ARCHIVES MESSAGES FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT
June 1, 2001
Well folks, it's been awhile since I updated and much has happened so here is the scoop! Our favorite community activist, Judy Robinson, sadly, has left the Directorship of the WNY chapter of the Citizen's Environmental Coalition. She will surely prosper in her native Boston, MA with her equally native husband..we wish her well and mourn the loss of an inspirational individual from the front lines of environmental justice in WNY.
Our President, Rick Ammerman has decided to throw in his hat for the South District Council seat currently held by the largely ineffectual Mary Martino. Rick is a proven leader with a great presence and a concern for good issues
like revitalizing South Buffalo's commercial centers by finding inventive ways to make areas of South Buffalo "destinations" and restoring foot-traffic-friendly areas much like the Elmwood Strip. He is also concerned about people's access to government and has offered to have a district office opened in South Buffalo so that residents can come to see him without the hassle of parking, etc. downtown. Hat's off to him, I hope he wins!
Let's see...the long awaited Health Assessment from the NYS Department of Health in cooperation with the EPA and the ATSDR has finally come in, and not without it's own drama. The report was delivered to the residents just hours before the agencies "made themselves available" for the residents in the form of a well-rehearsed dog-and-pony show that touted all the work these agencies have done and forcing the opinion that "there is no problem in Hickory Woods" and to quote G. Anders Carlson from the NYSDOH, "I wouldn't be uncomfortable living there". I wonder if he discussed THAT one with the wife beforehand?!? Incidentally, the DOH held a press conference offering these opinions at noon the day of the "presentation". Residents had not even received thier copy of the report by then!
Well, the Association basically boycotted the "individual" information sessions (set up like a trade show, with each agency having a room and their own ponies!) and instead marched from the now closed "Boone Park" to the Triangle Academy where the "presentation" was. We then had a very lively public comment session that included children scolding the agencies as well as citizens expressing displeasure at the process and community and scientific leaders in the community asking some pointed questions of their own that were never really answered. Lots of double-talk and assumptions..
This author was sent in early to find out what was being said to the residents (the few that did show up for these "sessions" and to ask a couple of very pointed questions about averaging, synergistic effects of multiple toxins and the lack of clear statute for environmental health standards outside OSHA regulations. God Bless the Union, but don't we all deserve those levels set aside for the working man, in our own yards? I should think so! The questions I asked were all answered with a verbose and wordy "we don't know". That was the take home message for me folks...
The most distressing part of this DOH interaction is the propensity they have shown, as an agency, to do whatever it is they want to, in whatever manner, with no input or interaction with residents on a continuing basis....
The Mayor's office has agreed to a peer review of the 67 page document mostly because it seems that the agencies decided that averaging the levels of toxic contaminants to assess risk of exposure was perfectly reasonable.
In a recent teleconference I was in with the DOH, we were asked how the DOH could do what they're doing better because they obviously screwed this one up....the take home point (and one they have been told many times before in similar circumstances) was that they should include neighborhood leaders in the process, planning and presenting of a document such as this....
Meanwhile, talking with Marty Doester from the Department of Environmental Conservation, I learned that work on the Superfund site is rapidly approaching. He will need our help to ensure that the cleanup that is done there is done with all due diligence...he needs public support for this. The down-side is that the residents really would like to be moved prior to any work being done there. Unfortunately, those two actions are separate and we have little influence.
It is also important to note that the cleanup needs to start soon or risk being lost to the LTV bankruptcy....this would be VERY BAD for South Buffalo! If anyone has any ideas or opinions about any of this, drop me a line and let me hear it!
In closing, the good news is that word has it that although we had to reschedule the meeting with the Mayor from June 4th to June 15th, the reason is that by then there is supposed to be some solid information on the relocation plan as well as an agreement between the residents (those represented by Richard Lippes) and the City on the peer reviewer (for the Health Assessment) chosen for this action. We anticipate good news soon, but with the reservation that the older homeowners have STILL not received their appointments for appraisal, as the newer, city-developed homes did.....
Chuck Antolina