Doesn’t This Mean You’re Basically Living On Top Of Fresh Kills?

The giant oil spill circulating underneath Greenpoint is leaking methane gas:

High levels of explosive methane vapors in shallow soil near the massive Greenpoint oil spill have forced alarmed state officials to do emergency gas testing in nearby homes, the Daily News has learned.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is pushing local residents to sign up to have their homes checked for the potentially combustible vapors.

“They should have come years ago,” said disgusted homeowner Dorothy Swick, who lives on Hausman St. “Nobody ever told me how dangerous it was.”

The gases are believed to be bubbling up from a 17 million gallon underground oil spill discovered in 1978.

. . .

The elevated gas levels, released last week, were found in tests done by ExxonMobil contractor Roux Associates under orders from the DEC.

It was the first time the state or the oil giant have acknowledged gas from the Newtown Creek oil spill could be hazardous to residents.

The testing also found elevated readings of benzene, which can cause cancer.

The potentially lethal vapors were found in a commercial and industrial area — but there are some homes across the street from at least one testing site.

The vapors were found in soil samples along Bridgewater St., at the intersections of Apollo St., Norman Ave., and at Nassau Ave. and Hausman St.

And not to sound like too much of a wuss, but it makes the idea of kayaking and — ew! — crabbing in Newtown Creek seem a little premature . . .

See also: Better Late Than Never.

Fung Waaaaaaah!

Oh Fung Wah, say it ain’t so:

Officials say the bus departed from the Fung Wah bus company on Canal Street for Boston Tuesday morning. But passengers did not make it safely to their destination.

Authorities say the bus flipped on its side in Auburn, Massachusetts, which is about 44 miles west of Boston. With less than an hour left in the trip, officials say the driver decided to take exit 7 off of Route 290. Investigators believe he did not slow down around the bend.

“I believe that it’s safe to conclude the driver of the bus was operating at a speed that was greater than reasonable and proper for the driving conditions,” Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis said.

The driver, questioned by police, could face charges. Officials say all 57 passengers on board, including a 3-year-old toddler, were able to evacuate the bus before rescue crews arrived. No serious injuries were reported, but 31 passengers were taken to a local hospital.

Fung Wah, which means “magnificent wind,” is a popular bus company in Chinatown that runs frequent trips from New York’s Chinatown to Boston’s Chinatown.

Fung Wah employees had no comment, but at $15 a trip, customers say the bargain is too good to pass up.

“I guess I’m a little nervous,” one rider said. “But, I mean, I’m still going to take the bus.”

Fung Wah is no stranger to accidents. In August of last year, one of its buses heading back to New York burst into flames. No fatalities were reported in that incident. As for today’s accident, it may have some passengers saying an extra prayer, but it is clearly not stopping business.

See also, “Everybody Fung Wah Tonight” (Black Table, November 5, 2003)

Man Ill; Spraying Intensifies

Spraying has intensified around Staten Island after a man was diagnosed with West Nile Virus:

After a Staten Island man was diagnosed as having the state’s first human case of West Nile virus this year, the city Health Department will spray pesticide from trucks tomorrow between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the following neighborhoods: New Dorp, Oakwood, Oakwood Beach, Bay Terrace, Chelsea, Graniteville, Bloomfield, Bulls Head, Old Place and Mariners Harbor.

If weather doesn’t permit, spraying will be delayed until Thursday or the next possible night.

. . .

For this application, city workers will apply Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin), a synthetic pyrethroid used in mosquito-control efforts. A 2001 study sponsored by the city Health Department found that the pesticide had no repercussions for people’s health when applied correctly. To read the report, go to http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wnv/feis.shtml.

During the application, people with asthma or other respiratory conditions are encouraged to stay indoors, since there is the possibility that spraying could worsen these conditions. It’s all right to run air conditioners, but to reduce the possibility of exposure, health officials recommend closing the machines’ vents.

See also: Save The Dorp!

Save The Dorp!

Virtually all of Staten Island has mosquitoes that are carrying the West Nile virus:

Since a mosquito pool in Grasmere tested positive for West Nile in late June, the virus has been found in mosquitoes in 11 of Staten Island’s 12 ZIP codes, according to statistics compiled by the city Health Department.

The only ZIP code not affected was 10304 — which includes Stapleton, Todt Hill, Clifton and Concord.

In fact, with the exception of small pockets in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, West Nile activity has been concentrated on Staten Island — but so far, it’s been confined to mosquitoes.

No human cases have been reported anywhere in the city or state this summer. And none of the 2,500 dead birds tested citywide turned up positive for the West Nile virus this year, according to Sara Markt, a Health Department spokeswoman.

The next round of pesticide spraying is scheduled to begin tonight at 8 p.m. and continue through tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.

The pesticide Anvil 10+10 (Sumithrin) will be sprayed from trucks in New Dorp, Oakwood, Oakwood Beach, Bay Terrace, Chelsea, Graniteville, Bloomfield, Bulls Head and Mariners Harbor.

Shit’s Fucked Up, Dude

The Daily News joins in the fear mongering, showing us how in the event of a strong hurricane, the entire Rockaway peninsula could be toast:

Disaster is brewing in the Rockaways.

More than 100,000 people live on an 11-mile spit of sand with just three routes to the mainland. A moderate hurricane would cover the peninsula with water — and a heavy one would obliterate everything.

But even as the city’s emergency planners are practicing how to evacuate the Rockaways to save lives, city housing officials are eagerly pushing plans to build almost 4,000 new homes there — right in the path of coastal storms.

“It’s insane,” said Queens College Prof. Nicholas Coch, a nationally recognized hurricane expert. “People who live in Rockaways are really playing roulette with Mother Nature.”

Hundreds of upscale homes, priced higher than $500,000, already have been built at Arverne by the Sea, an $800 million development on land that had lain fallow for decades.

Demand is strong and the city Housing Preservation and Development Department envisions thousands more homes rising nearby — thanks to the allure of New York’s last undeveloped beachfront property.

“People are only as smart as their collective memories,” said John Lepore, head of the local Chamber of Commerce. “There’s not been major, major storms for a while, and people have become affluent, and everybody wants to live near the water.”

New Yorkers generally don’t think of their city as vulnerable to the kind of deadly storms that hit New Orleans, Miami or Houston. But experts say the city has been thrashed before — and is coming due for another devastating storm.

“Why do we forget our own history?” Coch asked. “We have a major development in an area where history has shown that hurricanes have done tremendous damage.”

An 1893 hurricane destroyed homes and hotels along the south-facing coast of the Rockaways, and subsequent storms reshaped sandbars and inlets of the area. A 1938 hurricane that ravaged Long Island swamped stretches of the Rockaways.