceitful, political, legal) ills of the industry. After the event, I went up to Commissioner Holloway and introduced myself as “I-C from The Bronx”, and handed him an invitation to our Water Conference. He said he’d heard of BCEQ.
(2) Dr.Dena seemed to know the neighborhood around Columbia/Barnard well. She recommended a nearby soulfood restaurant as a convenient venue for BCEQ.edu.com meeting. Fried catfish, candied yams, and spicy collard greens.
Dena came prepared with an Agenda. The minutes of the last meeting were approved. Arrangements for our projected field trip with teachers to Seton Falls Park should be finalized soon. A call for nominations for our 3 Annual Environmental Education Awards will be sent out within the next week, hopefully before the Annual Members Mtg. on April 13th.
(3) The venue for our off-season winter VOBEC meetings is impressive: A penthouse in Manhattan with views of the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Best of all, parking is easy, but the quarters add up. Rising sea levels may doom us all to lower property values, or no property at all. Among other issues, we are trying to ensure that the village employs “green architectural design” as it implements major projects along Ocean Beach’s Great South Bay F.I. Ferry Dock.
(4) “New York as a Sustainable City” with four panelists, moderated by Columbia Professor, Dr.Steven Cohen, Executive Director of The Earth Institute. Dr.Cohen related that when he first requested to teach an environmental course, he was told that “students do not come to NYC to learn about the environment”. It took seven years of requests before he was given permission to teach such a course.
Below is a brief summary of what I remember from each panelist’s presentation and comments:
(a) David Bragdon, Director of Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning & Sustainability said that since Climate Change is not being addressed on a national level, the need for guidelines of mitigation and adaptation must be addressed on a local level. So much is local vs. federal issues, e.g. solid waste, air pollution, etc. NYC has >500 mi of shoreline, therefore sea level rise is a concern. Data is the guide for Mayor Bloomberg. We have always been faced with trade-offs between development and natural resource allocation, e.g. our National Parks System. Decision makers often ignore the fact that externalities have a price, e.g. the costs of oil pollution. He suggested a tax on the true costs of fossil fuels.
(b) Dr.Esther Fuchs, Professor of Public Affairs & Political Science at Columbia. Introducing herself as a girl from Queens, she went on to advocate her support for PlaNYC. Clean Jobs are needed to deal with unemployment. For greater eco-development we must strike a balance between regulation and incentive. There is a Green Bldg Technology Course at Columbia. Without regional control, there is an incentive between states to offer tax incentives, ignoring environmental trade-offs, that results in a race to the bottom. She is concerned how future administrations will continue implementing The PlaNYC.
(c) Caswell Holloway began his remarks by reminding everyone to drink NYC TapWater, again to the delight of the audience. He described PlaNYC as having “127 Initiatives on a To-Do List” with $780 Million allocated to implement The Plan over the next ten years. The Mayor is encouraging “Green Lease” developers. He supports co-generation of heat and power (Co-Gen). The change from #6 fuel oil —> #4 —> #2 will stop more air pollution than taking all vehicles off city streets. Of special interest to me was his discussion of what to do about CSO’s, e.g. build capture tanks at about $.5M each (Gray Infrastructure) vs. Green Infrastructure. DEP has come up with suggestions for dealing with CSO’s, and instead of offering to help, both EPA and DEC are showing their distrust of NYCDEP with delaying tactics, e.g. proposals must meet specific pipe size regs. When challenged, an EPA regulator told Cas, “Pain is Part of the Process”.
(d) Dr.William Solecki, Director CUNY Institute of Sustainable Cities. A geographer with concerns about climate change, he said that “history shows us that cities are resilient” He was the most optimistic of the group, predicting dynamism will lead to evolution and positive change.
(5) At the Annual RNP Membership Meeting at RNH, Mary Bandziukas, RNP Program Consultant summarized the results of the GreenWay Member’s Questionnaire. Peter Kohlmann, Co-President, in the absence of the treasurer reported that the organization was still solvent, altho income had fallen since the previous year. He recognized that Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz was in attendance. Then Councilman G.Oliver Koppell briefly outlined how NYCouncil has been supporting environmental efforts in Riverdale, including designation of historic homes, parkway, and the threat of development, i.e. Indian Pond in Fieldston.
Nanci was kind enough to have dinner waiting for me when I got home after a busy day for this old man.

This post was submitted by I-C LEVENBERG-ENGEL.

Bronxites tell the News what they want from their hometown paper

karen — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:41:22 +0000

Bronxites tell the News what they want from their hometown paper

Check out Karen Argenti, BCEQ Board Member’s comments.

Sensitive Receiving Waters – Designation for the Harlem and Bronx Rivers

karen — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:29:04 +0000

Here are the letters exchanged between BCEQ and the DEC.

DEC Commissioner Denied Appeal – BCEQ_DECCom_reject_appeal (8-3-10)

Appeal to the DEC Commissioner BCEQ_Appeal_Sensitive_Area_04192010

DEC response - DEC_reply_to_BCEQ__Requesting_Sensitive_Area_(3-5-10)

BCEQ request to designated Bronx and Harlem Rivers as Sensitive Areas - BCEQ__Requesting_Sensitive_Area_02172010

Check out what other EPA regions do: MO_WQS_decision_letter102909

Help us by signing a petition and/or a letter and emailing it to us at water@bceq.org or fax to (888)763-8399

NYDaily News: Yankee Stadium parking stalls out after developer shows signs that it may default on bonds

karen — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:27:00 +0000

Great story!  Juan Gonzalez did it sgain.  The communitv was right and we can not get anyone to listen.   Bittersweet, just like the Stella D'oro strike and move, the won the
battle but list their jobs. This Yankee Garage Fiasco is going to cost
us all!  Thank you Juan!

http://bit.ly/aJ07am

Story from the NY Daily News on the link above and below:

Yankee Stadium parking stalls out after developer shows signs that it may default on bonds

Juan Gonzalez - News

Friday, September 10th 2010, 4:00 AM

The developer of the Yankee stadium parking system is on the verge of defaulting on $237 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the city's Industrial Development Agency.

So many fans are shunning the network of 9,000 stadium parking spaces that revenue for the first half of 2010 was only $4.8 million - half of what was projected - according to a stunning financial disclosure by Bronx Parking Development.

The firm, which is independent of the Yankees and has existed for only three years, warned bondholders in an Aug. 18 letter that it currently has "insufficient funds" from operations to pay a $6.8 million interest bill due Oct. 1, and another $6.8 million due next April. And despite an additional $100 million in city and state grants it received on top of IDA bonds, Bronx Parking has failed for three years to pay its annual rent tab of $3.2 million to the city. It also has yet to pay any property taxes for the 21 acres of publicly owned land it is leasing to operate the parking system.

So why have these garages been such a fiasco? After all, the Yankees won a championship their first year in the new stadium and the team is currently exceeding its own revenue projections.

According to Bronx Parking, the garages have suffered from several unforseen problems:

More than 800 fans are heading on game days to the Gateway Shopping Mall five blocks from the stadium, where they pay only $10 to park instead of the stiff $23 self-parking fee ($35 for valet service) at the stadium garages.

A new Metro North station has lured many fans (about 5,000 per game) to ride the train.

The Yankees prepaid for only 190 parking spaces this year for their season ticket holders instead of the 900 spaces they prepaid last year.

The firm's announcement sparked an immediate drop in the trading value of its bonds. It also sent city officials scurrying to come up with a solution to what could be the biggest default of an IDA bond that anyone can remember.

"If these garages are only at 60% of capacity after a World Series victory, you know it can only get worse from here," said one city official with direct knowledge of the project's finances. "There's just too much unused parking around the stadium."

The Bloomberg administration selected Bronx Parking in 2007 to build and run the garages after the Yankees demanded a minimum of 9,000 spaces to stay in the Bronx. The firm is subsidiary of a Hudson County nonprofit, Community Initiatives Development Corp. The parent firm defaulted on two previous bonds for projects in Syracuse and Monroe County. The firm's chief executive, William Loewenstein, did not return calls for comment. A spokesperson for the Yankees declined to talk about the garage problems.

The only way Bronx Parking will be able to meet its next two interest payments, the firm said in its letters to bondholders, is by drawing $4.5 million from a bond reserve fund. That would push the fund below its legally required level and trigger a time clock on a possible default.

One thing Yankee fans can be sure of: parking rates at the stadium will rise sharply next year.

Even with that increase, Bronx Parking does not expect to generate enough money to replenish the reserve fund, and that would mean "an event of default," its letter to bondholders said.

"The bonds are not a general obligation of the city or the IDA in any way, shape or form," said David Lombino, a spokesman for city's Economic Development Corp., and would not "necessarily affect IDA-issued bonds going forward."

Experts familiar with the stadium project are not so optimistic.

"If these bonds default, it will spook investors against any other IDA," said one lawyer involved in negotiations on the original deal.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bronx/2010/09/10/2010-09-10_stadium_parking_stalls_out_developer_may_default_on_bonds.html#ixzz0z9We8D43

Harlem River Working Group Presents a one stop guide to public programs

karen — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:10:12 +0000

Harlem River Working Group Presents a one stop guide to public programs along the Harlem River.

For more information about the events listed please contact the organization hosting the event.

Harlem River Festival
Sunday September 12th, 10-4 Swindler Cove Park (Dyckman street and 10th Ave.)
An all day event packed with fishing, seining for crustaceans, boating, music, barbeque picnic, and photo opportunities at the Peter J Sharp Boathouse, water slides, painting and decorating fish shaped cookies are just some of the fun and education activities designed to bring people to the water. Great for all ages! All activities are FREE! Brought to you by New York Restoration Project in partnership with NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, for more information contact Shannon Donohue at 212-333-2552 or at sdonohue@nyrp.org.

Harlem River Ecology Center Fall MigrationUrban Wildlife Appreciation- Birds of Prey Series (southern end of Roberto Clemente State Park, Beneath River Park Towers, Bld 10, in the Morris Hts section of the Bronx, 10453):

- Sat Sept 25th, 1pm-3pm- In Keeping Company with The Red Tailed Hawk.
- Sat October 9th, 1pm-3pm- The Owls, Who are They? What Do They Eat
- Sat November 6th- 1pm-3pm- In Keeping Company with the Crow and Raven Live Encounter and Education about the urban birds of prey of the Bronx urban wetlands and urban watershed
For more info call 347-224-5828, or email harlemriver.udec@gmail.com A project of The Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy- www.urbandivers.org

East River Crew-Free community rowing- 96th street and east river- Tuesdays at 5pm September 14th until October. For more information go to www.eastrivercrew.org or call (917) 622-7513.

Randall’s Island Wetlands Stewardship Program (Icahn Stadium, 20 Randall’s Island)
-Please join us on a tour of the Randall’s Island salt marsh and freshwater wetlands. This 8 acre complex, restored in 2008, offers visitors a chance to view the local flora and fauna found in these unique ecosystems.
-Opportunities for volunteer weeding, planting, clean-up are also available.
For more information or to register a group please contact Victoria Ruzicka. Natural Areas Manager at (212) 860-1899 ext. 309 or at Victoria.ruzicka@parks.nyc.gov.

Halloween at University Woods: Enter woods at Cedar or Sedgwick at 181st street.
Join the Friends of The Woods for haunted tours of University woods every Sunday in October or for It’s My Park! Day Halloween events on October 31st. For more information contact Friends of the Woods at thewoods@inbox.com, or at (718) 228-9309.

This flyer is sponsored in part by I.C. Levenberg, and Morgan Powell.

BCEQ convenes community meeting with state and federal

karen — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:03:39 +0000

This meeting was held on April 30, 2010. The info leading up to this meeting is on our web page at: http://www.bceq.org/2010/04/15/bceq-letter-to-the-national-park-service-on-yankee-stadium-park-replacement/

The follow up letter is below. State_OPRHP_02162010_sitevisit ff up 05102010

Green Jobs Summit April 7 from 9am-5pm at BCC

karen — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:43:07 +0000

Bronx Green Jobs Summit April 7th 2010

Join other local leaders to make a Blueprint for Green Jobs in the Bronx!

You have been selected as a candidate to attend the Bronx Green Jobs Summit, a project of the Bronx Green Jobs Roundtable.

The event will be hosted by

Bronx Community College Center for Sustainability on April 7th, 2010 from 9am – 5pm in the Lower Colston Hall.

You can get directions here: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/directions/directions.htm

If you would like to recommend others to participate in the summit, you can
invite them directly or email us with their contact information and we will
reach out to them.

This summit is a result of a grassroots initiative within the borough to ensure
“green” development is good development—benefiting Bronx workers and addressing the longstanding environmental injustices with which our Borough has been burdened. It is designed to bring together leaders across the Bronx to build a shared analysis and blueprint for green workforce development in the Bronx. Our focus topics are: Small Business & Industry development; Local Food Justice; Air & Water; Remediation; Housing; Energy and Job Training.

As a roundtable, our goal is to ensure that Bronx Green Jobs resources– from training programs to Environmental Justice experts– know about each other and understand how existing resources can be used to benefit the community. Then together we can identify where gaps exist, and work to ensure that all this new interest and money in “green” flows to where it is truly needed to empower Bronx community members. Active participants in the roundtable include The Point, Sustainable South Bronx, Bronx Community College Center for Sustainability, the Osborne Association, Goodwill Industries, Mothers on the Move, the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Green Workers Cooperative, Local 10, the Mary Mitchell Center, Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, Urban Agenda, the Consortium for Workers’ Education and Congressman Serrano’s office.