Marking their formal involvement, Councilmembers Eric Gioia (D-Queens) and David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) announced their filing of "notices of intent to sue" ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, pledging to join the suit later this year. Riverkeeper and community co-plaintiffs have recently filed a legal complaint in federal court against ExxonMobil for one of the world’s largest underground oil spills, right in the heart of Brooklyn. ExxonMobil is responsible for a 17 million gallon plume of oil that stretches under 55 acres of Brooklyn, contaminating the groundwater and constantly seeping into Newtown Creek, affecting both the Brooklyn and Queens shorelines.

"For too long, irresponsible polluters and insufficient state enforcement have allowed an oil spill that dwarfs the Exxon Valdez to seep unchecked into our waterways," said Councilmember Gioia. "From this lawsuit, the oil companies should take one message loud and clear: Polluters Beware: New York will no longer tolerate pollution that degrades our environment and threatens our health."

Gioia’s prospective lawsuit will seek to force ExxonMobil and the other polluters to clean the 17 million gallon spill. While Gioia, far right, was on the water, he could actually watch oil seep into the creek.