Port Authority examines air quality report in
PATH station after NYU exposes health threat
BY MARK HALLUM
Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey offi cials
said they are investigating
the air quality in the Christopher
Street PATH Station after a
damning study from New York
University’s Grossman School of
Medicine showed pollution there
to be 77 times higher than on the
surface.
First reported by The
Guardian, 71 underground
stations were sampled in cities
throughout the northeast,
implicating Christopher Street
which had 1,499 micrograms
of pollution per cubic meter
increasing the risk of a cardiovascular
event by 10% in a
regular commuter.
After only learning of the
report on Wednesday around
noon, offi cials said they plan to
fi gure out the cause and address
it following a Feb. 11 commissioner’s
meeting.
“We are totally committed to
protecting the health and safety of
our workers, we are totally committed
to protecting the health
and safety of PATH riders, and
we will we will dig into this
study, come to conclusions
and, if necessary or appropriate,
develop an action plan to address
it,” PANYNJ Executive Director
Rick Cotton said. “We need to
understand where the measurements
were taken, how they were
taken, what they showed and then
look at both the HVAC units on
the trains… HVAC units of World
Trade Center are wildly different
from what exists at legacy station
so we need to dig into this.”
Pollutants known as PM2.5
were also found in subway stations
operated by the MTA which
had results that ranged within 251
micrograms per cubic meter; the
Christopher Street Station on the PATH.
nationally accepted level for safety
falls below micrograms per cubic
meter.
But the MTA said they had
already looked into the matter
through independent environmental
consultant ATC in February
2020 and the below-ground
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
samples were “comparable” to
those taken on the surface.
“We have conducted previous
air quality testing on subway
trains operating in our system and
found no health risks, however,
we will thoroughly review this
study as the safety of customers
and employees is always our highest
priority,” MTA spokesman
Tim Minton said. “The subways
are part of New York City, which
is designated by USEPA as an area
that includes elevated levels of
the same size particulates identifi
ed in the NYU study. Notably,
study researchers sampled the
equivalent of 0.6% of the system
– just three of 472 stations and
four trains from close to 1,000
that move through NYC Transit
every day. The MTA is currently
piloting technology solutions, as
a result of pandemic-related innovation,
that will further enhance
fi ltration in subway cars.”
The MTA noted that the
Knorr-Merak and CASPR fi ltration
systems are being piloted in
the subway system and that the
average wait times for trains, contrary
to the NYU study’s claims,
are lower than the average 15
minutes noted by researchers.
Protesters block Midtown traffic with makeshift
house as they demand tax on richest New Yorkers
BY DEAN MOSES
Protesters brought traffi c to
a screeching halt outside
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
offi ce in Midtown Manhattan
Thursday afternoon with a makeshift
house that served to plead
their case for a tax hike on the
wealthiest New Yorkers.
Demonstrators constructed
the façade of a house by drilling
and hammering plywood together
before transporting the hefty
structure outside of Cuomo’s
offi ce at 633 3rd Avenue, where
they brought Midtown traffi c to a
standstill (on the corner of 40th
Street and 3rd Avenue).
Protesters fl anked both sides
of this housing veneer, brandishing
banners and raising fi sts,
gridlocking incoming cars with
their own bodies. They used the
stunt to amplify their call for a
tax increase on the rich to help
build a post-pandemic New York,
including ending homelessness.
Jawanza Williams led the protest to the center of the roadway.
For over an hour, the group
of about 50 individuals chanted
“Tax the rich!” and held speeches
in the middle of the roadway
while irate drivers honked and
cursed the rally.
To ensure their demands were
both audibly and visually comprehendible,
they also took spray
cans and tagged their makeshift
house with “End homelessness”
and “House NY.”
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Deeming Cuomo a “liar”
whom, they claimed, only panders
to his wealthy constituents, speakers
demanded change.
“Homelessness is at unparalleled
heights. It was before
COVID-19, and overdose deaths
are even higher than they were
in 2019. They are promising future
deaths that are preventable,
overdose is promising future
experiences of homelesssness if
we do not continue to invest in
our people,” said Jawanza Williams,
a member of Vocal NY to
the growing crowd of protesters.
The campaign “Invest in Our
New York Act” advocates for six
bills that propose tax increases for
the inordinately affl uent, such as
millionaires, billionaires, CEOs,
and major corporations.
Vocal New York charged that
the most affl uent New Yorkers
can handle a tax increase. They
cited a study by Americans for
Tax Fairness which found that
the state’s richest residents raked
in more than $87 billion in 2020
despite the hardships others faced
during a year marred by the COVID
19 pandemic.
The Invest in Our New York
Act, which the protesters support,
promises to generate $50 billion
in revenue through ending tax
breaks on the rich.
“The corporations have
benefi ted from the four years
of the Trump administration’s
disregard for the vast majority
of the people in this country,”
Williams said, adding, “What we
are here to do today is to make
sure that Governor Cuomo, that
the legislators, that anybody in
New York State understands that
ending homelessness and ending
overdose will only happen if we
are actually are able to pay for
the common sense policies, like
the Housing Access Voucher
program that costs $500 million
a year that would house thousands
upon thousands of people
experiencing homlessness across
our state.”
Every motorist from taxi drivers
and mail trucks to public
buses were stranded in place,
some drivers fruitlessly attempting
to plead with the group to
grant them passage.
In a matter of minutes, NYPD
offi cers arrived on the scene.
While they forcibly moved protesters
to allow MTA vehicles to
pass, they permitted the overall
action to continue to take place,
redirecting traffic down 2nd
Avenue. No arrests were made.
The Villager (USPS 578930) ISSN 0042-6202 Copyright © 2021 by Schneps Media is published weekly by Schneps Media, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. 52 times a year. Business and Editorial Offices: One Metrotech
North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Accounting and Circulation Offices: Schneps Media, One Metrotech North, 10th floor Brooklyn, NY 11201. Call 718-260-2500 to subscribe. Periodicals postage prices is paid at New York, N.Y.
Postmaster: Send address changes to The Villager, One Metrotech North, 10th floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Annual subscription by mail in Manhattan and Brooklyn $29 ($35 elsewhere). Single copy price at office and newsstands is $1. The entire contents of newspaper, including advertising, are copyrighted and no part may be reproduced without
the express permission of the publisher - © 2021 Schneps Media.
4 February 18, 2021 Schneps Media