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Letter to Board of Education - December 4, 2001The Parent-Teacher Associations of PS 89, IS 89, PS 234, and PS 150 Stuyvesant High School Parents' Association Stuyvesant High School Student Union December 4, 2001 Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani Mayor-Elect Michael Bloomberg Re: The Safety of Schoolchildren Near Ground Zero Dear Mayor Giuliani and Mayor-Elect Bloomberg: We represent the 9,000 parents of the PTAs of five public schools that are within blocks of Ground Zero: PS 89, IS 89, Stuyvesant High School, PS 234, and PS150. We are joined by the Student Union of Stuyvesant High School, which represents the 3,038 students at the school. Together our three elementary schools, one intermediate school, and one high school enroll 4,500 children. We write to request that you immediately address environmental hazards affecting the children who attend school and live near the World Trade Center site. As you know, the Board of Education reopened Stuyvesant on October 9. Since then, a number of students and faculty have reported and exhibited clinically diagnosable symptoms of illness like rashes, nosebleeds, and respiratory problems. As you also know, PS/IS 89, located in Battery Park City on West Street between Warren and Chambers, was until recently used as a Ground Zero Center site. Similarly, PS 234 on Greenwich Street, just north of the site, was used as an operations center. We appreciate that these buildings have now been returned to the Board of Education. However, before the schools can be re-occupied, it is imperative that the City address issues relating to the removal of debris by trucks passing directly in front of the PS 89 schoolyard and Stuyvesant on their way to the barge at Pier 25 and directly in front of PS 234 on their return to the World Trade Center site. Stuyvesant High School directly abuts the cove where the barges are loading off Pier 25, and PS/IS 89 is across the street from Stuyvesant. While we understand that the monitoring of toxic substances near the site has generally been reported by government agencies to be at "acceptable" levels, this is a matter of considerable controversy among environmental experts. We are sure you will agree that the exposure of our 4500 children -- some of whom are as young as four years old -- to known toxins should be minimized. We are deeply concerned that airborne contaminants are being dispersed by trucks traveling between the site and the barge and by the transfer of the debris at the barge site itself. Diesel fumes are being released by the crane on the barge, which is just north of Stuyvesant, as well as by the debris trucks all along the route in both directions between Ground Zero and the Pier 25 barge. Another significant concern is the high level of diesel emission generated by trucks that currently idle in front of Stuyvesant and PS/IS 89 as they await entry into the washing station and unloading onto the barge. To address these dangers: First, we urgently request you to relocate the barge, now directly adjacent to Stuyvesant High School, away from our schools to an available location several blocks north of its current site. This proposal has been supported by the Ground Zero Elected Officials Task Force, the Battery Park City Authority, and the Board of Education. Second, we strongly urge you to immediately require that debris be loaded into sealed containers at the World Trade Center site before being transported to the barge. This will minimize the dispersal of airborne contaminants as trucks travel through our neighborhood and as debris is offloaded from the trucks onto the barge. Finally, steps must be taken to immediately enforce existing protocols relating to dust control and diesel emissions, both along the truck route and at the barge site. Based on the observations of our members who live in the community, we are concerned that debris is being inadequately hosed, that trucks are not uniformly being washed and covered, that streets are not being properly cleaned, and that our neighborhood is being unnecessarily subjected to particulates and diesel fumes. These conditions must be rectified immediately. We request an immediate meeting with you to discuss the relocation of the barge and alternatives to the current truck route that would lessen the dangers to our children. Thank you for your concern for our children. We will contact your office to arrange a meeting at the earliest possible date. Very truly yours, David Bushman and Sharon Sprague, Co-Chairs, PS 89 PTA Angela Fremont-Appel and Alyssa Adams, Co-Chairs, IS 89 PTA George Olsen, President, PS 234 PTA Deborah Petti and Deborah Queller, Co-Chairs, PS 150 PTA Marilena Christodoulou, President, Stuyvesant High School Parents' Association JuKay Hsu President, Stuyvesant High School Student Union |
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