Dear Editor:
Last night, Mayor Fulop and the City Council voted to approve a deal with the NYC Dept of Sanitation to have New York City’s garbage waste hauled to Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood. The mayor touted the $10 million payout for the deal and cited how the money would be made available to improve the Reservoir 3 park in the Heights.
But what does this mean for the schools in Greenville that will be near the expanded garbage dump? Health reports cite how children in areas near waste sites have higher incidences of asthma and bronchial conditions, such as the South Bronx. And let’s not forget about the smell of hot garbage wafting in the breeze.
What does this mean for the children from this Greenville neighborhood? And since the site affects Greenville children, wouldn’t a park or “green” project in the Greenville area be an appropriate beneficiary of the funds?
The Children First team of Gina Verdibello (H5), Lorenzo Richardson (H1) and Gerald Lyons (H7) believe that every decision made by the City Council or Board of Education must be examined to determine the impact on the quality of life for the children of Jersey City. New construction is taking place all over the city without a thought for how it will overtax our already crowded and crumbling schools. Mindful city planning is needed.
As Jersey City Public School parents, we have to stand up for our kids. We do this by getting to the polls and electing people who have a proven track record of being at all the school board meetings and speaking for our children when we can’t. We can’t let others chose for us. On November 4th I’m voting for Lorenzo Richardson (1H), Gina Verdibello (5H) and Gerald Lyons (7H) for Jersey City Board of Education and hope you will too.
Felicia Palmer