Parent with baby testifies on cleaner air in eastern Queens
A resident holding a baby says the Citizen Air Complaint Program has reduced Con Edison idling in his eastern Queens neighborhood. He opposes 561-A and describes receiving a death threat years earlier for prosecuting noise complaints.
What's the baby's name?
Oh, I promised I wasn't going to make a spectacle of it.
Can I just keep her private?
Oh, no, of course.
Yeah, I just...
You can meet her.
No, no, because, yeah, then it'd be on the record.
People would see it, you know, and whatever.
Yeah.
Yeah, I get it.
Yeah.
But she is a...
You can start now.
She is a bit of a witness to...
To the fact that the CACP has made a difference, at least where I live in Eastern Queens, where I'm probably among the only participants in the program.
Whereas a few years ago, Con Ed would be on all the time, and if I was walking around the neighborhood before I knew about the program, I'd be like, oh, I gotta cross the street to avoid, you know, the stinky fumes, because I really don't like the stinky fumes, and I don't like the noise.
And she doesn't like loud mechanical noises either.
Now they're off.
And if the Consolidated Edison Company can do this, if they can be resilient, I mean, this one, it was her first time on the subway today.
I think she's being very resilient.
I don't understand why so many companies here can't modify their behavior accordingly.
They want us to adapt our laws to them as opposed to them adapting to, you know, the market of the, you know, the greatest city in the world.
But really has made a difference and we can walk right past them and she's not bothered at all.
I'm also a bit sensitive to
to know
And so I wanted to bring something to your attention that I don't think anyone else will.
I used to prosecute some noise hearings.
I really do not like when ice cream trucks just sit at a corner and you can hear them for blocks away and they're just on and on and on and the city wouldn't do anything about it.
I prosecuted a modest number of these complaints.
And I received a death threat in the mail for my efforts.
And so, you know, I hear, oh, you should come up to the truck and tell us to turn off.
I don't appreciate.
Address the, you know, address the council, please.
Yeah, so, you know, I don't think that's fair for anyone to have to experience.
And DEP is trying to outsource.
A lot more of their efforts to us.
And that's what this would do with the specific timeline saying, okay, well, your work is either going to go down the toilet or you're going to have to put your name out there and be exposed to this.
And I really don't think that's fair to anybody.
Well, I certainly appreciate the personal testimony that you bring to bear as a resident, as a father, as someone who's trying to make a better world for his child.
And your testimony is very impactful.
And you have participated in the program, right?
I have.
And it bore dividends.
And I'm grateful for our walks that are quieter and cleaner.
And I think.
And, you know, regarding, and it sounds like you live in Councilmember Lee's district.
Correct.
Yeah, so, you know, we, back when I did the noise code in 2005, you know, we came to a grand compromise on the ice cream trucks.
They could only sound their bells when they're moving.
When they stop, they have to shut them off.
Kids have ice cream radar.
They know the truck is there.
Right.
I'm just saying, but it is currently illegal.
We don't have to legislate that.
That's been done.
Oh, no, no.
I know what I was saying.
So now it's on the enforcement side.
Because the city refused it.
In fact, my local city council office, they call me the Grinch because I actually didn't force it, which I'm perfectly fine with.
But as a result of that, you know, I got an anonymous death threat in the mail.
From the Mrs.
Softy guy?
It was anonymous, so I'm not going to impugn anybody.
But it's very likely the case because I can explain.
All right.
I mean, yeah.
So that's a saga you should work out with Councilmember Lee, who was very responsive.
I'm sorry that that happened.
That's terrifying.
It's terrifying.
We really appreciate it.
They're much better now.
If we go to a party in Nassau County, again, that made a huge improvement.
So both the noise, I mean, I don't participate in that anymore.
But there's a little less of a need because an impact was had beforehand.
Good.
Okay.
But I don't like, this would require us to do more and get less in return.
And in tech terms, if you want to add a new term that's I'm sure never been used at a hearing here before, in shitification, that's what would be happening.
Put that on the list.
So in my view, 561A is irreconcilable.
Irreconcilable for a bunch of reasons.
Thank you for your passionate testimony.
Jonathan Gorin.
Jonathan Gorin.
Yeah.