OntheWilderSide

Anthony Weiner began the meeting by talking about the Rockaways and how much the water means to the community.  In big storms, the water can go from bay to ocean, so they’re aware of the fragility of their location.  He didn’t outright oppose this project, but he did say the highest standards had to be met, and he got a lot of applause from a crowd of about 400 people who were fired up and feisty.

After a discussion of the process, about six elected officials spoke, all in opposition.  One elected official wondered where Paterson stands on this and why he hasn’t vetoed it, as he did when the project was intended for Long Island Sound.  Dave Denenberg read Paterson’s comments pertaining to that veto and asked the crowd if every word didn’t apply with equal or even greater force to our ocean–to vociferous applause.

In fact, everyone I heard speak was opposed.  People raised various issues. One person said the platform will be 25 to 45 feet high, yet waves in the ocean can get to 50 feet in a storm.  Ray Ellmer mentioned that it would be built on the same site where garbage was dumped for years, with the risk of stirring up medical waste and chemicals, which could once again wash up on our shores. Another person worried about the nearness of this island to JFK and to the shipping lanes.  Several people worried about terrorism.  One older gentleman recalled a ship that exploded during WW2 and how it rattled windows for miles–which would be nothing to an explosion of that much LNG.

Ellmer, a Republican, also said that Al D’Amato is lobbying for this project, which is sure to affect Pete King and Harvey Weisenberg.  The overwhelming popular consensus was that the only people who will benefit from this project are corporate CEOs and shareholders.