Hello all,
It’s rally time again! This time in Brentwood, where the 24/7 truck/train/crane diesel-polluting intermodal would actually be built. Please pass on, post, spread the word!
PLEASE come out and show your solidarity for the people of Brentwood. Friends of Edgewood Preserve, along with Four Towns Civic Association met over the summer with numerous Brentwood civic groups and concerned citizens to plan this third rally. It has been a really great experience — so much so that we decided to form the Quality of Life Coalition. It includes more than a dozen civic groups from Brentwood, Deer Park and Dix Hills.
Our goal is long-term: we will fight together to make sure that a region of Long Island already under siege due to poor planning — overdevelopment, little open space, bad roads, traffic, noise, pollution, poor and unsafe pedestrian and bicycle paths — will not be ignored any longer! We will make sure this region’s remaining parcel of open space — the Edgewood Preserve — receives permanent protection! We will make sure that this important groundwater protection area finally receives the attention it deserves! Clean drinking water for Suffolk County is at stake here and many who should care about that seem to be ignoring us! Finally, we will make sure that our children are protected! Brentwood’s children develop asthma at alarming rates! We must protect them and children EVERYWHERE from diesel fumes, which cause cancer, asthma and birth defects. INTERMODALS should not be built near residential areas or wildlife habitats. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist — or even an environmentalist — to figure that one out! Common sense is all it takes!
RALLY DETAILS:
Monday, September 10, 5:30pm, Rain or shine. If it’s raining, bring an umbrella.
Crooked Hill Road and “G” Road, across from Suffolk Community College Campus in Brentwood, NY
Our last two rallies (held in Dix Hills) were a huge success with 600 and 700 attendees, including senior citizens and newborn babies. We need to reach 1,000 for this rally! The media and elected officials are watching and they will be there! WE NEED TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE ON THIS ONE — THE GOVERNOR HAS IGNORED US SO FAR! (It seems he is too busy doing fundraising for his 2010 campaign.) LET’s FINALLY GET HIS ATTENTION! Come out and be part of this fight — we can and will beat this thing together (so many victories already). BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP ONE MORE TIME!
IMPORTANT DATES:
September 10, 5:30, Rally in Brentwood! An important, third rally in our fight to get this project scrapped!
September 20, 4pm to 10pm, 2nd NYSDOT Public hearing for Intermodal (6pm is start of public testimony — very important!). Suffolk County Community College, Van Nostrand Theater. Sign up to speak when you arrive and let the DOT know that this project must be abandoned.
September 24 — DEADLINE! for public comment to be included in the draft environmental impact study. Comments must be POSTMARKED by midnight on 9/24. So send in a letter and get your opinions heard! If you haven’t sent in your letter to Governor Spitzer yet, what are you waiting for? DEADLINE IS APPROACHING! The Governor has already received more than 3,000 letters! BUT WE NEED TO KEEP THEM COMING! LETTER IS ATTACHED. SIGN NOW! Print out and pass on or e-mail to family, co-workers, friends. Even enemies. We need everyone to sign a letter! Don’t forget to send a copy to Friends! We will make copies for you and send to all your local and state reps.
See you at the rally on 9/10! No excuses! Come for an hour! YOU can make a difference!
As always, cheers and thanks, thanks, thanks……..our regular newsletter will be sent out on September 28, with news about hikes, field trips, projects and other good stuff related to the preserve.
Patricia
Patricia Burkhart
Friends of the Edgewood Preserve
P.O. Box 162
Deer Park, NY 11729
631-242-7402
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The Honorable Eliot Spitzer
Governor, State of New York
State Capitol
Albany NY 12224
Dear Governor Spitzer,
I urge you to support permanent protection for the Edgewood Oak-Brush Plains State Preserve and the surrounding residential communities of Brentwood, Deer Park and Dix Hills by opposing the proposed NYS DOT Long Island Truck to Rail Intermodal (LI TRIM) project in the Brentwood Hamlet of the Town of Islip.
The Edgewood Oak-Brush Plains State Preserve is an irreplaceable 850-acre, unique and fragile ecosystem that is home to an incredibly diverse variety of migratory birds and other wildlife. The preserve (and surrounding land) is the largest remnant of pitch pine scrub oak brush on Long Island, and the second largest in New York State. These lands are also part of a critical recharge recharge area (Special Groundwater Protection Area) which is a major source of drinking water for both Nassau and Suffolk Counties and provides prime nesting for plant and animal species that are on the state’s Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern lists.
Construction of this truck, rail and crane heavy cargo container facility right next to this fragile habitat will, by the DOT’s own admission in their environmental impact study, harm the birds and other wildlife that live and thrive there, and the many families in the region, especially Brentwood, Dix Hills and Deer Park will face enormous risks and hazards. It will have a major impact on air and water quality, creating a situation where carcinogenic diesel emissions will linger over a radius of many miles; the effect is cumulative. Suffolk County already has the highest rate of pollution-related deaths in the entire state and it went from a B rating to D rating in small particulate air debris. Brentwood already has the highest rate of asthma in children on Long Island. This project will further endanger these children’s lives. No one can guarantee that children in any of these communities will be safe! The excess noise, vibrations, and light glare emanating from this 24/7 site will further endanger wildlife and forever affect the quality of life in the neighboring communities.
Moreover, it should be noted that in Chapter 635, Section 7 of the Laws of 1987, it was established that any Pilgrim State Hospital Land no longer needed by the hospital should be incorporated into the Oak Brush Plains State Preserve. Also in 1987, the state passed the Sole Source Aquifer Protection Act, which limits development within the Deep Flow Recharge Area. The Edgewood Preserve and surrounding lands must be protected from overdevelopment or the sustainability of our water supply will be in real jeopardy. Please uphold this legislation and stop the transfer of this land (which is part of a significant contiguous forest habitat) for a noisy, polluting and invasive facility, which is in no way compatible with the surrounding areas. Former Governors Pataki and Cuomo recognized the importance of the Oak Brush Plains. I find it hard to fathom that the voters who put you in office are in agreement with you on this issue. I kindly urge you to stop this project from moving forward. I appreciate your consideration of my letter and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Cc: Friends of the Edgewood Preserve, P.O. Box 162, Deer Park, NY 11729
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