The School Built On A Toxic Wasteland

Mother claims school made daughter sick

BY STEPHEN J. BRONNER

Thanks Steven for sending this in!

For 12 years, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has known about a potentially deadly chemical in the soil on a city-owned site less than two blocks from an Ozone Park public school - but cleanup plans have been snagged by red tape.

Now, the mother of a former student of Public School 65 is suing the city.

“I had no idea that the school was sitting on a toxic plume,” said Katie Acton, who believes her daughter developed chronic asthma while attending the 99th Street school, beginning in 1999.

“If I had known, I would have removed her long before the three years,” added Acton, whose daughter, Kaylyn is now 15. “When I did remove her, it made a big difference.”

“Back in 2002, we became aware of concerns from the school community about the soil and air,” said Marge Feinberg, a DOE spokesperson. “This has not been an issue since the indoor air was tested and found to be acceptable.”

Exposure to large amounts of TCE could cause asphyxiation, chronic health problems like cancer and long-term neurological disorders, according to The Risk Assessment Information System, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

“I don’t want another child to go through what my child went through,” she said.

This kinda scenario seems awfully familiar, Love Canal anyone?

Astoria Can Feel The Power, And They Are Not Happy

Authority Approves Power Plant for New York City

The state authority has selected Astoria Energy LLC to build a new gas-fueled plant in Queens under a 20-year contract. The decision will help make up for the loss of the Charles Poletti Power Project in Queens, which is due to close in 2010.

Here is some back ground on the Charles Poletti Power Project, it's a good read.

The 885-megawatt (mw) Poletti project, and a new 500-mw combined-cycle power plant built directly next door, enable the Power Authority to meet the electricity requirements of its large government customers in New York City, who save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lower energy costs by using NYPA-generated electricity. They include tax-supported schools, hospitals, municipal buildings, and the metropolitan region’s subways and commuter trains.

Astoria Residents Unhappy With Plans For Area's Sixth Power Plant

With five power plants already in his neighborhood, Douglas Sanchez is fuming over plans to build a new one here in Astoria.

“I’d like them to find someplace else. I really don't want it here,” said Sanchez.

The plan, selected by the New York Power Authority out of 30 proposals, will allow Astoria Energy to build a natural gas-fueled plant that would supply 500 megawatts of power under a 20-year contract to some of the city's schools, subways, and public housing.

“The city might need it, but you know why don't they put it on Fifth Avenue?” said Sanchez.

Bard High School Early College II To Open In Queens

BHSEC II To Open In Queens In September

Bard High School Early College II will open in Queens this September. Like the original Bard High School Early College in Manhattan, founded in 2001, BHSEC II is based on the principle that many motivated students are ready to engage in college-level work during their high school years.
Operated in partnership between Bard College and the New York City Department of Education, BHSEC II offers highly motivated students from all five boroughs the opportunity to earn a Regents diploma from New York State, as well as 60 college credits and an Associate in Arts degree from Bard College in a selective, tuition-free, public school. BHSEC II is now accepting applications for this coming September from students currently in 10th grade (class of 2010).

Information sessions, featuring staff and students from BHSEC, will be held Tuesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. at 525 East Houston St. in Manhattan; Monday, March 31 at 6 p.m. at 30-20 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City; and Wednesday, April 9 at 6 p.m. at 30-20 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City.
To apply or sign up to take the admissions assessment, which is part of the application process, call (212) 995-8479, ext. 2042, or e-mail apply@bhsec.bard.edu. Assessments will be held on Saturday, April 12 and Thursday, May 1 at 30-20 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City. Students must bring a copy of their 9th grade and most recent 10th grade report cards.

What a double whammy, not only a new school, but a good school. Very good, more options and more opportunities for gifted children of Queens and New York City. The biggest kicker is that is tuition free, kudos for who ever put this into the works.

BHSEC

Toxic Schools Improve Learning

...Learning about how to put together and protest an injustice that is.

Residents Protest Toxic Schools

Advocates and community members gathered Tuesday in front of State Senator Frank Padavan’s Bellerose office to protest his lax legislation concerning environmentally contaminated school sites and to announce a leafleting campaign to educate constituents in Padavan’s district about the issue.

The meeting was hosted by Dave Palmer, a lawyer for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which represents community groups dealing with environmentally contaminated school sites. School sites leased by the City do not require the same type of community, political and environmental review processes as schools owned by the City. This loophole allows for schools to be located on contaminated sites posing health threats to children, according to the organization.

“All of that we think places children at risk,” Palmer said.

“Children are most vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals.”

At the meeting Tuesday, Katie Acton, whose daughter attended PS 65 in Ozone Park from 1999 to 2002 spoke about the toxins beneath the school that she believes led her daughter to develop asthma. Acton belongs to PS 65 Parents and Neighborhood Against TCE, which now has a lawsuit against the City. The school is located is a former airplane parts factory.

“Leaving the school, her health has improved and so have her grades,” Acton said. “It is my understanding that the Department of Education knew of the contamination before the families.”

It is pretty sad in this day and age that significant problems such as toxicity affecting the youth in society and drugs in the drinking water; its a scary world we live in.

More power to the protesters, children deserve clean and safe environments to learn in.