Peter Vallone, Jr. is just giddy that he was able to fund, with $4M taxpayer dollars, a fake turf field in Astoria. Maybe he can also fund an ambulance to take kids to the hospital in July when they're passing out from heat stroke...
New Athletic Field Opens In Astoria
43 comments:
The reporter Ceefan Kim didn't do his homework. NY1 has to learn to stop being a whore station for Parks Department press releases.
Take a pick:
1. Vallone is abjectly stupid;
2. Vallone is abjectly vicious;
3. Vallone spends our money like a drunken councilmember (say, like Gallagher), and sucks Benepe's ass while Benepe sucks Vallone's ass (like a daisy chain, but more difficult).
Vallone hasn't yet read (can't read?) the reports on the dangers of artificial turf? Heat stroke, lead poisoning, cancer, MRSA, severe injuries, severe skin abrasions?
Vallone HAS read these reports (or has had them read to him by someone literate) and couldn't care less because he will never use the turf - especially in the summer?
Vallone believes that spending 4 million tax dollars on a dangerous product is good for the economy and that there is no financial crisis caused by his hero, Commissar Death and taxes and his spendthrift lackey, Benepe?
The entire City Council is just plain stupid. Check Vallone's pockets for kickbacks on this artificial turf deal....
Where are the FEDS?
Sure, it's better to put in grass that, because of the hot weather and activity, turns to dirt in a few weeks, so kids can play on hard dirt all summer. Genius.
Sure, it's better to put in grass that, because of the hot weather and activity, turns to dirt in a few weeks, so kids can play on hard dirt all summer. Genius.
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Sure they can go to schools that have no desks, one hospital when there used to be three, call cops who don't show up, firehouses that are closed, shop on Steinway streets that feature empty store fronts and ghetto merchandise and take the non exhistant W train that will serve a community that will absorb a significant percentage of the million growth over the next decade.
But they have a soccer field.
This field like the one at Bryant will be used mostly by illegal tweeders playing soccer.
All that matters is they vote the right way.
Nice to see Gianaris, who has a reputation of being MIA in the community and whose staff tells groups in the community not to call them for support (groups that Butler who was in office before him used to support)
CB1 the community board from hell
Vallone hasn't yet read (can't read?) the reports on the dangers of artificial turf? Heat stroke, lead poisoning, cancer, MRSA, severe injuries, severe skin abrasions?
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Come on, the families that Vallone grew up with and knew have moved out of Astoria.
This is the tweeded. Who cares?
Isn't this guy the chair of public safety on the council?
The reporter Ceefan Kim didn't do his homework. NY1 has to learn to stop being a whore station for Parks Department press releases.
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Look you can say that about the entire fourth estate!
"Sure, it's better to put in grass that, because of the hot weather and activity, turns to dirt in a few weeks, so kids can play on hard dirt all summer. Genius."
Summer, natural grass and dirt have been part of the natural creation for thousands of years. Kids and adults playing in that environment has been just as long.
Now comes Commissar God and his lickspittle lackey Benepe, and they think they can do better than God. Or, is it the kickbacks that have the pair obsessing at the opportunity of maiming turf users?
Yes i know this spot. Its out of the way and surrounded by expressways and a cemetary.
Vallone, why don't you turn the waterfront over to the community? You could have a big park all the way up the East River.
Call it Vallone Park. Call it Eustice Kennedy Park for all I care.
La Famiglia di Vallone has been
at the center of the political mafia in NYC since the days of Charlie "the judge"!
What a bunch of scum sucking pigs!
Well said!
Sure they can go to schools that have no desks, one hospital when there used to be three, call cops who don't show up, firehouses that are closed, shop on Steinway streets that feature empty store fronts and ghetto merchandise and take the non exhistant W train that will serve a community that will absorb a significant percentage of the million growth over the next decade.
But they have a soccer field.
Thats been my experience in Astoria.Mount Sinai is also a very dirty hospital in this area.4 million wasted on a name change for the Triboro and now this toxic fake field.What a surprise.
OMG what is the reason so many people lie about artificial turf?
LESS injury than grass, not more, so sorry the facts don't meet your pre-determined desire.
The second issues you raised is the cancer risk. OK, if the children eat 10 square yards or more. None if they do not. This is about the same as the risk of eating dog crap which is found on most grass fields. By the way try pulling up fake grass so that you can eat it, it’s not going to happen. (Facts actually prove that there is in fact no cancer risk EVEN if the stuff is eaten but I figured I toss you a bone.)
Fake fields, no water, no water waste.
Fake fields no pesticides, no pesticides danger to children. Or do you like to poison kids?
10 million degrees? Yes, actually somewhat true, it does in fact get hotter at ground level. Don't play on those fields when it's too hot out. The fact is you get WAY more use of the fields over any one year, you will have WAY LESS fat kids. You must give up playing on days when it's 98 degrees. On the other hand kids should not be playing on those days ANYWAY.
It's a balance, you don't need to like the artificial turf but this dis-information campaign is truly odd and often proposed by the folks that think the World Trade Disaster was an inside job.
"Don't play on those fields when it's too hot out."
That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You need permits a lot of times for fields, you can't just move to whatever field you want to play on. Why was it built if it can't be played on when the demand is highest?
Isn't that the line that Parks used when questioned about the heat factor?
Anonymous said...
OMG what is the reason so many people lie about artificial turf?
LESS injury than grass, not more, so sorry the facts don't meet your pre-determined desire.
The second issues you raised is the cancer risk. OK, if the children eat 10 square yards or more. None if they do not. This is about the same as the risk of eating dog crap which is found on most grass fields. By the way try pulling up fake grass so that you can eat it, it’s not going to happen. (Facts actually prove that there is in fact no cancer risk EVEN if the stuff is eaten but I figured I toss you a bone.)
Fake fields, no water, no water waste. ...
= = = = =
Benepe, next time you write something while on the public dime, at least obey one law and sign your own name.
In case your didn't know, there was no "World Trade Center DISASTER". What did happen is that foreigners ATTACKED innocent people on US soil. See, that wasn't hard to say.
And, no, neither I nor anyone I know who thinks rationally, ever believed it was an inside job.
It just seems to me that only a moron on the public payroll would connect the well known dangers of artificial turf to the well known evil of the attack on the World Trade Center and all the innocent people.
Oh, wait! I get it now. It's the "innocent people" thing, isn't it? Artificial turf is a known hazard to the health of the innocent users of the turf, and so, it's the fault of those innocent people for getting sick and injured.
And, the innocent people in the Word Trade Center brought on their own deaths by coming to work that morning.
Wait! I thought I did understand.
You explain. You prissy, sissy, litle lickspittle.
Adrian Benepe is a no talent Parks Department lifer. The guy could NOT land a job in private industry. The man is a grade A moron.
dick with a ball
The reason the answer to the heat is that its' way more rare than rain and snow. So there is MORE play time, not less. I realize that this may be a hardship when it's too hot but so is the hardship when it's raining out and you don't get to play. Same thing, just WAY more rare. Get it? (It's not rocket science).
The actual reason for artificial turf is that there is MORE field time, not less despite the fact that once in a while in hot parts of the country you may lose some time due to heat. You get more time during rain season and more time during winter if people want to bundle up and play, and THEY DO.
The rain and snow would end up costing ten times as much "no use" time. That is the ACTUAL FACTUAL answer and that's why it's the answer given, cause it's true. so sorry if that offends you for some odd reason.
The has never been a study that links artificial turf that has been installed to any health risk. Perhaps the old Astro Turf installed fourty years ago but then that was typically instally in professional sports fields.
As to your mornic notion that there are WELL KNOWN dangers from artifical turf, great, please tell.
No , so sorry, not the loony nut job websites. I have seen them. They often refer to Astro Turf for one which is not in use here and second they often refer to the fact that there are cancer causing agents in the rubber. That is true, no doubt about it. It's also true that there are literally MILLONS of tire swings across the US and there has never been the loony nut jobs out there angry and full of hatred at that. One more time, tell YOUR children not to eat the field. Mine do not need to be told, they are not that stupid.
As to the attack on the towers, yea, I understand that it was an attack on us by dangerous and evil loons as opposed to just foolish ones.
One more time , FACTS prove , LESS injuries, not more.
There is NO pesticides.
There is no wasted water.
There is no cost to mow, no gas engines, no over-priced employees to pay to lay pesticides, to mow, to reseed, etc.
The fact is that this is popular in Europe, in South American and across the US because it leads to better health BECAUSE THE FIELDS ARE USED MORE, and they cost less in the long run.
So you may not like artifical turf but the hatred is just weird. It's a lot like the loons who think the ATTACK on us was an inside job. It's that weird.
Don't like em? OK.
Hate like the this? Weird.
"The entire City Council is just plain stupid.
Check Vallone's pockets for kickbacks on this artificial turf deal..."
This is the same Vallone who defended the grandmother rapist pervert, Dennis Gallagher, and Vallone even put down Gallagher's victim.
Vallone should be harassed everywhere he goes. No justice, no peace!
"It's also true that there are literally MILLONS of tire swings across the US and there has never been the loony nut jobs out there angry and full of hatred at that."
You are grossly misinformed. The rubber for the fields forms a powder that is breathed in and not "eaten". A tire swing is not going to do the same thing.
"The reason the answer to the heat is that its' way more rare than rain and snow."
If you've been following the controversy, test show that the heat on the fields is elevated to unbearable dangerous temperatures even on mild days in the 80s.
The NY1-TV guy Ceefan Kim did a cheerleader report. Disgusting!
***The actual reason for artificial turf is that there is MORE field time, not less despite the fact that once in a while in hot parts of the country you may lose some time due to heat. You get more time during rain season and more time during winter if people want to bundle up and play, and THEY DO.
You no nothing on artificial turf and the readily avaiable info on the fake material used to make the product.Dont compare apples and oranges there no it all when you havent actually looked at critical information on these fields.
What are you from leave it to beaver and think corporations are concerned about your health before there money?Vallone looks happy with his pay off.
Oh by the way you can have real grass fields and no pesticides.There are nutrients that are a type of compost that dont smell.Its ALWAYS hot here in the summer buddy.
Not only that but there are special natural grasses that are available these days which are more resistant to wear and tear, healthier, less expensive to maintain and install. Why aren't we investigating their use?
Whenever someone posts something intelligent with factual information that refutes the wacko nonsense spewed by the complainers on this site, they do this dumb thing of accusing the poster of being some particular person - in this case Benepe, in others a politician, developer, broker. This is a childish and paranoid accusation, but what do you expect from this crowd.
I'm glad someone sensible posted the real facts about these great fields, which allow kids to play in a safe environment instead of rock hard dirt.
There was an alternative posted above, but why investigate that? Why allow scientific testing of the material by an independent lab?
Of course, the defenders of the turf never answer these questions. Just accuse everyone else who prefers to err on the side of caution of paranoia. Typical. I bet in your gated enclaves the kids play on real grass and it is maintained.
Got this in the mailbox:
"Remember this project cost the taxpayers an extra $ 500,000 because the DPR was finally forced to abandon dumping recycled tires into our parkland. (After ten years and installing more than 50 million pounds.) And the best part is the parks commissioner still can't admit its because of health reasons. On top of that the city has also refused to test this infill and has no way of mitigating the heat. The elected officials can't be bothered to look into health issues and they keep funding it and keep smiling.
And don't forget, the park's opening was delayed for five months because of the switch.
Dust Bowl? The dust bowl comment is absurd. The grass on these fields was so long because the city refused to cut it. No dedicated maintenance funds to care for it.
A little context: See our story this summer in the Daily News - July 28, 2008.
"Astoria's St. Michael's Park - under renovation since September - was also slated for recycled tire turf. But in April, the Parks Department changed course and ordered infill made of virgin rubber for the 120,000-square-foot field, Queens News has learned.
The new turf costs 38% more, adding nearly $500,000 dollars to the price tag of the field, scheduled to open in September.
At last week's ribbon-cutting in Jamaica, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the upgrade in Astoria wasn't prompted by health concerns."
Geoffrey Croft
NYC Park Advocates
(212) 987-0565
What exactly was intelligent and factual about the defense of the turf posted above? He failed to mention that
- MRSA and other infections increase with use of turf
- pro sports teams have banned its use because of the increase in injuries caused by it
- Parks has to waste money installing misters to cool players down who use it (so much for saving money and water by installing it)
- the temps can cause serious burns, dehydration and heat stroke
- perimeter trees and plants die because of the heat and that affects the air we breathe
- it increases the heat island effect
- the chemicals poison the watershed and end up in our harbors
Maybe when Mr. Intelligent and Factual can answer all of these, I'll consider him a genius. Until then, I believe in installing the real deal.
Maybe when Mr. Intelligent and Factual can answer all of these, I'll consider him a genius. Until then, I believe in installing the real deal.
I don't need to answer any of these because there is not one iota of evidence that even one of these "facts" is true.
Typical loony argument. Make up facts, then say SO what about THAT Mr. Fong.
Professional sports have not banned them these field are being install across the world in hundreds of professional sites.
By the way, do you recall the sad death of the horse in the Kentucy Derby this year? The fact is that PETA (not a pro-corporate agenda driven organization) asked that one resolution to the injuries to horses was ...wait for it.... ARTIFICIAL FIELDS.
Your know why? A long and well documented history of LESS injuries.
As to those who posted about the more durable real grass, that is certainly a very valid point and derserves to be discussed in an intelligent manner. It has legs.
As the the "what happened to building 7 crowd" go on with you loony brain issues.
(DEAD trees due to heat, what a maroon!)
Go ahead and call these loony sources:
New Artificial Turf a MRSA Risk
Synthetic Turf: Health Debate Takes Root
Crapper-
The second article you listed is excellent and well worth the read.
It certainly is not loony and there are no "trees are dying" nut-job arguments.
There are pro's and con's. The article states that there are MORE minor abrasions on artificial turf, not less. However there are LESS head injuries and other serious injuries not more.
The article states that there is no evidence that even infants are at risk from the "so called vapors" (Vapor-Argument, Mr. Fong)
It states as I said that much of this nonsense is based on 40-year-old Astroturf not the new fields at all. 40-Year-old arguments are not valid.
It states that professional sports teams turned away from Astro Turf back to grass. Then they started to turn away from natural grass to these new fields, just exactly as I said.
However it has pluses and it has the minuses. I have no dog in the fight except that I dislike loons and loon arguments.
I guess it's the manner in which some argue that I most object to.
I certainly read your site often and appreciate it. There is NO DOUBT that you should oppose artificial turf, as it's exactly the opposite of what this site advocates for. I just want the arguments (any arguments for that matter ) to be with people that are not wearing aluminum foil on their heads.
PS READ the entire article, slowly.
If you don't like the points people make or their manner of making them then maybe you should move to China and join the government.
Abrasions = injuries
MRSA = infection
Both are increased with turf. Glad you admit that.
Heat island effect illustrated in article #2. When you increase the heat, vegetation wilts and dies, why is this so hard to understand? This is not a nutjob argument. The chemicals leach into the water, too, and pollute the water table. Also not hard to understand.
If you don't like the points people make or their manner of making them then maybe you should move to China and join the government.
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Or be a mod like astorians.com and be stupid enough to try to run a blog like a community board.
One thing I always wanted to ask both groups: why are you afraid of your own community?
Peter Vallone, Jr.: The biggest asswipe on the council.
"Peter Vallone, Jr.: The biggest asswipe on the council."
I disagree, that honor should go to Eric Gioia, he edges out Vallone Jr. for #1 ass wipe.
Peter Vallone stabbed his father in the back by voting yes on Willets Point and Eric Gioia stabbed his cousin in the back by endorsing his opponent after using his name to get his own ass elected.
I'd call it a tie.
I decree that both of them should be divided in half. One half of Vallone Jr and one half of Gioia would thus become the biggest asswipe in the city council.
I have spoken.
MAKE THE EAST RIVER WATERFRONT A PARK. THE WHOLE THING.
I CALL UPON GREENSHORES TO PUSH FOR THIS.
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