The phrase "not in my back yard" usually refers to
people who object to having social service centers placed in
their neighborhood but do not mind having them in other
locations.
In Rosebank, Staten Island, the complaint is literal for
residents of Lynhurst Avenue. They are suing over an invasion
into their yards by Keyspan, a utility that has been empowered by
the state Department of Environmental Conservation to do so under
the authority of eminent domain.
If you own property in New York State and think it's safe, be
afraid, be very afraid, when you hear the word
"environmental." It is becoming clearer each day that
your property rights rank low on the totem pole in this new
green-world order.
The Staten Island borough president, James Molinaro, posed this
question in a January 7 letter to the DEC: "When did the
Department of Environmental Conservation obtain dictatorial
powers over our personal property rights?"
Mr. Molinaro said he was appalled by the DEC letter sent to the
eight Rosebank residents designating Keyspan and its consultant
contractors as agents of the state. It said Keyspan would be
granted access to the homeowners' private property even without
an access agreement with the homeowner. The DEC, citing an
obscure state environmental conservation law, said it acted
because Keyspan was unable to obtain such an agreement.
However, Mr. Molinaro said his staff had been attending meetings
between the residents and Keyspan for the past three years. The
eight families involved have stated that access would be
permitted when their environmental and health concerns were
satisfactorily answered, Mr. Molinaro said.
The DEC has described the area as an inactive hazardous-waste
site, but rather than removing the toxic waste, Keyspan is
capping the tanks. I rode by Lynhurst Avenue and viewed the huge
cranes and trucks working after 6 p.m.
One resident, Elsa Sanchez, sent me pictures of her backyard
showing the Keyspan workers near her above-ground pool. This is a
yard that children play in, but parents do not know if the ground
is toxic because Keyspan has not conducted any tests. One of the
residents, Sharon Mulligan, interviewed by the Staten Island
Advance, said, "They want access to our yards to clean up
their property but they're doing nothing to ours."
There is no assurance that installing steel barriers to contain
and cap the tanks will be effective, and residents contend that
the work is contaminating the neighborhood and reducing property
values. Keyspan representatives say the property will be restored
to its original condition, but what does that mean? Can it
restore the months of disruption to their private lives?
The country is swooning over the new religion of
environmentalism, which is really all about changing the way we
live. Vice President Gore was preaching to Congress about what we
can do to lessen our carbon footprints so that we can save the
planet. We, the people, need to use 25-watt bulbs and other
energy-saving tactics while he jets around the country preaching
to his new disciples. Meanwhile, Mr. Gore has received $570,000
in royalties from the owners of a zinc mine that once emitted
thousands of pounds of toxic substances into nearby rivers. Mr.
Gore is the man who wasn't bright enough to realize it was wrong
to conduct fundraising in a Buddhist temple, and now he is
considered a "prophet" by Democrats in Congress.
Hollywood hypocrites like Barbra Streisand want us to line-dry
our clothes and raise our thermostats while she keeps her mansion
air-conditioned for her furs. Sting's wife, eco-warrior Trudy
Styler, took a gas-guzzling helicopter instead of a train. These
people seem to go by the motto: "Do as I say, not as I
do."
In his letter, Mr. Molinaro asked, "Who is DEC working for?
Certainly not for the residents of Lynhurst Avenue."
Good question. The new breed of environmentalist is not concerned
with human beings. Pay attention, New York, before the cranes and
steam shovels are in your backyards.