Sandy salt hurt a lot of trees

From CBS New York:

It took the start of spring for Carla Errico to notice something about one of the trees on her street.

“It’s leaning a little bit and my concern is that if it’s windy, it may fall over,” she told Silverman.

The big sycamore is bare, save for a little cluster of leaves. At the roots, a patch of grass is bulging and straining against the sidewalk.

“Gardener came and did tell me that the tree was dead, that when they drink the saltwater, they dehydrate, so they die,” she said.

But she said the Parks Department’s inspector “declared that the tree was not dead and was not dying and they would not remove it.”

“Some came back after the flood. Some did not,” she said. ”And it does look horrible looking down the block and seeing these bare trees.”

Queens Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder said that his office has gotten at least a dozen calls about sickly trees like this one.

He told Silverman that federal money could be available to help with removal.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said.

The Parks Department said it will be watching trees throughout the summer to see if any show new signs of life.

They also released the following information:

More than 20,000 trees were lost throughout New York City due to Hurricane Sandy. We will gain a fuller picture of the tree and plant mortality caused by Hurricane Sandy in late summer or early fall, when we can observe their behavior throughout the growing season. In the interim, we have been and will continue to remediate soil, as necessary, with compost and gypsum – both mitigate salt damage – to encourage the return of healthy biological functioning.

We also encourage residents to water their street trees, which helps to flush out excess salt. For more information on tree watering and to learn how you can become a tree steward, visit milliontreesnyc.org or contact MillionTreesNYC directly at (212) 360-TREE.

City's salt war "misguided"

From the NY Post:

City health czar Dr. Thomas Farley is warring with a noted scientist over sodium in the same medical journal where Farley trumpeted the city’s war on salt.

“We cannot extrapolate that lowering sodium consumption would reduce cardiovascular risk or premature death,” declared Dr. Sean C. Lucan of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in this month’s American Journal of Public Health.

“Despite assertions to the contrary,” Lucan wrote — citing an anti-salt screed by Farley and a colleague from September — “we do not know that reducing mean population sodium intake would decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease or save lives.”

Lucan told The Post the city’s salt war is “misguided” — and potentially dangerous.

“We can’t just swallow this as fact — there’s actually debate about this.

“My concern is that they’re focusing on a single ingredient that the food industry is going to have to replace with something — and what they replace it with might be more damaging,” he added.

Higher sodium intake has been shown in some studies to increase blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

But that’s only part of the story, Lucan said.

“There is a relationship between sodium and blood pressure, but it’s not consistent. And even when it’s present, it isn’t clinically very substantial,” he said.

For some high-risk heart patients, some studies show, a low-salt diet “actually leads to worse cardiovascular disease and early death,” Lucan said.

Lowering salt, Lucan notes in his article, “may also decrease insulin sensitivity, alter lipids, and stimulate a variety of neurohormonal pathways detrimental to the cardiovascular system.”

Sodium is simply a marker of unhealthy food, Lucan said, adding that the real target should be refined carbohydrates and highly processed foods — and the city’s war on that front also falls short.

“Refined carbohydrates are a greater enemy,” he warned in the journal. “If sugar-sweetened beverages are a public-health problem, then why aren’t sugar-laden cookies?”

Are people really complaining about the quality of free food?

From the NY Post:

Mayor Bloomberg has crusaded against salt, fat and sugar, yet the city seems to have no qualms about feeding artery-clogging grub to desperate victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Self-heating packets of MREs (military meals ready to eat) — stuffed with more salt and fat than a Big Mac and more sugar than a 21-ounce Coke — are among the foodstuff being doled out to the unsuspecting.

“I was told that folks shouldn’t eat these for more than two days straight,” said a concerned city source distributing the items in Brooklyn.

The $7 MREs were handed out last week at the city-run Restoration Center in Coney Island, where many residents still lack power and heat.

Made by the Indiana-based Ameriqual Group and distributed via the city’s Office of Emergency Management, they include such entrees as home-style chicken with noodles and vegetables in sauce: 1,180 calories, 45 grams of fat (17 grams saturated), 1,330 milligrams of sodium and 64 grams of sugar. (A Big Mac packs 550 calories, 29 grams of fat and 970 milligrams of sodium.)

MREs are meant for active soldiers who are expending calories and need something quick to eat in the field. They are perfect for short-term situations. It's time to stop sweating the small stuff.

The calorie, salt and fat content of these packs are not a problem.
Not having food is a problem.

Western Queens people producing too much garbage

From the Queens Gazette:

The Department of Sanitation garage at the Queens West 1 facility has not kept pace with the enormous growth of the community it serves.

“We need a larger garage,” DSNY Queens West Borough Chief Douglas Marsiglia said at the June meeting of the Queens borough cabinet. “The community would love for us to move, and we would love to move from there.” Located at 34-28 21st St. on city-owned property in Long Island City near the Ravenswood Playground, Queens West 1 lies within Community Board 1 and has 46 collection trucks, nine mechanical sweepers and 10 salt spreaders assigned to it. There are also 121 DSNY workers at the garage.

Marsiglia told Borough President Helen Marshall, that DSNY is presently seeking a new location that meets both district and community needs. “No site has been identified, so far,” Marsiglia said.

Salt used to melt snow and ice during the winter months is stored year-round at 43-02 Vernon Blvd. in Community Board 2 for use in Queens West 1 at an outdoor facility that is covered by a tarp. Marsiglia said the agreement for that location, part of the Silvercup development site, may be revoked at any time. “We’ve been there for a number of years,” he said. However, remaining depends on “what [Silvercup Studios] wants to do with their land”. A $1 billion complex of soundstages, offices and apartments has been proposed for the land that now houses the Queens West 1 salt pile, the Terra Cotta building and a power generator station.

Shouldn't they have planned for this before the massive upzoning?

Too much regulation?

38G STUDY NOT WORTH ITS SALT: POL
By ANGELA MONTEFINISE, NY Post

The city is spending thousands of tax dollars to study a major menace to the city: table salt.

The Department of Health is planning to pay $38,000 to a consultant to conduct a four-month study of the savory mineral, then put together databases to track sodium levels in processed and fast food.

The department started its quest for the condiment consultant on April 8 as part of its initiative to lower salt intake launched last year.

While health officials tout its importance, the study has left critics with bad tastes in their mouths.

"I think it's a waste of city money," said City Councilman Tony Avella. "It's more nanny government. They tell us what to do, and they'll use studies to back it up and justify it."

Health officials scoffed at claims that the study is a waste, considering that heart attacks and strokes annually kill about 24,000 New Yorkers.

We know too much salt is bad already. I guess a salt tax is next on Bloomie's list. Why not just be do it instead of wasting time and money on studies? It's not like the council's going to stand up to you.