TESTIMONY
Testimony: Eric McClure, Chair of Community Board 6, Testifies on Intro 4 and Traffic Management
2:48:23
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3 min
Eric McClure, serving as the chair of Community Board 6 and the executive director of StreetsPAC, advocates for Intro 4, requiring cruise operators at NYC terminals to use shore power and create traffic mitigation plans. Highlighting Redhook's environmental injustices and adverse health impacts, McClure supports traffic study initiatives and suggests solar canopies as a sustainable addition to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
Speaker 10
2:48:23
Good afternoon.
2:48:24
Thank you.
2:48:25
My name is Eric McClure.
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I am the chair of Open Community Board 6 as well as the executive director of Streets Pak.
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I appreciate the opportunity to testify today.
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Brooklyn Community District 6 includes the neighborhood of Redhook in its entirety.
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Broken Community Board 6 is long advocated for the use of short power at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and we've long advocated in support of efforts to mitigate and better manage traffic in Redhook, including the chaotic RedLock that too often accompanies the departure and arrival of cruise ships.
2:48:53
We strongly support intro 4 accounts member of VLS' bill that would require cruise operators to connect to and use short power.
2:49:00
At the city's cruise terminals and would also require a creation of traffic mitigation plans as to condition of port access.
2:49:06
The passage in the neck of intro 4 will have tremendous benefits for Redhook, which continues to bear the brunt of multiple environmental injustices.
2:49:14
Research has shown that a cruise ship dock for a single day without connecting to electrical power can generate as much easily exhaust as more than 30,000 idling semi trucks.
2:49:23
Hundreds of gridlocked taxis and other rideshare vehicles dropping off and picking up passengers as well as dozens of trucks resupplying dock cruise ships at harmful of emissions, further polluting a community that's already overrun daily by hundreds of trucks operating out of Redhook's growing complement of last mile delivery facilities.
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It's no wonder that Redhook's public housing residents suffer from asthma at three times the city wide rate.
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Brooklyn CB 6 is for several years and across multiple administrations called upon City to conduct a comprehensive traffic study for Redhook, which the Department of Transportation finally undertook last March.
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We've also called on the Department of City Planning to place a moratorium on the develop of any additional last mile facilities in the neighborhood, which continue to pop up as of right.
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Intro 4 can help lessen the environmental harm to rate by forcing the the New York City Economic Development Corporation to require the use of short power and traffic mitigation efforts, something that some cruise operators have done by employing shuttle buses.
2:50:17
But MSC cruises, which operates the largest ship sailing from the Brooklyn cruise terminal with room for nearly 6000 passengers makes no such accommodations for rivals and departures, intro forward compelling plan.
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We urge members of the committee on economic development to vote in favor of intro 4 and full counsel to pass it without delay.
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Red House residents deserve nothing less.
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I I also just want to add that council member of the office raised a question of solar panels on-site at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.
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And I'll point out that the Whole Foods in Galanos, which opened about 10 years ago, installed a solar canopy above its parking lot prior to opening.
2:50:56
It's been operation now in operation now for 10 years.
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And while the roof over the port facility may be insufficient to hold solar panels at this time.
2:51:05
There's no reason that they could not install structures that would allow a solar canopy over the parking lot there.
2:51:12
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4
2:51:15
Thank you.
2:51:17
Next, we will hear from Karen Blondeau followed by Mikaelus Skoknick and then Arissa Denny.
Speaker 0
2:51:23
Your time will begin.