#greenpointlibrary

NEWTOWN CREEK ALLIANCE

“The hard part is getting people involved in the story of the Creek…. it is the economic engine….of New York City...this is where five or six great American corporations made their money. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of except we have these lacks laws regarding pollution that allowed them to dump their junk in the water and on the land……” To hear the excerpt, click below.

GREENPOINT COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL FUND (GCEF)

“When you see these kids at events with their projects and they’re excited and they’re happy, you can connect them with their environment … if you can connect with their environmental future you have really achieved something and it’s another example of the legacy of this project.”

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GWAPP

“….the whole perimeter (of the waterfront) was zoned M3-1, when everyone says not in my backyard, Greenpoint had become the backyard.....there was an incinerator...the largest sewage treatment plant in the Northeast, ⅓ of the solid waste transfer stations…...and the problem was that Greenpoint didn’t have a singular, organized voice.”

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EDMUND MICHALESKI

“Years ago we had a very severe pollution problem in Greenpoint……...What happens in the environment is unknown until we are long gone and scientists find the effects of what (companies like) Van Iderstein and NuHart & Company did.”

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STEPHANIE THAYER

“Despite all the fighting against the odds I still think it’s well worth it….. getting involved with something that’s larger than one’s own self gives meaning to our lives and working towards that greater good and working towards things that will last beyond our lifetimes.” 

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LAURA HOFFMAN

“The agencies failed though and I believe that they failed on purpose. I think it was a cover-up …… when Greenpoint was rezoned it was a community cleansing, they not only displaced and cleaned out people of color but they also swept away all the evidence of any environmental health issues because now people were living in different communities, dying in different communities.”

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RICH MAZUR

"It was such an attack on our existence and community ...We had the most waste transfer stations, we had nuclear waste, an incinerator, a waste treatment plant that was on the fritz.  The straw that broke the camel’s back was the State said we're going to allow an electric power plant to be built on the edge of a historic district."

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KIM AND SCOTT FRASER

"We were fighting the incinerator... and also the sewage treatment plant which had not been upgraded so there were scent problems, stinking problems, especially in rain like this..it couldn't handle the capacity. Rainy days would be sad days."

To hear the excerpt, click below.