Garbage Hits the Fan

At this writing it appears that Speaker Miller may have averted a palace coup on the transfer station ULURP. We haven't seen the numbers but the question still remaining is the ability of Gifford to orchestrate an override. In the process, however, he was unfortunately damaged after being led into an ambush by certain staff members who should have known better.

Frankly, it is a situation we predicted last September when we went before CB #8 to discuss the whole 91st street transfer station issue. At the meeting we told the board that Miller was going to be accused of environmental racism and a clear policy of waste reduction was needed in order for the Speaker to be able to change the tenor of the conversation on waste.

Siting is not the key issue. Reducing the amount of waste exported is essential so that a concomitant reduction of waste transfer stations can be achieved. Check out the IBO report on the mayor’s recycling plan which finds, just as with Gertrude Stein’s commend about Oakland, “There is no there, there.” It is likely, however, that this is just the first skirmish in what will undoubtedly will be a much longer battle.