XPost: rec.travel.cruises, nyc.politics, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, talk.politics.misc   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Efforts to regulate how cruise ships operate in New York City waterways   
   have locals speaking out about the negative effects the vessels have had   
   on their communities – and their health.   
      
   More than 200 cruise ships dock in New York each year, bringing an   
   estimated 1.3 million passengers and $420m in tourism spending to the   
   city. But the industry takes an environmental toll: just one cruise ship   
   docked for a day at port can emit diesel exhaust equivalent to 34,400   
   idling trucks.   
      
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   “I could literally see the black smoke for the entire day coming out of   
   the funnels,” said Adam Armstrong, a community activist who for years   
   lived steps away from the Brooklyn cruise ship terminal, in Red Hook. “It   
   was just an ominous presence.”   
      
   A new bill in the city council would crack down on diesel-powered luxury   
   liners, requiring them to connect to the city’s power grid when docked,   
   thus lowering their emissions. The bill would also tackle traffic, noise   
   and pollution related to disembarking passengers. If passed, New York   
   would become the first city on the east coast to pass such an ordinance.   
      
   “As an environmental justice community, we’re really looking seriously at   
   all the noxious infrastructure and pollutants in the air,” said the   
   councilmember Alexa Avilés. Avilés, whose district includes Red Hook,   
   introduced the bill in February with the councilmember Erik Bottcher.   
      
   “We’re seeing a community that is really frustrated with how long it has   
   taken [to adopt] offshore power,” said Aviles. “They’re seeing a situation   
   that’s getting worse, not getting better.”   
      
   The move comes nearly a year after one of the world’s largest cruise   
   ships, the 5,600-passenger MSC Meraviglia, started docking in Brooklyn.   
   Residents soon complained of traffic congestion related to the nearly 600   
   vehicles that arrived to transport passengers to destinations in the city.   
      
   “My business, one of the busiest restaurants in Red Hook, could not open   
   on time on numerous occasions when Meraviglia was docked because our   
   employees could not get to work,” said Susan Povich, the owner of Red Hook   
   Lobster Pound and chair of the Red Hook Business Alliance, at a rally in   
   support of the bill. “We have one street in and one street out.” She added   
   that few apparent passengers visited her business, despite its proximity   
   to the dock.   
      
   In 2017, Brooklyn became the first terminal on the east coast to operate   
   plug-in stations for ships at dock, costing the city $21m. By plugging   
   into the local electricity grid at the terminal, ships can keep running   
   without burning their diesel-powered engines. But not all vessels connect   
   to shore power – only 40% of cruise ships in service are equipped to plug   
   in to shore power, according to an industry group.   
      
   Though Meraviglia is shore power-equipped, its connector is too far out to   
   reach the stationary plug-in at the Brooklyn terminal – arguably, due to   
   its size.   
      
   A representative for the Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the   
   non-profit that runs the cruise terminals, said that new long-term   
   agreements with three major cruise operators (which account for 85% of the   
   city’s cruise traffic) require ships docking at the Manhattan and Brooklyn   
   terminals to connect to shore power “when feasible” and involve traffic   
   mitigation plans.   
      
   They also said they were procuring a mobile jib that would allow more   
   ships to connect at the Brooklyn cruise terminal, adding “NYCEDC is deeply   
   committed to ensuring that the industry has an environmentally sound and   
   sustainable future in New York, and we will continue engaging with our   
   elected official partners and local community members to gather their   
   input on sustainability measures, traffic mitigation and community   
   benefits.”   
      
   Avilés said the EDC had expressed support for the legislation “in   
   principle” but wanted to see what that looks like in practice. “They need   
   to get [shore power] in Brooklyn 100% functional at all times because   
   they’ve been dragging their feet on repairing it for a number of years,”   
   she said.   
      
   In addition to the cruise ship terminal, Red Hook, an industrial   
   neighborhood with one of the city’s largest public housing complexes, has   
   gained three Amazon last-mile warehouses since 2021. The sites bring   
   convoys of delivery trucks to narrow and predominantly one-way streets.   
   Last year, Guardian reporting found that more than 1,200 trucks and vans   
   pass through a single street over the course of a day.   
      
   Red Hook has one of the highest rates of asthma-related emergency visits   
   in New York City.   
      
   “Pollution from cruise ships, along with the trucks and last-mile   
   facilities is just one part of a compounding issue of the huge number of   
   pollutants in Red Hook,” said Avilés. “The community is tired of being   
   dumped on as a last resort.”   
      
   https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/27/new-york-city-cruise-ship-   
   pollution-bill   
      
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