Healthy Schools Network Fights Contaminated School Sites

[Guest guest]

From Healthy Schools Network. This is so sad. All the inexpensive land

donated to schools..because the grounds were contaminated. Good to see they are

trying to stop this practice.

Sharon K

***NEWS RELEASE***

For Immediate Release:

For More Information Contact:

Dave Palmer, Staff

April 28, 2008 (Nat'l Healthy Schools Day)

Attorney, NYLPI (212) 244-4664/ C: (917) 482-7251

Stites, Comm. Dir.,NYS Senator Sabini

(718) 639-8469 /C: (617) 869-8228

NAT'L HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY: PARENTS & ADVOCATES DEMAND ACTION -- CALL FOR

ROBUST REVIEW PROCESS OF PLANS TO LEASE CONTAMINATED FACILITIES FOR SCHOOLS

STATE SENATOR SABINI ANNOUNCES INTRODUCTION OF STRONG LEGISLATION AS CALLS

FOR SENATOR PADAVAN TO KEEP PROMISE/INTRODUCE STRONG BILL GO UNHEEDED

Today, on National Healthy Schools Day, parents and advocates gathered

outside the offices of the New York City School Construction Authority

( " SCA " ) to call on the New York State Senate to pass strong legislation to

require more oversight of SCA plans to lease contaminated properties for use

as public schools.

" I attended a school in a leased contaminated former airplane parts

factory, " said Kaylyn Acton-Chadee, a 15 year old high school student who,

from 1999 to 2002, attended P.S. 65 in Ozone Park Queens. " I believe the

toxins there affected my breathing and my ability to learn. There is no

history of asthma in my family, but I developed difficulty breathing while I

went school there, " added Kaylyn. " My family believes that the Department

of Education knew about the contamination issues at PS 65 well before

families were informed. We now have a lawsuit against the City. I'm here

to make sure that other kids don't need to go through what I have had to go

through. "

" Schools, parents, personnel, advocates, and agencies are uniting nationwide

today to promote healthy and green school environments for all children, "

said n Feinberg, Environmental Health Coordinator for For a Better

Bronx and a member of the New York City Taskforce of the Healthy Schools

Network. " On this day, we are calling on the State Senate to put into law a

robust process to review plans by the SCA to place children in rented,

contaminated factories - this is especially important because many of these

factories are in low-income communities of color already facing

disproportionate environmental burdens. " Yolanda , Executive

Director of Nos Quedamos/We Stay added, " This national day presents the

perfect opportunity for the Senate to move forward and finally close the

leasing loophole. "

In commemoration of Nat'l Healthy Schools Day, State Senator D. Sabini

announced the introduction of strong legislation - a " same as " bill (S.7127)

to legislation that has already unanimously passed the State Assembly

(A.8838, Nolan**). " I'm proud to fight for the health of our students on

National Healthy Schools Day, " State Senator D. Sabini said. " This

issue is extremely important. The Republican-sponsored legislation is using

a broom to clean a mess that needs a bulldozer. We need to establish real

standards for leased school sites to make sure our children are never at

risk. "

Advocates present were also critical of the legislation passed by the Senate

majority - legislation introduced by Senator Padavan. " Padavan's bill

is a watered-down version of what he originally promised to introduce;

thankfully, Senator Sabini is now introducing a bill that would adequately

address the lack of oversight of the SCA's leasing program, " said

Cohen, the Regional Director of Metro NAACP and President of the Northeast

Queens NAACP.

" My sense is that Senator Padavan is under a lot of pressure from the

Bloomberg Administration to do nothing, but there is still time for him to

show real leadership on this issue by pushing the Senate majority to act, "

said Dave Palmer, Staff Attorney with New York Lawyers for Public Interest,

who represents community organizations working to strengthen cleanups at

contaminated school sites.

Bill Summaries:

SENATE BILL 7127 (Sabini) & ASSEMBLY BILL 8838** (Nolan)

Note: same as current law that applies to new school construction

1) Notice to communities through submission of all leased school site

applications to the community board (and now-defunct local school boards).

2) Submission of all leased school site applications to New York City

Council.

3) Leased school site applications subject to State Env. Quality Review

Act (SEQRA).

SENATE BILL 6393 (Padavan)

1) No requirement for notice to communities through submission of a site

application to the community board, school board or local Community

Education Councils.

Why problematic: Parents and communities have a right to be informed of

plans to place schools on contaminated sites.

2) No requirement for submission of site applications to the City Council.

Why problematic: The Council's ability to review local school siting

decisions has led to stronger cleanups at new school sites on contaminated

properties, and has not significantly slowed down the siting process.

Council review is an important check and balance on executive decisions, and

the only leverage for affected communities to demand stronger protections on

school sites.

3) Instead of the standard environmental review process, SEQRA, all leased

educational facilities would go through a Phase 1 (property history) and

Phase 2 (soil, groundwater, air quality testing) environmental review. This

is what the City says it currently already does. Next, for those sites

where a Phase 2 reveals contamination and the City decides to move forward

with a lease and the creation of a remedial cleanup plan, the remedial plan

would be subjected to a 60-day public comment period run by the local

Community Education Council (CEC) - not the School Construction Authority

(SCA).

Why problematic: An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to SEQRA

is NYS's standard environmental review process. The process should not be

triggered based on how a building is acquired. Kids in leased contaminated

facilities are just as at-risk as kids in newly constructed schools on

contaminated properties. In terms of children's health, the distinction

used to justify the different treatment of school sites is meaningless. If

SEQRA is to be ignored, the SCA must at least be responsible for their

proposed cleanup plans. This bill places responsibility for review of

environmental cleanups on local volunteer-run parent councils with few

resources to conduct reviews, no power to change SCA plans, and no legal

responsibility to conduct the kind of thorough review the SCA would have to

under SEQRA.

**The following organizations support of A.8838: Asian American Legal

Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) . Bronx Committee for Toxic Free

Schools . Bronx Health REACH . Center for Health, Environment & Justice

(CHEJ) . Chancellor's Parent Advisory Council . Chinese Progressive

Association . Class Size Matters . Coalition for Asian American Children and

Families . Community District Education Council 26 . Concerned Residents

Organization . Environmental Advocates of New York . Environmental Defense .

For a Better Bronx . Healthy Schools Network . Hillcrest Citizens for

Neighborhood Preservation . Hillcrest Estates Civic Association . Institute

for Health and the Environment at SUNY Albany . Institute for Urban Family

Health . Lower Washington Heights Neighborhood Association, Inc. . Make the

Road by Walking . Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) . New York City

Environmental Justice Alliance (NYCEJA) . New York Immigration Coalition .

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) . New York League of

Conservation Voters (NYLCV) . New York Public Interest Research Group

(NYPIRG) . Northeast Queens NAACP . Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy

Coalition . Nos Quedamos/We Stay . Queens Community Board 7 . Queens

Community Board 8 . Queens Federation of Churches . PS 65 Parents &

Neighborhood Against TCE . Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund

(PRLDEF) . Sierra Club . Sustainable South Bronx . United Federation of

Teachers (UFT) . United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park (UPROSE) .

WE ACT for Environmental Justice . Wellness in the Schools.

- 30 -

L. Barnett, Executive Director

Healthy Schools Network, Inc.

518-462-0632

Coordinator, Coalition for Healthier Schools

202-543-7555

www.healthyschools.org

US EPA 2007 National Special Achievement Award for Communicating IAQ

CHPS 'Green Apple' Award for IAQ in School Design

... for children, health, environment, education, communities...

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