City Should Be Cautious About Synthetic Turf - Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito -City Conversations - City Limits Magazine - CityLimits.org

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The issue of synthetic turf appears deceptively simple. With such a high demand for recreational open space throughout our city and a rising obesity epidemic, who would not want to facilitate greater use of our athletic fields? However, the debate over the proliferation of synthetic turf in our public parks is far more complicated than it appears at first glance. In evaluating these surface materials, policymakers must balance the health, environmental and safety implications of this surface material with community members’ desire for reliable, all-weather recreational space.

Synthetic turf has generated significant public and media attention in recent years, which has served to highlight a number of the dangers that have come along with its expanded usage on play fields. One synthetic turf field here in New York City, Jefferson Park in East Harlem, was closed by the City due to elevated levels of lead found on the ground; a number of these fields in New Jersey have also been closed for the same reason. An increase in the number of severe burns endured by children playing on the fields prompted the New York City Department of Health to commission a report, which indicated that excessive temperatures do occur on synthetic turf fields. Aside from the severe burns, synthetic turf also presents risks for other athletic injuries. It has been widely reported that New York Giants wide receiver Domenik Hixon severely injured his knee in a non-contact injury at the New Meadowlands Stadium that may have been caused by the synthetic turf field that was installed. After many concerns were raised about the environmental risks posed by the usage of crumb rubber infill from recycled tires, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that they were no longer going to install this type of turf in the City’s parks.

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NYC's Fake Grass Gamble: A $300M Mistake? by Patrick Arden - City Limits Magazine - CityLimits.org

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In 1998, New York City began installing synthetic turf fields in parks and playgrounds, saying the artificial material would be more durable than grass. But a City Limits investigation finds that many turf fields are falling apart, including this one at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Soccer players examine the turf at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

Soccer players shout at midfield, but not about their game: The field is falling apart.

“It’s been like this for five years,” complains Israel Arreola, as he points to the open seams, torn patches and wavy folds in the artificial turf at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Referees for public school league games already boycott two artificial-turf fields there, citing fears of liability. “This is bad: holes everywhere,” says Arreola, a Manhattan sous-chef who plays in a weekend league.

The reasons behind this buying binge have been many, ranging from the battle against obesity to an alleged cost savings on field maintenance. Artificial turf is part of PlaNYC, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's blueprint for an environmentally friendly future. Yet a City Limits investigation has found that overuse and chronic neglect has run turf ragged years ahead of schedule; price comparisons generally favor natural grass, even in the long term; and the health risks of turf—largely dismissed by the city after the destruction of one artificial field for high lead levels in late 2008—are much broader and deeper than previously reported.“Somebody’s going to get hurt.” Over the past 12 years New York City has borrowed an estimated $300 million to put 204 artificial-turf fields at parks, schools and playgrounds. An additional 52 fields are on the drawing board.

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Pushing To Be Free In School From PCBs by Hashim Rahman - City Limits

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Parents and pols seek state-of-the-art evaluations of school toxicity, and ways to address a potentially huge health threat.

PCBs are resilient; their legacy is permanency. Thirty years after their ban, these hardy chemical compounds persist in our lakes, our rivers, our bodies, and a broad diversity of animals and plants. In New York City, a growing number of parents and political leaders are trying to rid school buildings of the long-standing presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls.

Mounting concerns were set off last year by the Daily News, which publicized state-certified lab tests that showed high levels of PCBs in building caulking for six city public schools. Since this report, one parent has decided to sue the school system to compel PCB remediation, and several elected officials have advocated new legislation.

The impending lawsuit and proposed legislation will be highlights of a press conference Tuesday, June 23 by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. at Department of Education headquarters at Tweed Courthouse. Diaz plans to reiterate his support for concerned parents like Naomi Gonzalez, the parent who has decided to sue the DOE after unsuccessfully trying to remove her children from PS 178 in the northeast Bronx, a school where the Daily News tests found PCB levels that were 2,000 times the EPA limit. Federal law proscribes substances which contain PCB concentrations that are greater than 50 parts per million, stating that anything above this limit presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to human health.”

Diaz will also announce his support for the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act. This legislation, which passed the House of Representatives last month, contains two provisions aimed at helping schools fund PCB cleanup. The legislation proposes the use of federal low-interest loans and grants to cover a certain percentage of PCB cleanup fees, which can be expensive. The Act’s PCB-related provisions were drafted by U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, whose district includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, and his fellow Bronx Congressman Jose E. Serrano, both of whom represent many Bronx parents for whom PCBs in schools has become a concern.

Diaz will also express support for an amendment to state law that would mandate testing for PCBs in city schools. This amendment was introduced to the State Assembly last year by Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, and has remained stalled there ever since.

Attendees of the borough president’s conference will include other politicians who have taken an active role in this issue, parents who send their children to schools where PCBs are a concern, and members of the New York Lawyers for Public Interest, the nonprofit firm that is representing Gonzalez.

Another topic of discussion will be why neither the DOE nor the federal Environmental Protection Agency is moving to conduct a citywide remediation of PCB-laden caulk – one of the most prevalent indoor sources of the contaminant. At the end of April, the DOE announced that it would decontaminate soil around 15 schools, but it expressed no intention to remove building caulking in the absence of renovations.

The EPA and DOE may change course in the future, but as of now, many children are attending schools that may well pose risks to their health.

Not cool for school

PCBs were first commercially manufactured in 1927. Problems from human exposure were soon revealed, in the form of acne-like pustules on the skin. A decade later, many experts understood that PCBs could cause serious health effects, but lobbying, cover-ups by manufacturers, and uninformed government administrations kept production moving forward.

PCBs were used in building caulking for its tendency to make sealant more elastic. This practice continued until 1978, when Congress banned most uses of PCBs. But by then, America’s baby boom was over, and along with it the resulting school construction boom of the 50s and 60s.

Many experts note that PCB levels have not declined as quickly as public awareness of PCBs’ toxic effects has grown. One expert, physician David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at SUNY Albany, authored a 2006 report documenting many PCB heath hazards, which are better understood today than 30 years ago. Some of these risks include the ability of PCBs to suppress the immune system, alter the reproductive system, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, enhance the effects of other carcinogenic substances, and reduce IQ and alter behavior in early life.

“One of the major health effects caused by PCB exposure is that it reduces the ability to learn,” said Carpenter. While that's a problem in any setting, “This is just totally counterproductive for an academic environment such as a school," he said. "It is very well documented that PCBs can reduce IQ, shorten attention span, and alter behavior.”

Robert F. Herrick, senior lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health, said that “there is barely a week that goes by when there isn’t an article somewhere in the world that suggests the developmental toxicity is a source of greater concern” than in years past.

Money matters

The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act provides for a crucial factor in addressing the PCB problem – money. Especially amid today’s budget-cutting, schools are hard-pressed to initiate costly efforts. The New York Times reported that cleanup of contaminated soil alone at French Hill Elementary in Westchester ranged between $100,000 to $400,000 – an effort spurred by a worried parent, which has served to inspire other parents, including in the five boroughs. Removal of caulking, which trims windows, doors and expansion joints, can be even pricier, especially since PCBs can migrate from the caulking to concrete, wood and other building materials.

If passed by the U.S. Senate, the Green Schools Act will provide federal funding to schools for renovations and repairs that will improve environmental standards. Due to efforts by Crowley and Serrano, PCB remediation was incorporated into a list of activities that will earn schools this kind of funding.

Crowley spokeswoman Angela Barranco said that even though it is too early to tell exactly how much each school will obtain, the legislation will serve as an important step to encourage schools to start testing. Because schools are not testing, it is difficult to determine the scope of the problem and its associated costs, Barranco said.

Cleanup also will be expensive because of the scope indicated. Approximately 260 public schools were built in New York City during the time when PCBs were used, meaning that the six schools tested by the Daily News might represent just the tip of the iceberg.

At a recent community meeting in Co-op City aimed at providing concerned parents with a forum to share concerns, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest attorney Miranda Massie, who represents parent Naomi Gonzalez, suggested that money was a major reason for why so little is being done at present. “They are simply terrified about how much this is all going to cost,” she said to the crowd of concerned parents.

Claire Barnett, executive director of the Albany-based Healthy Schools Network, said that costs are a major problem with this issue.

Massie inferred that shortage of money, and fear of costs, has encouraged the DOE to mislead the public regarding the dangers posed by PCBs. Massie said that one of the main ways in which the DOE was misinforming the public was by the use of “bogus,” outdated tests.

After the Daily News had stirred concern via its own investigation, the DOE conducted air and wipe tests within several school buildings. Although the DOE did not test the building caulk itself, the air and wipe tests revealed little or no trace of PCBs in the air or on interior surfaces. The DOE used the results of these tests to calm parents’ fears.

Massie asserts that the DOE used air and wipe tests that were designed in 1977, well before much was known about the specific dangers of PCBs to children. She said the tests were designed for adult males, but according to what is known today, those tests should not be used for anyone.

Herrick, the Harvard expert on PCBs, said that “these tests did not accurately assess the situation.” Since PCBs do not volatilize into air from caulking at all points in time, Herrick said that the air and wipe tests, which covered limited spaces and limited durations of time, cannot represent that the children are not being exposed to PCBs.

Asked whether the DOE has a position on the validity of the Daily News’ tests, spokeswoman Marge Feinberg declined to answer, and would not comment at all on this issue. Asked the same question, EPA press officer Elias Rodriguez said “no,” without any further elaboration.

Herrick, who is familiar with the state-certified lab the Daily News used for the caulking tests, did have an opinion. He said that “there is no doubt in my mind that these tests are valid.”

Parents’ precautions

Whether the fear of expensive remediation actually caused the DOE to choose a testing method that is less likely to show the presence of PCBs is a matter of debate. But there is a growing perception that the DOE is not committed to learning the truth about PCB exposure in the schools and acting on it.

At the Co-op City meeting, parent Tyrone Jenkins summed up this perception by saying, “the Department of Education is really being calculative in misinforming people.” Other parents stepped up to the podium and expressed a similar sentiment.

Gonzalez even said that the point at which she first became truly concerned was when the DOE was not able to properly answer her questions at a parent meeting. Gonzalez is a full-time teaching assistant with two children at PS 178, in first and fifth grade. She resents that her children’s school has been neglected while a school like PS 199, located in an affluent part of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, was cleaned up after parents began complaining about PCBs. She says she is bringing her lawsuit as a way to get the DOE to respond to her community in a more truthful and accurate way.

Massie also said that Gonzalez’ lawsuit was announced to encourage a more active response from the EPA, which is in charge of enforcing law that regulates the use and cleanup of PCBs. Nevertheless, at the Co-op City meeting she said that, pursuant to the announcement of the suit, “the EPA has taken the position that these outcomes do not trigger anything – they don’t trigger a need to confirm or non-confirm the test results.”

EPA spokesman Rodriguez said in an e-mail that the agency suspects that many schools do have PCBs in their caulk, and the EPA is encouraging remediation by monitoring activities of the DOE and School Construction Authority. That has translated into little action, however, at the many schools that may still contain PCBs in building caulking.

Both Carpenter and Herrick suggest that modernized, standardized ways of measuring PCB exposure are needed.

Until then, activists like the Bronx parents will take inspiration from people such as Daniel Lefkowitz, the father whose difficult fight ultimately rid PCBs from his child’s elementary school in Yorktown Heights several years ago, and who started a website on the topic. The issue of PCBs in schools might not be as well known today without his efforts.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we will win this fight,” Massie told the Co-op City audience. “But be prepared for a long, hard fight.”

- Hashim Rahman

Correction: Tests showed PCB levels at PS 178 in the northeast Bronx to be 2,000 times the EPA limit, not 200 times the limit. Also, according to the Daily News, in April the DOE said it would clean up 15 school sites, not 19. 6/23/09

It's An Election, But Not A Choice by Jarrett Murphy - City Limits

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Dozens of Candidates for New York State Legislative Seats Face No Opponent, Continuing a Trend that Limits Voters' Choices

This Election Day, there's no telling how the contest in the 22nd State Senate district will end up. Incumbent Senator Martin Golden could prevail on the Republican line. Or, Golden might win on the Independence party line. The dark horse? A Golden victory on the Conservative line. No one can say for sure which party will come out on top. But one thing is certain: Golden can't lose, because he has no opponent.

With a presidential race setting records for voter interest and the two major parties vying for control of the New York State Senate, it might seem strange that no one is bothering to run against a Republican senator in a southwest Brooklyn district where Democrats hold a two-to-one registration advantage. But Golden is far from alone in facing no opponent this autumn. Candidates in four other state Senate races in the city also are running unopposed: incumbents Bill Perkins in Harlem, Shirley Huntley in south Queens, and Malcolm Smith in eastern Queens, as well as newcomer Hiram Monserrate, presently a City Councilman, in the district covering Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, Queens.

Statewide, 11 Senate candidates—together representing nearly 2 million voters, or more voters than are registered in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Idaho combined—face no opponent. Half are Democrats and half are Republicans. Another five Senate candidates statewide, including Democrats Carl Kruger, Ruben Diaz and Pedro Espada, Jr., face only lower-profile minor-party opposition.

Although New York is far from the worst state in the union when it comes to the number of unopposed contests – with 68 percent of this year's races contested, it actually ranks in the middle – the lack of competition locally is certainly noticeable, translating into less choice and lower voter turnout. On a practical level, uncontested races bother some good government advocates and politicians because, they say, opposition helps keep incumbents responsive. "I've always benefited from rough and tough elections," says Paul Feiner, a veteran Westchester County pol now serving as Greenburgh town supervisor and a longtime critic of the abundance of non-races around the state.

On a symbolic level, uncontested races can seem distinctly undemocratic. "It does feel like you are in some unstable third world country when there's only one name in a race or if the person has been endorsed by multiple parties," says attorney Gene Russianoff of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). Indeed, when a European Union Election Observer Mission reported on the 2005 parliamentary elections in Lebanon, it noted: "Following the withdrawal of 17 candidates, nine of 19 seats were won uncontested before election day. This limited the voters' choice."

State Assembly seats feature even less competition than the Senate. Forty-one Assembly candidates (28 Democrats, 11 Republicans and two candidates who hold both parties' lines) statewide—17 of them in the city—are guaranteed a win on November 4. These districts combined contain more registered voters than live in most U.S. states. Another 10 Assembly candidates face no major party opposition—such as like city Democrats Carmen Arroyo, Michael Benjamin, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Dov Hikind and Alan Maisel, who face only a rival from the Conservative party (which claims 170,000 members statewide and 76 current legislators using the party's designation).

Even federal offices go unthreatened: The only worry for Congressman Anthony Weiner, representing part of Brooklyn and Queens, is a Conservative challenger, and U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens faces no opponent. That's an improvement over 2006, when four of New York's representatives to Congress had no rival. There's more competition for state Senate seats this year, too: In 2006, 16 Senate races were one-person shows. But in the Assembly, things have gone in the other direction: 36 Assembly candidates ran unchallenged in '06, compared to this year's 41.

The lack of competition for different offices means that people in a particular neighborhood might cast no meaningful ballots for Assembly, state Senate or even Congress this year. For instance, if you live on Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens, Michelle Titus is going to be your assemblymember, Smith your senator and Meeks your Congressman no matter what you and your fellow voters do; none of them faces any competition. And once a person runs uncontested, they are likely to enjoy repeated cakewalks: Golden, for one, is running unchallenged in his Brooklyn district this year for the third straight time.

Many observers attribute the dearth of competitors to the daunting odds they often face. Legislative elections in New York State, especially if they feature an incumbent, tend to end lopsided. "The number of uncontested elections under-represents the gravity of the situation because in many races there's an opponent who doesn't have the faintest chance of winning," says longtime reform advocate Henry Stern, a former parks commissioner and City Councilman.

One phenomenon contributes to the other: When a candidate expends time, energy and money running for a seat and gets beat by 80 points, other potential candidates (along with would-be volunteers and donors) can’t be blamed for taking a pass in subsequent elections. And even when insurgents do step up, the role can be thankless. Democrats Nora Marino and Albert Baldeo challenged two entrenched Republican senators in Queens in 2006, posted respectable results and were promptly dumped this year by the Democratic organization for more polished candidates.

Several factors are responsible for the lack of competitive races. The way district lines are drawn helps to insulate incumbents. The vast Democratic registration advantage in many districts discourages upstarts. Party clubs are adept at carrying petitions to get their people on the ballot and challenging the petitions filed by insurgents. The petitioning rules themselves—which require three times as many signatures for an independent candidate as for one running for a political party with a ballot line—also discourage outsiders.

For voters, elections are supposed to be about options. So it's little surprise that uncontested races often draw far fewer votes than real competitions. In 2002, when Golden beat Vincent Gentile for the Senate seat, 45,859 people voted in the race—nearly one-third of voters in the district. But in 2006, when Golden ran uncontested, a mere 22,093 people—only 15 percent of the district—cast ballots.

How many will vote in this year's bout of Golden v. Golden? We won't know until after Nov. 5. So at least there's some suspense in the race.

- Jarrett Murphy

Is 'Green' the Place by Abraham Paulos - City Limits: News for NYC's Nonprofit, Policy and Activist World

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Workforce Leaders Convened to Begin Making a Real Plan for New Yorkers to Identify and Obtain Jobs in the Sustainability Sector.

In a city that wants to be greener and has plenty of residents in need of good jobs, workforce specialists are wondering if the “green collar” job sector can grow fast enough to address both pressing environmental needs and pressing economic ones.

They see a neat justice in the possibility that lower-income New Yorkers, whose communities are some of the city’s most environmentally degraded, could be employed on projects to improve those areas – as well as to initiate environmentally sustainable approaches in a variety of other neighborhoods and fields. That's especially because today, a green-collar job is defined as more than merely a job in an environmental field. It also provides a family-sustaining wage, safe working conditions and chances for career advancement.

“These are cutting-edge jobs. These are the jobs of the future,” said Naomi Fatt, managing director at Urban Agenda, a local environmental research and advocacy organization. “Sustainability is going to be a real engine for prosperity.”

Although green-collar jobs are not new, with groups like the Bronx-based Green Worker Cooperatives promoting them for more than four years now, the concept is gathering steam. A conference arranged by Urban Agenda on June 24 brought together 130 leaders from 83 organizations involved in labor, workforce development, education, community-based development and environmental justice organizations to create a coordinated, citywide workforce development plan by spring 2009. This taskforce would help ensure that New Yorkers capture the jobs created by increased environmental sustainability. The conference illustrated that there's plenty of interest in green-collar jobs and there has been a real head start in terms of policy, but there was a lack of information about the implementation of these policies.

Green-collar jobs signify an important category of workforce opportunity because they have low barriers to entry and provide workers with chances for advancement in sectors that are bound for growth – such as building retrofits, energy efficient buildings, recycling, renewable energy, urban forestry and brownfield remediation.

Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill level, requiring more education than high school, but less than a four-year degree. But jobs such as building cleaners, porters, maintenance workers, window cleaners, superintendents and stationary engineers are well within reach for lower-skilled and low-income workers – and people with other barriers to employment, such as a prison record – because they don’t require a high school diploma, as long as there is access to training programs and appropriate supports.

If those sound a lot like traditional jobs, that’s because most green-collar jobs are retrofitted regular jobs, says Jim Brown, a senior policy analyst in the state Department of Labor. There is no official number of green jobs in the NYC job market; it’s more of a concept than a specific designation. “Most of the jobs that would be created or are currently involved in ‘green’ are traditional jobs that already exist,” Brown said. “There are some environmental-specific jobs, but most of that technology is incorporated in already existing occupations.”

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is commissioning a green sector study to shed light on the size and growth rates of the sector. The mayor's PlaNYC 2030 blueprint for sustainable growth has created a push for green job development.

“The City is very aware of the emerging Green Collar jobs and the need for training in ‘green skills,’” EDC spokeswoman Janel Paterson wrote in an e-mail. “There are many training programs under way right now. It is encouraging to see how many efforts are under way.” Paterson said EDC has compiled a list of different programs that are available in the city, but did not provide the list. She said that because green-collar job skills are and will be in high demand, a worker who possesses expertise in a green area may be able to negotiate a better income than another applicant who would have to learn on the job.

The construction industry, for example, has seen an increase in demand for workers with "green skills." According to Rebecca Lurie, who attended the conference and is a director at the Consortium for Worker Education, “We have a job training program that we do for the construction industry. Our experience gives a good sense to see where the skill shortages are, and this has helped us see what we can do for retrofitting, basically green-collar jobs."

The Consortium's training center provides services to a range of clients, such as union members, high school graduates and residents of public housing. Lurie runs two courses through the Sustainable, Mechanical and Retrofitting Technologies (SMART) curriculum, which has incorporated some green-collar training. “We are trying to get people ready with the skills they need to get jobs at these retrofitting greener companies,” said Lurie.

Environmental justice is becoming more a part of the green-collar mix, as well. Low-income communities and communities of color have borne a disproportionate share of the city’s pollution for decades. “If you look at where there is greater pollution, if you look at where there are landfills, if you look at sewage treatment programs – many of those are in low income communities to begin with,” said Fatt. But now advocates think they can take advantage of the growing market of green-collar jobs to undo years of pollution and offer economic opportunities instead.

“If we are going to create new jobs that can improve environmental conditions, those jobs should go first and foremost to the communities that have been bearing the brunt of pollution for so long,” said Omar Freilla, who founded the Green Worker Cooperatives, an incubator for eco-friendly worker co-ops. “It would be a just match, to address past wrongs by creating job opportunities that can make things better.”

The South Bronx, where Freilla grew up, is a magnet for polluting industries like power plants and waste transfer stations. Through the Green Worker Cooperatives he opened a recycling center called ReBuilders Source. It’s a retail store that sells kitchen sinks, doors, cabinetry, flooring, tiles and lighting fixtures – things in good condition that would normally get trashed whenever people are doing renovations or clearing out their inventory. This is one example where green-collar jobs are creating a neighborhood that is healthier both environmentally and economically.

Despite the high-energy, capacity crowd at the conference last month, advocates for the sector’s expansion still have a long way to go. “The policy may be ahead of the program. We’re moving ahead on policy, but who’s going to do the work [at these green-collar jobs]?” said Fatt. “Let’s get a handle on what’s out there now and on what more needs to be done. Otherwise you can end up training somebody for a job that doesn’t exist.”

It is not clear how, or whether, green-collar jobs will become a pathway out of poverty. “I would want to warn that green-collar jobs are no panacea out of poverty. I’m passionate about cleaning up our environment and making sure there is a workforce who can do it, but by itself it’s not a solution to poverty,” said Lurie. “People still need work-ready skills and more mechanical and technical skills than our failing education system gave them.”

Though there are fair concerns about the potential of green-collar jobs, their allure gives the city's low-income job seekers new motivation to try to climb on board. “The challenges are not on the part of people trying to get a job. The challenge is in creating the jobs themselves,” said Freilla.