Because it sits just off the Long Island Expressway, a spacious city playground sat empty one recent weekday morning.Pollution and the constant drone of speeding cars from the thoroughfare keeps children and their parents away, locals said...
Play's grounded at city park
According to the findings, 380,000 people, or about 17% of Queens residents live within 500 feet - two city blocks - of a busy road. Tailpipe pollution poses serious health risks to residents living within that zone, including heart and lung diseases and asthma attacks.
Health-risk zones tied to traffic: study
Two health studies Environmental Defense examined found a 50% rise in the risk of asthma for children living within 250 feet of a busy road.
The risk of heart disease jumped 85%...
"The impact is significantly higher the closer you are to the road," said Andy Darrell of Environmental Defense. "There is a 500-foot risk zone around busy, congested roadways. That is a conservative estimate."
The Environmental Defense report is available here: Heavy New York Traffic Puts Health at Risk.
Photo from NY Daily News
19 comments:
ITS A SHAME ABOUT THE POLLUTION IN NYC, YET ALL THE NEW PARKS BEING BUILT OR PROPOSED ARE NEAR HIGHWAYS OR LARGE TRAFFIC PATTERNS. I KEEP READING ABUOT ST SAVIORS . HOW ITS TO DIRTY FOR HOMES WHY WOULD YOU WANT A PARK IN THIS POLLUTED SITE.
You have to wonder why someone would want to increase the number of Queens lives endangered by pollution by putting 70 units of housing at St. Saviour's. Isn't 380,000 enough? Or do we want 380,210 to suffer instead?
Obviously you can't tell the difference between a green space and a playground. St. Saviour's is a green space - covered with grass and trees which act as a buffer between the pollution and the existing homes. City playgrounds are made of asphalt. No one is suggesting that St. Saviour's be made into a playground. What's wrong with leaving the grounds the way they are - green?
I wonder if the small amount of trees and grass will offset health risk at any park or play ground area. Was there ever an enviromental study or drilling done at the Elmhurst gas tank site. Where ever children play or walk the area must be pollution free.
What else would you like to see at the St. Saviour's site? Housing for 200+ people, including infants, children and the elderly?
Stupid Al Gore is right (even if accidentally) when he says that trees are anti-pollutants.
People visiting a park usually stay for only an hour or so. If there's housing, the people are trapped there more than 14 hours each day, and far longer on weekends.
You're right, anonymous, a Home Depot at the gas tanks site would have been much better for the environment and people's health.
Hmm... sounds like you either haven't seen the neighborhood, or are one of the people that stand to profit by developing the site.
St. Saviour's is in the middle of a residential area - and yes, that area is polluted. The property is the only green space anywhere near this neighborhood.
So I guess we should give up on this middle class neighborhood, take away its only green space and replace it with more housing and cars?
The city, Councilman Dennis P. Gallagher, and his supporters are perfectly fine with this plan. The area residents are not. I am not. People with any common sense or compassion are not.
I thought we should have put a Lowe's on that site instead Home Depot, but nobody liked my idea. :(
That made me sad. I cried to my mommy.
No one said anything about a home depot. Just want to make sure that the site is safe for children. So many other areas show contamination down the road. Before we spend all the tax dollars making a park lets make sure the area is clean
From what I understand, the reason that the park at the gas tanks site has taken so long to be built is because Keyspan first had to clean up the contamination left over from when they were using it for gas storage. The cleanup will most definitely be thorough, otherwise it will be reported here!
The Real Good playground was built to act as a barrier between the neighborhood and the highway. This is similar to how parkways are lined with green spaces on both sides. Unfortunately, this playground is too close to the highway. An ugly noise wall appears to be the immediate solution.
Either that, or sink the highway underground as Boston and Montreal have done.
They should have kept the gas tanks and turned them into a condominium...hey Pistilli you missed your chance!
What? Living near the highway exposes you to noise and air pollution? Who knew? Seriously, anyone who moved across the street from the L.I.E. really can't complain. Don't say they are "trapped." No one held a gun to their heads to live there.
But.. more green space is NEVER a bad thing.
We also have "political pollution" in Queens which is far more dangerous to our health.
These are the bastards responsible for doing little or nothing about air, water and soil contamination.
"New York residents living within two blocks of a busy roadway face big health risks, including asthma attacks and heart disease from tailpipe emissions"
This is why St. Saviour's must remain a green space.
We trust politicians to protect our interests, including the environment.
A politician must have a delicate balance of ambition and humility, a willingness to serve, but also to succeed and fulfill campaign promises. We as the voting body should remember that we choose representatives to serve us in government and do what is in our best interest. During the term the representative must prove himself to his constituents, as he only has power through the people he represents.
Dennis Gallagher has done none of the above. We should all demand that he resigns.
Everyone knows Queens is one of the most polluted counties in the country.
Our 'leadership' wants to add 100,000s on this toxic mix.
I do not understand.
Maybe one of the local newspapers will look into this.
ha ha ha ha
Bloated boy has returned.
The person who wrote the first post on this page uses ALL CAPS and has NO BRAINS.
Unfortunately he is commenting on several issues on this site and the guy has the writing skills of a first grader. The only thing worse than his writing is his reasoning.
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