Assembly Member Kellner Brings Another Lawsuit to Stop the
East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station
Assembly Member Kellner announcing his new lawsuit to stop the Marine Transfer Station
Last month, I announced that I am the lead plaintiff – along with Councilmember Jessica Lappin and others – on a new federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' permitting of Mayor Bloomberg’s ill-conceived East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station.
When Superstorm Sandy hit on October 29th, the area around the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station flooded, damaging Asphalt Green’s facilities – with waters reaching as far as First Avenue. This new reality of frequent extreme weather should be a wake up call for the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bloomberg administration and the City Council – that building a Marine Transfer Station in Flood Zone “A” is a disaster in the making.
Our new lawsuit exposes the fact that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act along with its own guidelines in granting the final permit necessary to begin construction on the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station. The Army Corps of Engineers cut corners in issuing its permit in July. It failed to thoroughly evaluate all possible alternative sites, the true long term environmental impact on this densely populated residential neighborhood and whether constructing a Marine Transfer Station at East 91st Street is truly in the public interest. That puts our community, and the tens-of-thousands of people who use Asphalt Green each year, at risk.
This new lawsuit will give us yet another avenue to finally stop the construction of the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station.
To view my full press release announcing the lawsuit click here
To read the lawsuit in full click here