Queens Gazette

Dismantle Poletti





 

 

I love Astoria. It is a great place to live. This Earth Day, we should take a moment to think about how we can improve the environment on the local level. Astoria is plagued with some of the worst air pollution in New York. By almost any measure—asthma, ozone pollution, particulate matter, carbon—we rank near the bottom of the list.

As a new parent, I’m particularly concerned with the prevalence of childhood asthma in our community. Childhood asthma is on the rise here in Astoria and across the country—and we know that bad air pollution days can trigger asthma attacks.

We must work to improve Astoria’s air quality to protect our children.

Astoria’s pollution is the legacy of the multiple power plants, our proximity to La Guardia Airport, and the heavy traffic in our community. Decisions made decades ago to dump power plant after power plant on Astoria mean that each of us—and our children—breathe dangerously polluted air.

We must permanently retire the oldest and dirtiest plants and prevent any new plants from being siting in our community. As someone who grew up in Astoria and has lived here my entire life, I remember that our air pollution was even worse in the past and I have seen what can happen when we stand together as a community and fight to improve our air quality.

Thanks to the Clean Air Act and the hard work of local grassroots activists and community leaders, my son is already breathing cleaner air than I did—but it’s not enough. We have a long way to go—but the victories we’ve won together show that we can do it.

The biggest victory yet has been shutting down the Poletti power plant—which stopped spewing pollution in 2010. Shutting down the dirty Poletti power plant was a tremendous step forward. It was the result of amazing grassroots activism.

If shutting down Poletti was the first step, our next move should be to follow the advice of community leader Rose Marie Poveromo, president of the United Community Civic Assocation (UCCA), and dismantle Poletti so there is zero chance for it to pollute Astoria ever again. Until dismantled, Poletti could be refired and begin polluting all over again. I am proud to be a member of the board of UCCA because they have been leaders advocating for environmental protections for our community for over 20 years. Removing the threat of Poletti permanently is crucial for all of us who live here in Northwest Queens.

It’s time for a clean energy future and Astoria can lead the way. Clean energy will create jobs, help reduce air pollution and protect Astoria from blackouts.

We have one of the best locations in the world for off shore wind. We are well positioned for new hydro generation. Solar prices are increasingly more affordable and are now accessible to many residents and businesses. Moving toward that new energy future will be easier once we’ve removed the shadow of Poletti forever.

Costa Constantinides is a grassroots community organizer, progressive political leader, husband and father who has lived in Astoria his whole life. In 2009, he was elected to serve as the Democratic District Leader for the 36th Assembly District, Part A. As a past president of Queens County Young Democrats, Costa has been focused on expanding healthcare access, improving the environment, and advancing education. As a member of the board of United Community Civc Association, Costa has been active on improving Astoria’s quality of life. For more information, visit: www.VoteCosta.com.


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