http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#3772 Parents and community groups are upset that the city will not pay for an independent review of its proposal to monitor the contaminated Mott Haven site. One year ago, an outside consultant found major problems in the city’s plans to clean up the contamination, where four schools are expected to be built. The city’s Department of Education says that it has already exceeded its legal obligations. Some parents and teachers at a nearby school have been complaining about health problems they feel is caused by the digging at the site. 2008-02-13 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#2795 The Bronx Supreme Court has received final arguments from a group of environmental and community advocates who argue that the city has failed to adequately rid the Mott Haven school campus of harmful toxic pollutants. The campus, a $235 million, 6.6-acre site set to open in September 2009 to 2,400 students, was once home to gas manufacturing and other industrial uses. Plaintiffs contend that the city has not enacted a long-term site management plan to rid the area of harmful toxins. The city has responded that its $30 million effort to clean up the site has fully complied with legal requirements. 2007-07-07 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#2409 A group of parents and teachers are suing the School Construction Authority (SCA) over plans to build four schools on the contaminated Mott Haven site, claiming that the agency did not meet the obligations of the State Environmental Quality Review Act. City council approved the plans to build the schools after a $30 million cleanup on the basis that the city would consider recommendations of an independent consultant, provide a formal response public hearings. Neither the formal response nor hearing has occurred, although negotiations have been ongoing apparently successfully. The SCA believes that it has so far fully complied with the agreement and even exceeded its terms by including all recommendations of the independent consultant. The group sued over concerns that the statute of limitation was going to expire and they would have no other resort of negotiations fell through. 2007-04-10 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#1946 An independent study - commissioned by community opposition groups but financed by the city – disputes the viability of the City’s planned $30 million environmental remediation of the proposed Mott Haven School site. The City plans to excavate soil 9- to 14-feet deep from the area of four school buildings but land outside the buildings' footprints, such as the athletic field, would be covered only by synthetic turf, pavement or 2 feet of clean fill. The new study urges the city to remove all toxic hot spots on the 6.63-acre site. The study recommends full removal to guard against potential problems that could create "an elevated, unacceptable health risk." Study can be found at: http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/Mott-Haven.pdf 2007-01-29 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#1870 The City Council has approved the $235 million project to build four schools on the Mott Haven Complex: two high schools, a school for grades 6-12, and a school for grades 5-8, after recently blocking the project due to detected toxin levels at the site. The Council had previously forced the Bloomberg administration to reconsider the project for environmental concerns and insisted that an independent environmental assessment occur before any construction had taken place. The Mott Haven complex, the largest in City history, will add 2,400 classroom seats at the 6.6-acre site in the Bronx to the City’s existing classroom stock. 2007-01-10 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#1867 The controversial construction of four schools in the Bronx on previously contaminated parcels of land is up for a vote in the City Council. The plan, which had previously been delayed due to environmental concerns, received an environmental assessment financed by Mayor Bloomberg’s administration. Proponents of the school construction, who argue that the site is no longer dangerous, believe that the City desperately needs more classrooms. Opponents of the proposal, which include some council members and community groups, believe that the plan is detrimental to the health of students. 2007-01-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#1767 The City Council’s subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses was poised to block the proposed development of the Mott Haven Campus in the Bronx when the Mayor pulled the project late Wednesday. While initially framed as a spat over environmental concerns, Council officials claim that the move represents an attempt to leverage approval of project to gain control over the New York City School's admissions process. The city plans to resubmit the plan after further negotiations. 2006-12-07 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=103#1761 South Bronx residents have petitioned a City Council subcommittee to stop the development of the Mott Haven School Campus in the Bronx, arguing that the site is irreparably environmentally damaged and that it poses a risk to future students. The City insists that a $30 million environmental remediation will address the problem. 2006-12-04 00:00:00