The oil company representatives insist that the air quality of the surrounding areas is not being compromised, as the oil is underground, but many residents of Greenpoint beg to differ. Multiple lawsuits against the oil companies are now in progress. For more information, see the following links:
- Riverkeeper - a comprehensive resource for the spill
- Black Mayonnaise - a recent article in NYU's Scienceline
- Newtown Creek map
- Christian's delicious links about Greenpoint
Goal: To investigate the air pollution around Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and make the information readily available to the community.
Steps
- build the air quality monitoring device
- install it somewhere in Greenpoint
- determine the best way to broadcast the information (online perhaps?)
- gas sensor(s)
- solar panels to power the project
- Zigbee radios to relay the information
1 comments:
Old Oil spill story being used to attack community after it won its rezoning battle (and divert attention away from cancer cluster in Williamsburg). No one in the media seems to report the fact that more than half of the 17 million gallon spill has already been cleaned up. Also, the remediation process has been going on (it hasn't stopped as suggested on this blog), with the blessing of local elected officials, since 1992 and continues. Also interesting is that no one points out that the spill is almost entirely under the remote western industrial section of Greenpoint near the East Williamsburg industrial park. There are a few residential streets near Kingsland Avenue that are above the spill, but the vast majority of residential properties are not involved with the spill. The NY Post, in an article on Oct 15th by Angela Montefinise, and Senator Charles Schumer at a press conference on October 16 incorrectly reported that there was a potential cancer cluster in Greenpoint near an oil spill. However, three cases of an extremely rare sarcoma cancer are ACTUALLY on a single block IN WILLIAMSBURG (where Devoe Street is and nowhere near the oil spill, not even in the same zip code). One more case is five blocks away and even further away from Greenpoint and the oil spill. In fact, one victim got cancer after residing in the same apartment as an unrelated cancer victim and previous tenant. Sarcomas are a very rare form of cancer, and as reported in the Post article, "You don't see three in one block," Dr. Isaac Eliaz, a California expert on metal detoxification, said. "Someone should be paying attention to this." Dr. Kanti Rai, chief of oncology at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, agreed that it was "worth an investigation." Unfortunately, the Senator is calling for a health study with regard to the oil spill and is ignoring a potentially very serious heath disaster in the Williamsburg community. Neighborhood Roots has reached out numerous times to Senator Schumer's Washington office's communications director Eric Schultz, and Bret Rumbeck who handles environmental issues for the Senator, with no calls being returned. Curiously, at the same press conference Congressman Anthony Weiner stated that Greenpoint has a 25% higher asthma rate than the rest of the city. The only problem is that the two health studies done by the state and city show the asthma rate in Greenpoint to be between 25% and 50% LOWER than the rest of the city along with a 10% LOWER cancer rate. Where are they higher? You guessed it- Williamsburg. The State DEC is aware of toxic industrial sites in Willliamsburg near Devoe Street that could potentially be the cause of these rare cancers, but no one is calling for that study. "Instead, there seems to be a no holds barred attack on Greenpoint and a blatant disregard for the health concerns of the Willamsburg community", One has to wonder if Sen. Shumer and Congressman Weiner are in the pocket of Williamsburg real estate developers trying to cover up a serious health concern that may hinder the sales of their luxury condo developments. "Public officials are to serve and protect life and property- not serve and protect property of their cronies." One must question whether the recent support of massive residential development in Williamsburg and the historic resistance from Brooklyn politicians (including Borough President Marty Markowitz and Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez) to residential development along the recently rezoned Greenpoint waterfront has anything to do with this dissemination of lies.
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