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Taking
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About
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This report would not have been
possible without the efforts of many people who have worked
to improve solid waste management policy in New York City.
Sincere appreciation goes to those who devoted themselves
tirelessly to the lengthy battle to defeat garbage
incinerators in New York City: Barry Commoner for both his
vision and scientific expertise, Arthur Kell and Larry
Shapiro for their tireless campaign efforts, Suzanne Mattei,
for her dedicated and excellent work on multiple reports and
Elizabeth Holtzman, former Comptroller, a public official
who was unswerving in her position on this issue. Hats off
to the thousands of community activists who battled for
almost twenty years to finally defeat incineration. Thanks to all of the above and Eric
Goldstein, Jim Tripp and many others who made important
contributions to the alternative- "Recycle First" Campaign.
And gratitude to Maggie Clarke for always reminding us of
the proper place waste prevention should occupy in waste
management. Special thanks to each Borough's Solid Waste
Advisory Board, the Citywide Recycling Advisory Board and
all the volunteers who have contributed countless hours over
many years advancing better solid waste solutions; and to
every Borough President, who have without exception
supported waste prevention, recycling, composting and
associated economic opportunities. The Environmental
Protection Committee of City Council deserves special
recognition for the passage of and steadfast support of the
City's Recycling Law. For grappling with the problems posed
by waste transfer stations special recognition goes to the
veteran warriors John McGettrick and Inez Pasher, who were
the first to serve on a City Task Force, making
recommendations on the issue. To the New York City
Environmental Justice Alliance for first accepting the
challenge and devoting so much effort to the campaign,
especially Leslie Lowe, we are very thankful. New York
Lawyers for the Public Interest won important legal
challenges along the way and Eddie Bautista kept the
coalition on track. Many deserve special thanks in
producing the report, including the report's editors Robbin
Blaine and Jean Halloran, Timothy Logan of NYCEJA, Suzanne
Mattei, who served as a valuable reviewer, and Viviane
Arzoumanian, Elsie Fuentes and Greg Williamson, for their
help in generating the final document. We'd also like to thank the funders
who helped make this report possible: Joyce Mertz-Gilmore
Foundation, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, and the
Scherman Foundation. Finally we would like to recognize the
individual members of the Organization of Waterfront
Neighborhoods. They are the ones, who have worked
tirelessly in their communities to bring people together, to
protect their neighborhoods from further degradation and to
make them better places to live. They are the grassroots
activists who contribute so much to making NYC a decent
place to live and to keeping us a "community" of diverse
people with shared goals and a vision of how government
should work. We thank them especially for their insights
regarding social and environmental justice. Barbara Warren, M.S., Director of the
New York Toxics Project at the Consumer Policy Institute/
Consumers Union, has been involved in waste management
issues in NYC since 1980. As an officer of Staten Island
Citizens for Clean Air, she worked to defeat municipal waste
incinerators and to close the Fresh Kills landfill. She has
been Chairperson of the Staten Island Solid Waste Advisory
Board and has also served for over a decade on the Citywide
Recycling Advisory Board. She also worked on the
development of the Recycle First alternative waste plan.
She was appointed by the Mayor to the Fresh Kills Closure
Task Force as an environmental representative. In 1996, she
helped establish the Organization of Waterfront
Neighborhoods, and has worked with that coalition along with
the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and NY Lawyers for
the Public Interest. She received her MS in Environmental
Health Science from Hunter College and has received numerous
environmental awards including a Clean Air Award from the
City Club. |
