Welcome to Water World

A scene from the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow." The mayor warned that New York will become more prone to flooding in the coming decades.

New York only to get hotter, rainier and more flood-prone, say scientists

NY Daily News

BY Adam Lisberg
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 4:10 PM
Fox/AP

A scene from the movie, “The Day After Tomorrow.” The mayor warned that New York will become more prone to flooding in the coming decades.

New York will be hotter, rainier and more likely to flood in the coming decades – with sea levels possibly rising more than four feet, a panel of scientists said Tuesday –

“All of the evidence from the science community is that the seas are going to rise,” said Mayor Bloomberg as he unveiled the panel’s report.

“It’s pretty hard to not understand something’s going on, very worrisome and scary, on this planet.

“The planet is changing, and we have to do what we can to make sure we can accommodate it,” he added. “Did we, 10 years ago, think about water rising?

“Only a few people talked about it, and it was considered a communist plot. So by that standard, I suppose we have made some progress.”

Academic experts and insurance executives on the panel concluded that average temperatures could rise up to 7.5 degrees by 2080, rainfall could increase by 10% and sea levels will rise two feet.

Some studies predict the polar ice caps will melt much more quickly, which could raise New York’s sea level by 55 inches by the 2080s – more than 4-1/2 feet.

That likely means heavier and more frequent flooding from rainstorms and coastal flooding, the panel conluded, as well as heavier demands on all city infrastructure from electric power to sewers.

Weather experts say New York is due for a hurricane, and the city’s Office of Emergency Management has drawn up evacuation plans that assume huge swaths of lower Manhattan and low-lying areas of the outer boroughs will be underwater during a moderate hurricane.

“The city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants are particularly vulnerable,” said Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Steve Lawitts.

“Seawalls will be elevated where possible to protect the plants from flooding.”

Bloomberg announced the panel’s findings at a sewage treatment plant in Far Rockaway, Queens, that sits on the water’s edge and is vulnerable to flooding.

Plan superintendent Frank Esposito showed the mayor and top city officials the plant’s eight pump motors at the bottom of a deep concrete pit, where they could be inundated in a heavy storm.

The agency plans to raise them 40 feet sometime in the coming years, at a cost of $30 million.

Many of the agency’s other long-term plans will take decades to plan, city officials said, with a cost still being tallied.

“Each of these projects costs money,” Bloomberg said. “Just to raise the motors that you saw downstairs, that’s a $30 million project. But the number of things at every one of these wastewater treatment plants is significant.”

Mexico City Mayor hands out free Viagra to elderly men – Bloomberg Gives Us Trees

Is This Tree on a Viagra Regimen?

Mexico City Mayor hands out free Viagra to elderly men. Michael Bloomberg gives New Yorkers trees. It doesn’t require much effort to make the analogy.
NY Daily News
BY Catey Hill
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, February 13th 2009, 12:10 PM

The government is handing out free Viagra to poor men, the New York Times reported.

If you are 60 and over, poor, and need a little extra excitement in your love life, Mexico City just might be the place to be.

“Everyone has the right to be happy,” Mexico City’s mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, told the New York Times.

The New York Times also reported:

Ebrard is up for re-election in July, and this little Viagra move might just help him get re-elected.

Ebrard not only is giving out Viagra, he’s also dumping sand at public pools to create beaches and turning major roads into bike paths on Sundays.  He’s staged a “kiss-in” on Valentine’s Day to increase awareness of domestic violence.  He’s built the largest skating rink in the world.

But it’s the Viagra that has many men excited.

“Now, I’m able to fulfill my wife,” Mr. Posadas, a grandfather of six, told the paper.

Angel Posadas Sandoval, 74, was a little more vague, but still got his point across by telling the paper, “things have changed.”

He added, “I’ll enjoy whatever time I have left.”

Your Doctor Wanted You to Smoke

In 1946 This Doctor Wanted You To Smoke

Yes, there was a time when doctors and athletes were paid by tobacco companies to promote smoking.

Time has created a photo gallery of vintage pro-smoking advertisements.

A Tree Once Grew in Queens

Much of Fort Totten’s landscape is now scarred with the remains of what were once large, majestic trees. According to Parks’ Forestry Division, the trees could not be saved. Random observers have described the wood and stumps as appearing to be healthy. In all fairness to Parks, those were not expert opinions.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that the Fort looks bare. Parks is encouraged to replace any trees that became victims of their chain-saw.

The pictures which can be seen by following the link below, require no captions. As you’ll notice, much of the evidence is being pulverized. Also shown is some of the demolition work taking place on the Fort.

Price of Cigarettes Going Up in NYC

It’s going to cost more to destroy your health.

From MyFoxNY

Price of Cigarettes Going Up in NYC

Last Edited: Sunday, 08 Feb 2009, 5:06 PM EST
Created On: Sunday, 08 Feb 2009, 4:57 PM EST

NEW YORK – What a drag! A pack of cigarettes will soon cost more than $10 in Manhattan.

Costing More to Destroy Your Health

That’s because a 62 cent federal tax on cigarettes will take effect this week.

This means the cost of a pack of smokes in New York City will be the highest in the country.

Turf War Brewing in New York City Parks

Customers in the Cafe are starting to wonder if Parks & Recreation will ever get it right.

NYC Park - Use at your own risk

From 1010 WINS

Posted: Sunday, 08 February 2009 7:16PM

Turf War Brewing in New York City Parks

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A turf war is brewing in New York City.

The city council will hold a hearing Monday on a bill that would ban new installation of artifical turf on city ballfields until all the fields can be tested.

Environmental groups say it’s because lead tests done on the turf in East Harlem’s Thomas Jefferson Park came back four times higher than previously disclosed.

But the Parks Department says new tests found no further evidence of elevated lead levels and rejected the call for a moratorium.

“The contaminated field at Thomas Jefferson Park is promptly being removed and replaced,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. “Thankfully, this appears to be an isolated finding.”

The council bill would mandate the removal of a controversial rubber infill which is made from recycled tires and a petroleum-based product containing more than two dozen different chemicals including arsenic, lead and zinc. These products have been known to be hazardous to people and the environment.

“Last Summer at Coney Island”

(aka, Mayor Bloomberg never met a developer he didn’t like)

Fort Totten Park won’t need natural gas station unless Parks Decides Differently?

Park's Department nose grows bigger & bigger & bigger

Despite verification that the compressed natural gas tanks proposal was dead, a statement from Parks said: “The Parks Department has not made any decisions about implementing temporary or mobile fueling stations at this time.” Customers in the Cafe commented that Parks Department seems to have mastered the ability to talk out of both sides of their mouth.

Queens Chronicle

02/05/2009
Fort Totten Park won’t need natural gas station
by Liz Rhoades , Managing Editor

Although Parks Department officials said they have not made any decisions about installing compressed natural gas tanks at Fort Totten Park, the need for them has largely vanished.
In December, the nearby Bay Terrace community learned that the city was considering such a move to fuel its new tram. Otherwise, the vehicle would have to be transported frequently to the nearest city fueling area at Flushing Meadows Park.
Advertisement
Some community members, led by Warren Schreiber, who heads the Bay Terrace Community Alliance and the Bay Terrace Co-op Section 1, oppose the possible installation of tanks. They fear it might present a safety concern or be a possible target for terrorists. But it appears the city has resolved that problem by having a larger fuel tank installed on the tram.
“They solved the problem in a very creative and intelligent manner,” said state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing). “I’m happy when things work out.”
Stavisky and Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) wrote letters to the Parks Department against installing the gas tanks at the former Bayside military base. They received a reply from Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski in mid-January calling the compressed natural gas tram “a very green alternative.”
Lewandowski indicated her agency made preliminary inquiries regarding permit requirements for a fueling station, but since then, the tram has been retrofitted to triple its fuel capacity, “making the need for an on-site fueling station unnecessary,” she said.
Schreiber is ecstatic the problem has been resolved. “We’re happy it’s over,” he said. “They need to make the park accessible to everyone, but not with a miniature gas station.”
Joe Branzetti, president of Friends of Fort Totten Park, said his group met with the park administrator, Janice Melnick, who explained that the larger fuel tank on the tram will mean fewer trips to refuel.
Branzetti was also told the refueling would be done at a Con Edison facility in College Point, which is a little closer than Flushing Meadows. But Parks Department officials could not verify that.
Despite verification that the compressed natural gas tanks proposal was dead, a statement from Parks said: “The Parks Department has not made any decisions about implementing temporary or mobile fueling stations at this time.”
Last July, Borough President Helen Marshall funded the $262,400 tram to move visitors around the park. The open-air vehicle includes the lead tram car with seating and a separate all-passenger gondola.
Plans call for the lead car to be unhitched for refueling and driven to Flushing Meadows or College Point. Before the fuel tank was enlarged, it was estimated it would have to be refueled every two to three days.
Because of mechanical problems, the vehicle was not used last year. It will only be operated in warm weather.

Marshall Backs Effort To Honor Park Activist David Oats

Queens Tribune

Marshall Backs Effort To Honor Park Activist

David Oats
By Brian M. Rafferty

David Oats loved Flushing Meadows Corona Park. One of his first assignments as a young reporter was to speak with Robert Moses, the visionary power broker who masterminded so much of the development in the city – as well as the creation of the park and its second World’s Fair.

The meeting between Oats and Moses created a lasting bond between the young reporter and the park that stands in the heart of the borough he called home.

Oats, who died suddenly on Feb. 5, 2008, spent a large portion of his career as editor of the Queens Tribune, but never lost touch with his first love – Flushing Meadows. When he retired from newspapers he continued to work tirelessly as an advocate for the park, even going so far as to travel to Europe to advocate both for a third world’s fair and for the park’s use as a venue for the Olympics.

David Oats

Oats saw the park as a dynamic location, filled with the energy of not just the people who use it, but the events that have taken place there through the years. In short, the park was his first true love – a love that filled his heart until the day he died.

It is fitting, then, that a year after his death, a portion of the park may be named for him. The idea, first touted by this paper in the days after Oats’ death, is supported by this newspaper, its publisher, Oats’ widow and Borough President Helen Marshall.

Marshall has asked New York City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe to rename the promenade around the Unisphere after this fierce park advocate.

“David loved the park and Queens, and I am happy to support this effort to provide some sort of fitting memorial to him for all he did for Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” Marshall said Wednesday.

The letter asks for Benepe’s aid in officially naming the pathway surrounding the Unisphere for Oats.

“He was a dedicated Queens historian and preservationist who devoted his time and energy to ensuring the lasting legacy of the 1939 and 1964 World Fairs,” Marshall wrote. “He worked tirelessly as an advocate for park lovers who cherish our borough’s flagship park… As the first anniversary of his death approaches, it is fitting to now memorialize his efforts on behalf of the park and our Borough’s residents.”

15th Annual Little Neck Bay Beach Clean-Up

Bayside Anglers Group Ltd.
Proudly presents

Bayside Anglers

15th Annual Little Neck Bay Beach Clean-Up
“Bayside Waterfront Day”
10 AM on Sunday, April 19, 2009
(Rain or Shine)

We welcome all volunteers and their families to help us in
the Spring-cleaning of one of our most popular local fishing spots.
Through the support of the NYC Dept. of Parks, Partnership for
Parks and the NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation,
bags, gloves, rakes and shovels are provided for this event.
Volunteers are well cared for with food and drink. To make things
interesting, all participants are entered for a chance at raffle
prizes provided courtesy of our sponsors. Join us and help make a
difference that you can see today and for the rest of the season.

2009 will mark our 15th year of clearing debris from the back
of our beloved bay. To celebrate this 15 year milestone, we are
expanding this project to cover the entire 3 mile stretch of public
shoreline here in Bayside.
Directions to sign in booths

Booth 1: Bass Beach is accessed by walking to the southern end of the bay
along the bicycle path adjacent to the Northbound Cross Island Parkway.
Take Cross Island Parkway to Northern Blvd. West. Go about 1⁄2 mile and
make a right onto Bell Blvd. Continue about 1 mile and make a right onto
35th Ave. Bear left and park at end. A footbridge to the bicycle path is up the
hill opposite Crocheron Pond.

Booth 2: Little Bay Park: Cross Island Parkway North to Exit 32 (Bell
Boulevard) make a right at the light into Little Bay Park. Park in the lot on the left.

It’s in the bag – Plastic bag that is…..

The world uses 500 billion plastic bags per year!

From amNew York

Plastic bag tax would apply citywide

A proposed plastic bag tax would hit shoppers not just at grocery stores but at all retailers, a change expected to bring in vastly more money to the cash-strapped city.

Facing a deficit that has now ballooned to a projected $4 billion for next fiscal year, the city has revised its bag tax and now expects it to generate $84 million, up from the $16 million the mayor’s office estimated in its November budget plan.

“When we went back to study the plastic bag fee proposal, we broadened who the proposal applies to,” said Jason Post, a spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “We want to use the fee to discourage use of plastic bags from more sources than just grocery stores.”

The fee is actually a tax, and as such would require state legislative approval.
Shoppers would pay 5 cents per plastic bag, down from the 6-cent charge proposed in November.

The tax is one of a slew of measures laid out in Bloomberg’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposal, unveiled last week, aimed at helping the city shore up its finances.
Bloomberg also proposed cutting 23,000 city jobs — including 14,000 teachers and 1,000 police officers — asking municipal employees to contribute to their health plans and raising parking meter rates.

-Jason Fink

Idling Parents and Idle Minds

Protect our children - Turn off your engine

From the NY News

Motorists who idle their engines by a school for more than a minute will risk a $100 fine under a City Council bill passed yesterday. The measure is aimed at curbing exhaust pollution that feeds the city’s asthma epidemic, backers say.

Opponents blasted the one-minute rule as another excuse to slap motorists with revenue-raising tickets. “I’ve seen school parents victimized,” City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx) said in voting against the bill.

“I’ve seen traffic agents waiting like locusts,” he said.

Councilman James Oddo (R-S.I.) voted for the bill, saying it might help control parents who swoop down on local schools twice daily to deliver or pick up their kids.

City law sets a three-minute idling limit at schools, but it’s enforced largely by the Department of Environmental Protection against diesel-fueled vehicles.

The new one-minute rule will cover idling by autos and trucks “adjacent to any public or nonpublic school providing instruction from pre-K through 12th grade.”

A companion bill, passed 40 to 6, gives ticketing authority for idling to the NYPD, Parks Department, Sanitation Department and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Mayor Bloomberg will sign both bills, a spokesman said.

Smoking Ban Hits Home. Truly.

January 27, 2009
Belmont Journal
Smoking Ban Hits Home. Truly.
By JESSE McKINLEY

BELMONT, Calif. — During her 50 years of smoking, Edith Frederickson says, she has lit up in restaurants and bars, airplanes and trains, and indoors and out, all as part of a two-pack-a-day habit that she regrets not a bit. But as of two weeks ago, Ms. Frederickson can no longer smoke in the one place she loves the most: her home.

Ms. Frederickson lives in an apartment in Belmont, Calif., a quiet Silicon Valley city that is now home to perhaps the nation’s strictest antismoking law, effectively outlawing lighting up in all apartment buildings.

“I’m absolutely outraged,” said Ms. Frederickson, 72, pulling on a Winston as she sat on a concrete slab outside her single-room apartment. “They’re telling you how to live and what to do, and they’re doing it right here in America.”

And that the ban should have originated in her very building — a sleepy government-subsidized retirement complex called Bonnie Brae Terrace — is even more galling. Indeed, according to city officials, a driving force behind the passage of the law was a group of retirees from the complex who lobbied the city to stop secondhand smoke from drifting into their apartments from the neighbors’ places.

“They took it upon themselves to do something about it,” said Valerie Harnish, the city’s information services manager. “And they did.”

Public health advocates are closely watching to see what happens with Belmont, seeing it as a new front in their national battle against tobacco, one that seeks to place limits on smoking in buildings where tenants share walls, ceilings and — by their logic — air. Not surprisingly, habitually health-conscious California has been ahead of the curve on the issue, with several other cities passing bans on smoking in most units in privately owned apartment buildings, but none has gone as far as Belmont, which prohibits smoking in any apartment that shares a floor or ceiling with another, including condominiums.

“I think Belmont broke through this invisible barrier in the sense that it addressed drifting smoke in housing as a public health issue,” said Serena Chen, the regional director of policy and tobacco programs for the American Lung Association of California. “They simply said that secondhand smoke is no less dangerous when it’s in your bedroom than in your workplace.”

Read more………..

Cell Phone Towers Free of Municipal Oversight

Cell Tower Siting Requires Municipal Oversight

Councilmember Tony Avella has taken the lead in opposing a proposal that would allow the siting of Cell Phone Towers without municipal oversight. Follow the link below for the whole story.

celltower-avella0076

Mixing Gas and Water: Drilling in the City’s Watershed.

Read the full report in the Gotham Gazette – Protect our water supply!

by Dara L. Miles
January 12, 2009

Protect New York City's Water Supply

Turn on the tap and New Yorkers get completely unfiltered H2O, flowing from the upstate streams and rivers to faucets from the Bronx to Brooklyn.

Since 1993, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency has exempted New York City from its filtration requirement, making it only one of a handful of major U. S. cities that does not have to filter its water before letting its citizens gulp. The city’s system is the largest unfiltered water delivery system in the country.

Now, some New York City officials worry that anticipated gas drilling will jeopardize the water supply of more than 9 million people in the city and several upstate counties. Gas producers want to drill into the Marcellus Shale formation, part of which lies upstate. They would then inject millions of gallons of water treated with chemicals in order to extract what experts believe could be trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.

Proponents of the drilling say tapping the state’s deep reserves of natural gas could bring a bonanza of royalties, jobs and tax revenues to cash-strapped upstate communities and help ease the state’s budget crisis. Officials closer to New York City, however, say compromising the quality of the city’s drinking water is too high a price to pay. They want the state to ban gas drilling in the watershed.

City Councilmember Jim Gennaro, who chairs the Environmental Protection Committee, has sounded the alarm about the potential cost of filtering the city’s water. Gennaro has cautioned fellow committee members — and anyone else who will listen — that a filtration system could boast a price tag in the billions.

“What the people of the City of New York, I fear, are looking at is a $20 billion consequence to this ‘drill baby drill’ policy,” Gennaro said.

Peru Planting 512,820 Trees a Day to Fight Climate Change

Written by Levi Novey

Published on January 11th, 2009

Peru’s Ministry of Agriculture has launched an ambitious project. The goal: plant 40 million trees in 3 months to help deter the effects of climate change.

Planting 40 Million Trees

According to Peruvian news source Andina, the Ministry hopes to complete the project by February 20th of this year. They started working on December 13th of last year. That will mean that an average of 512,820 trees will be planted each day over a three month period– an astounding and inspiring example for other countries to follow around the world.

Did somebody say something about planting a million trees in NYC?