Governor Kathy shuts off the gas

 

NY Post

Siding with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the environmental left, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday killed two proposed natural gas-powered projects in Queens and upstate Newburgh.

State Department of Environmental Commissioner Basil Seggos said both proposals failed to comply with the state’s “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act” to reduce carbon emissions.

Power company NRG said the project would retrofit its 50-year-old natural gas-burning plant near the Robert Kennedy/Triborough Bridge and claimed it would cut polluting carbon emissions.

The Astoria plant is called a “peaker” facility because it provides needed additional power to the electric grid during peak usage, such as during summer heat waves when millions of New Yorkers blast their air conditioners.

“Our review determined the proposed project does not demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The proposed project would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Act,” Seggos said in a statement denying the permit.

“Astoria NRG failed to demonstrate the need or justification for the proposed project notwithstanding this inconsistency.”

Seggos rejected the Danskammer Energy Center’s proposed natural-gas powered project in Newburgh on identicial grounds.

Hochul hailed the action taken by her environmental agency.

“I applaud the Department of Environmental Conservation’s decisions to deny the Title V Permits for the Danskammer Energy Center and Astoria Gas Turbine Power, LLC in the context of our state’s clean energy transition. Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and we owe it to future generations to meet our nation-leading climate and emissions reduction goals,” the governor said in a statement.

The proposed project is in the district of Ocasio-Cortez and state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) — opponents of the project .

Ocasio-Cortez, a proponent of the Green New Deal to phase out carbon-spewing fossil fuels, rallied against the Astoria power plant, which would burn natural gas produced by fracking, during an Earth Day celebration in April.

“We’re not going to allow our water to be compromised. We’re not going to allow our air to be compromised,” the congresswoman said.

NRG, in a statement, called Hochul’s decision a mistake, saying there are “not enough renewable resources” to “keep the lights on in New York City today.”

“It’s unfortunate that New York is turning down an opportunity to dramatically reduce pollution and strengthen reliable power for millions of New Yorkers at such a critical time,” said Tom Atkins, NRG’s vice president of development.

“NRG’s Astoria Replacement Project would have provided immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and would have been fully convertible to green hydrogen in the future.

Con Edison will gouge New York residents electric and gas bills for the next three years

Gothamist


Con Edison, the privately owned utility company that theoretically powers our city, has reportedly resolved to raise rates beginning January 1: Under the proposal, electric would go up 13 percent over the next three years, while gas would jump an astounding 25 percent. Hm well, at least you know you're getting solid and uniformly reliable service for all those extra dollars you're paying out; at least you know that this added, unavoidable expenditure will be Worth It in the long run!

Here is a breakdown of the average rate hikes, which would vary somewhat depending on customers' electricity and gas consumption. Most of you would be looking at a roughly 4.2% rise in 2020, followed by a 4.7% increase in 2021, and a 4% bump in your electric bills for 2022. As for gas, the average bill would jump 7.5% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021, and 7.2% in 2022.

Many people are displeased with this scheme, which stands to make already burdensome monthly payments significantly more expensive. AARP has already filed its grievances with the state Public Service Commission, pointing out that, as it stands, "tens of thousands" of customers find themselves unable to pay their utility bills and see their services cut every year.

"We think it’s an unfair rate hike,” AARP lobbyist Bill Ferris told the NY Daily News: “We have a problem in New York State with energy affordability.” With everything affordability, some would say!

Rockaway activists protest the installation of another natural gas pipeline by the towns and beaches

 The Wave


Activists took to City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 24 to try to stop the building of a 23-mile long pipeline that will carry fracked gas under New York Harbor. The planned pipeline, which is being called the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline and would be constructed by Williams of Oklahoma, would run along the Staten Island coast and extend out to four miles off Rockaway.

Williams’ already existing Transco pipeline covers approximately 10,200 miles, extending from South Texas to New York City, according to their website.
A coalition of groups made up of The New York Public Interest Research Group Fund (NYPIRG,) Food & Water Watch – New York, New York Communities for Change, 350 NYC and more formed to prevent the NESE pipeline from happening. Patrick Houston, Sara Gronim, Eric Weltman and Lee Ziesche are some of the people at the helm of this campaign to prevent the NESE construction.

 “To lay this pipeline, Williams must excavate a giant trench across New York harbor,” reads an excerpt from an online document published by the coalition. “The harbor seabed is contaminated by toxins like PCBs, dioxin, lead, and arsenic. These toxins will be churned up into the water and washed ashore by the tides, contaminating marine life and the shoreline.”

 Williams’ perspective on the pipeline is rooted in a belief that it will provide cleaner energy and economic opportunities. “Natural gas is a critical part of New York’s energy mix and the demand for it continues to increase. The additional natural gas capacity created by the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project will support new economic projects, environmental initiatives, and continue to allow homes and buildings to convert from dirty heating oils to a cleaner source,” reads an online statement by the company. 

  I’m originally from Pennsylvania, so I’ve seen the dangers of fracking and the harm that it’s causing there,” said Ziesche. “People can’t drink their water, they can’t breathe their air. And in New York, we said that fracking wasn’t safe. So why would we ban fracking here, but use more fracked gas?”

Woodside Houses without heat during storm

From the NY Post:

Around 3,000 public-housing residents in Queens were forced to ride out Thursday’s blizzard in units with little or no heat — prompting some to risk carbon-monoxide poisoning by cranking up ovens and stoves.

The latest suffering inflicted on hapless tenants of the New York City Housing Authority led Mayor de Blasio to blame “decades” of past neglect, just days after he was sworn into his second, four-year term.

A NYCHA spokeswoman said they were told about radiators going cold in all 20 buildings at the sprawling Woodside Houses around 11:15 a.m. Thursday.

Spokeswoman Jasmine Blake said the problem was caused by a drop in the pressure of natural gas supplied to the complex’s steam boilers by the National Grid utility company.

Blake said NYCHA maintenance workers adjusted valves to provide some heat to the lower three floors of the six-story buildings, and a National Grid spokesman said it restored full pressure in the gas line by clearing “debris around the strainer around the gas meter” at around 1:30 p.m.

The heat was back on in all 1,300 apartments around 5 p.m., NYCHA said.

Gas lines need replacement, pronto

From CBS 2:

From the city to the suburbs, thousands of miles of some of the country’s oldest and decaying gas mains lay just below the surface of our streets.

As CBS2’s Dick Brennan reported, experts said the consequences could be dangerous or devastating.

In the early 20th century, there were new roads, rails, and an underground system delivered gas to buildings around New York.

More than 100 years later the landscape has drastically changed — but some of those exact same mains are still delivering our gas today.

A Con Edison spokesperson told CBS2 that since 2014 the company has been replacing old mains at a rate of 65 miles per year, a number that is expected to increase to 100 miles in 2016.

PSEG said it too has been prudently replacing old mains and will triple its rate of replacement to 510 miles this year.

LIC construction site goes up in flames

Wow.. Work hazard..

A video posted by Angel (@cruzin511) on Dec 19, 2015 at 11:02am PST

From PIX11:

A drilling rig hit a gas line at a construction site, causing the development to burst into flames.

According to FDNY, the fire is being fed by the gas, and crews are trying to protect neighboring buildings.

Four people have been safely rescued from the site.

Developer walks away from project

"FYI, the front construction fence around this house has (finally) been taken down, and there is activity (people going in and out):

On 11/13/15: APPLICATION HEREWITH FILED TO RESTORE EXISTING GAS SERVICE TO DWELLING." - Anonymous

Illegal gas hookup found at Astoria complex

From DNA Info:

Elected officials and residents rallied outside the Acropolis Gardens co-ops Monday, where tenants have been living without cooking gas and hot water for nearly two months — despite management's initial promise that the service would be restored by June 19.

Con Edison shut gas off at eight buildings at the development on April 29 because of "unauthorized, improper hookups," according to a spokesman. As of yet, only two of those buildings have had service restored.

The co-ops are managed by Metropolitan Pacific Properties, whose president Steve Osman previously told DNAinfo that Con Edison made an error in shutting off the gas after coming to inspect the properties following a small fire.

A Con Edison spokesman, however, said the service was cut because of "unauthorized, improper hook ups that violate building codes."

"Building management has been made fully aware of what they need to do. Gas was shut off for the safety of the residents," the rep said. "We'll continue working with the city to make restorations as proper repairs are made.”

An attorney for the buildings' co-op board, which contracts Metropolitan Pacific Properties, said Con Edison told them they need to replace the meters at the buildings, but that the utility company were out of the replacement meters.

Con Edison, however, disputes this claim, saying they have not run out of meters.

The attorney, Michael Maio, said the repair process has also been drawn out because workers have to check every individual apartment for gas leaks — none have been found, he said — which requires that tenants be home.

Rockaway gas pipeline completed

From The Wave:

For the past week or so, natural gas has been flowing underneath Rockaway’s beaches through a massive 26-inch diameter pipeline.

The activation of a new 3.2-mile pipeline on May 15 allows for liquefied natural gas to flow through the Rockaway Peninsula and into Brooklyn to satisfy the growing demand of 1.8 million customers in Queens and Brooklyn.

The fracked-gas transmission pipeline called the Rockaway Delivery Lateral has been controversial among anti-fracking activists and environmental groups since the inception phase in 2009.

The additional pipeline, which began construction on June 9, 2014, extends from the existing Lower New York Bay Lateral, which is in the Atlantic Ocean, running parallel to the coast of the Peninsula.

The Rockaway Delivery Lateral runs across Fort Tilden and Jacob Riis Park – wetlands and recreational areas – to a facility used to meter and regulate the flow of natural gas, located on Floyd Bennett Field in an abandoned airplane hanger, within the Gateway National Recreation Area.

Williams Partners’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s (Transco) pipeline project increases the compression at three existing Transco facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and provides 100,000 dekatherms more per day to be transferred to the new meter and regulating station on Floyd Bennett Field.

“That’s the point where we kind of hand off the gas,” said Williams Spokesman Chris Stockton. “It measures how much gas flows through the line and it also regulates the pressure.”

In total, 647,000 dekatherms per day can be be transmitted through the new Rockaway Pipeline to the National Grid distribution system. From there, the National Grid Pipeline takes the natural gas up Flatbush Avenue and into other communities.

Carnegie Deli has illegal gas hookup

From the Daily News:

On Friday, officials discovered an illegal hookup in the basement at Carnegie Deli, officials said. The owners, 854 Carnegie Real Estate Corp., were cited for “work without a permit — illegal gas connection to Carnegie Deli,” documents show.

The department discovered “new gas piping fittings, hangers to commercial cooking,” the records state. Sources familiar with the matter said it appeared the device tampered with the meter and allowed owners to lower their bills.

Inside the shuttered restaurant, a man who identified himself as a manager declined to comment.

Gas siphoning restaurant tossed out

From NBC:

A restaurant directly across the street from the site of the deadly March 26 gas explosion in the East Village was evicted Monday after its landlord discovered illegal tampering with the gas line and meters there, NBC 4 New York's I-Team has learned.

Stage Restaurant, at 128 Second Avenue, has until the end of the month to vacate the premises, a lawyer for the restaurant’s landlord said Tuesday. He said it is an odd coincidence that the restaurant is accused in a gas siphoning scheme similar to the one authorities are investigating as the cause of the explosion that killed two people and injured nearly two dozen last month.

Con Edison confirmed the restaurant's gas line had been inappropriately accessed. The restaurant's owners declined comment on the eviction, which was first reported by WNYC, an NBC 4 New York partner.

The whole East Village is illegally converted

From the Wall Street Journal:

City inspections of more than 50 buildings in the East Village following the fatal March 26 explosion and fire at 121 Second Ave. have turned up violations related to gas lines, fire safety and illegal construction, city records show.

The blast, which leveled three buildings and killed two people, is being treated as a case of suspected gas diversion, officials have said. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

Two weeks after the blast, area residents remain concerned that problems that bedeviled 121 Second Ave. leading up to the explosion—a record of unlicensed construction work and building and housing violations—could be mirrored in their own buildings, some of which have records of complaints and violations going back years.

At one building across the street from the blast, gas has been shut off after inspections revealed construction without a permit and potentially illegal gas siphoning, records and interviews show. At another, Department of Buildings records show a violation for an improperly placed gas meter and new complaints alleging illegal boiler work, among other concerns.

Since March 26, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has issued violations at a number of buildings on the block, ranging from faulty locks, doors, handrails and windows to blocked fire escapes, lack of gas and failure to register as a multiple family dwelling with the department. One building was cited by the department for illegal use of the cellar as residential space, records show.

Recent complaints to the Department of Buildings for buildings on the block show concerns about unlicensed construction, fire hazards, and illegal conversion of space for bedrooms.

It's criminal

From the Daily News:

The heartbreaking farewell came as detectives looking into allegations that the explosion was caused by workers illegally tapping into the gas line were preparing to bring criminally negligent homicide charges against whoever was responsible.

“This is likely going to end up a homicide case,” a high-ranking police source told the Daily News. “The DA will probably bring it to the grand jury.”

The focus of the criminal investigation is building owner Maria Hrynenko and contractor Dilber Kukic, sources have said.

Both are suspected of tapping into a gas main meant to serve only a first-floor sushi restaurant to provide heat to Hrynenko’s tenants on upper floors. Kukic is no stranger to the law. He was arrested in October for allegedly trying to give a city inspector a $600 cash bribe to make two violations on buildings he owns on W. 173rd St. in Manhattan go away.

“No one's going to be charged for doing sloppy work, but if it can be proved that someone was told to do this, then it's a criminally negligent homicide,” the source said.

Everyone from Hrynenko and Kukic to the plumber who had been working at 121 Second Ave. at the time of the blast has been grilled.

“All of them got lawyers and they're all pointing fingers at each other,” the high-ranking source said.

Lots of unanswered questions remain

From Epoch Times:

An hour before an apparent gas explosion sent flames soaring and debris flying at a Manhattan apartment building, injuring 19 people, utility company inspectors decided the work being done there was faulty.

The powerful blast on Thursday in the East Village caused the collapse of three buildings and fire damage to a fourth, the fire department said. It left four people in critical condition, more than a dozen others injured and one family searching for a loved one.

Firefighters worked through the night to put out pockets of fire, pouring large volumes of water over the rubble, a fire department spokesman said Friday morning as a steady rain fell.

He said when a building collapses it takes much longer — even days — to put out all the fire.

About 200 firefighters and medical staff remained on the scene.

The blast caused three five-story buildings to collapse within a few hours of each other, the spokesman said. A fourth, seven-story building, suffered extensive fire damage.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said preliminary evidence suggested a gas explosion amid plumbing and gas work inside the building that collapsed was to blame. A plumber was doing work connected to a gas service upgrade, and inspectors for utility company Con Edison had been there, company President Craig Ivey said. But the work failed the inspection, partly because a space for the new meters wasn’t big enough, Con Ed said.

I didn't see any permits for any type of gas line work, but I'm not sure what is required when a plumber is involved. The contractor was already in deep doo-doo before this happened.

A leopard cannot change its spots

Here's an update from one of my favorite John Ciafone properties:

Not only have the signs multiplied, but now there's some new shadiness to report.

First of all, there may be some action soon with regard to the illegal sign complaints.

Then there is an illegal gas hookup that was discovered in 2006, but never followed up on.

But the latest bust comes due to a complaint about illegal excavation of the basement.

So that's why this dumpster full of concrete and dirt was out front!

Rockaway gas pipeline almost complete

From Rockaway Times:

The Rockaway Lateral Transco Pipeline Project, running from the Atlantic Ocean, through Riis Park, and up Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, is expected to be complete by March 2015.

“We have been working nearly around the clock and remain on schedule to place the project into service by the end of the first quarter 2015,” Williams spokesperson Chris Stockton said. The Rockaway Lateral Project began construction on June 9, 2014. The project includes one mile of horizontal directional-drilled pipeline and 2.2 miles of conventionally laid 26” pipeline connected to an existing Transco pipeline in the Atlantic Ocean. National Grid’s portion of the project, the Brooklyn Queens Interconnect Project, which is complete, will connect with the Transco project. Together, the pipeline projects will bring additional natural gas into Rockaway, Brooklyn and other parts of Queens.

Williams, the company behind the Transco pipeline, has a Rockaway Community Grants program “to benefit the environment and local communities within the NYC areas affected by Williams’ Rockaway Lateral project.” The company awards grants of up to $15,000 per funding cycle for each program. In October 2014, 13 organizations received grants, totaling $115,000. Some groups included the Rockaway Point Volunteer Emergency Services, the Breezy Point Cooperative, the Broad Channel Historical Society for the Collection Preservation project, Beautify Rockaway Beach, the Roxbury Volunteer Firehouse, the Rockaway Youth Task Force and more.

They don't want the LNG project

From the Queens Courier:

A proposal to build a massive natural gas terminal, called Port Ambrose, just 17 miles off the southern shore of Long Island was met by angry opposition from hundreds of residents from Queens and surrounding counties last week during a public hearing near Kennedy Airport.

“Our families in southern Queens and Rockaway have been devastated by Superstorm Sandy and have seen first-hand what torturing our environment can do to us if we don’t take the proper precautions for the future,” Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder said. “Approving Port Ambrose and bringing dangerous liquefied natural gas to our communities is simply unacceptable.”

The facility, proposed by Liberty Natural Gas, would create a deep water terminal where liquefied natural gas would be imported by supertankers. The new site would receive the shipments, vaporize the gas, and deliver it through underwater pipelines to the coast with a capacity of about 400 million cubic feet of gas a day, according to a report in Capital New York.

Goldfeder, along with other elected officials voiced their concern about safety risks posed to residents on the coast by the presence of the deep-water gas port and the “highly combustible liquefied natural gas it would store.”

“The bottom line is that LNG is unsafe,” concluded Goldfeder. “It’s unsafe for the ocean, it’s unsafe for environment, and, quite frankly, it’s unsafe for the tens of thousands of families in southern Queens and Rockaway.”

Giving thanks for his blessings

From CBS New York:

Despite not having cooking gas for more than a month due to a leak, 46 families of the Ravenswood Houses in Long Island City, Queens, will still enjoy a turkey with all the trimmings.

Brian McMichael, who grew up in the housing complex and just moved his restaurant to Long Island City a month ago, came to the rescue, WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported.

“My heart goes out to these people, and some of them I actually know personally,” McMichael said, owner of Miriam’s Southern Cuisine.

Partnering with Fresh Direct for the turkeys, McMichael said he’s inspired by the values his mother instilled in him, the restaurant’s namesake.

“She would be so proud. She would just pray. Pray and be joyful,” he said.

His shop will also be whipping up an extra 30 meals for the food pantry.

Concern about gas pipeline under Rockaway

From WPIX:

Every night, a group of Rockaway residents watches with fear and worry as work is underway out at sea for the little publicized Rockaway Lateral Project Pipeline.

“It’s doesn’t matter if it’s on federal property,” Sandra Schunk told PIX11. ” It’s still our beach, our lives.”

Residents say the pipeline has gotten little attention because it’s mostly on federal property, the Gateway National Recreational Area.

It will eventually bring 647,000 dekartherms per day of fracked natural gas from the Marcellus Shale under high-pressure, beneath the beach, under a golf course, under the Marine Parkway bridge, through Floyd Bennett Field and eventually to distribution lines of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn.

Community board member John Gaska told PIX11, “The board approved the pipeline. We have concerns about safety but it’s a positive for the community. Gas will be cheaper.”

When I saw the title of the video, "Queens residents fighting construction of Rockaway Pipeline", I thought I was going to read about an actual fight, but instead this report was just about a bunch of folks who are concerned but not doing much of anything about it. Oh well.

Better safe than sorry?

From the Daily News:

A leaky pipe forced the shutdown of gas service to 249 apartments in a Queens housing project, the head of the tenants association said Saturday.

Residents of the Pomonok Houses in Flushing were warned that repairs could take up to two months, said irate association president Monica Corbett.

She said the gas service was shut down Thursday around 10 p.m., with NYCHA workers going from apartment to apartment to disconnect stoves and cap the pipes. NYCHA gave the residents hot plates.