Facilities Monitoring Committee 6/19 agenda:
Jerome Park Reservoir public access question, JPR Construction, Night Blasting at VCP
1. On May 30, 2008, I received a call from Martha Holstein (consultant to the DEP CWTP) that the DEP that they will not be discussing the public access to JPR at the next meeting. DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd told the DEP officials Lawitts and Canty that they she is going to set up a “working group” to do a study of why the agency would say they are against public access without looking into it. The results will not be quick, but would take 7 to 9 months. There will be no community partners, no outside entities, no agencies and no community representatives. They will try to clarify and understand why it is not possible to have public access at Jerome Park Reservoir.
The FMC members agreed by phone on May 29th to remove this item from the agenda. Instead, the DEP will provide periodic reports to the FMC and will discuss the process for public participation. They will make this presentation at the meeting in June.
This is another stalling tactic. This is similar to the ploy in the Alienation Legislation to give due consideration to making Jerome Park into a park. When they did that internal study, the three former DEP Deputy Commissioners agreed that Jerome Park Reservoir could not be a park for many reasons, including security.
Last March the DEP and the FMC agreed that the DEP was going to present their case, and Anne Marie and Karen were going to rebut. We have spent hours working together on this, taking photographs, gathering information, planning on the power point presentation It is not clear yet, but I think we are off the agenda.
2. To replace the agenda item, the DEP is now proposing to add new topic. It is about time they thought of adding the tunneling and new meter chamber construction work at Jerome Park Reservoir. It is a new contract (although the work is started).
3. Finally, last week the FMC was notified about a two week potential (on or after May 23) for night blasting for the Raw Water Tunnel to the Filter Plant. The blasting will be 170 feet beneath Mosholu Golf Course, approximately 1800 feet west of Jerome Avenue.
This is a heads up. As the time goes on, there will be more info.
/Karen