Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
REMARKS
Council Member Holden advocates for mandatory waterway usage by waterfront facilities
2:05:28
·
149 sec
Council Member Robert F. Holden strongly advocates for requiring facilities located on waterways, particularly along Newtown Creek, to utilize water transportation. He argues this would be more environmentally friendly and reduce truck traffic.
- Holden suggests this requirement should be added to the Sierra Club's and Newtown Creek Alliance's recommendations
- He criticizes current practices where waterfront warehouses don't use water transport
- Holden emphasizes the importance of including this point in environmental groups' testimonies
Robert F. Holden
2:05:28
the Yeah, would just add the Sierra Club, I would just add that something should be in and also the Newtown Creek Alliance.
2:05:37
If if the facility is sited on a waterway, the city should require that they use it or else they can't be on the waterway or they can't site the that that is critical.
2:05:49
Again, it if you if you take a tour of the Newtown Creek area, most of these warehouses are sitting on the creek, yet none of them that I know of are using it.
2:06:01
So that should be, you know, the Sierra Club should be considering that as one of your bullet points that it it should require, and the city can.
2:06:10
But, you know, the commissioner I I keep talking to the commissioner about this DEP should require at lee or at least incentivize citing if you're on a creek, waste again, look at waste management.
2:06:24
You you know waste management sits on the creek.
2:06:28
I I wanted you to stay up there, but I guess you didn't you didn't want that, you know, but but because it's important.
2:06:35
Look at waste management.
2:06:37
Their business is garbage.
2:06:39
How do they get it?
2:06:40
You know, they're sitting literally on the creek.
2:06:44
And when I asked them when they were when they opened the warehouse there, said, are you gonna use the waterway?
2:06:49
No, we're not in the barging business.
2:06:53
I said, well, you're not in the rail business either or in the truck business, but you're trucking and railing this stuff out, but you're not using the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation, which is a barge.
2:07:07
And they didn't really have an answer.
2:07:09
So I think in all the testimonies, especially the Sierra Club and NCA, that that is critical.
2:07:17
It's a critical point in your testimony.
2:07:19
If you can, you know, think about that.
2:07:21
Thank you.
Alexa Avilés
2:07:23
Yeah.
2:07:24
Thank you, council member Holden.
2:07:25
We've had these conversations particularly with DCP and the Department of Buildings that provides the permitting for the building of these infrastructures, why none of those considerations ever considered requiring water use.
Robert F. Holden
2:07:41
But this was twenty years ago I testified to this.
2:07:43
Yeah.
2:07:43
Ten years ago I testified to this and nothing, again, we don't get anywhere.
2:07:48
Yeah.
2:07:48
And so this is very important that any environmental group mentions this and we put it on the front burner.
Alexa Avilés
2:07:55
Yeah.
2:07:56
I agree with you.
Jim Gennaro
2:07:57
Thank you.