LOCAL NEWS
They’re burning mad
Residents call for an end to Stuy Town power plants
BY DEAN MOSES
On Dec. 16, scores of residents
from the luxury living complex
poured onto 16th Street and Avenue
C as they strove to continue their
fi ght against fossil fuel plants in their
neighborhood.
Members of the Stuyvesant Town-
Peter Cooper Village Tenant Association
are sending the governor and other city
and state environmental offi cials their
season’s pleas, telling the story of how
they are being sandwiched between two
fossil fuel plants, along with a batch of
postcards from hundreds of residents
objecting to the power plants being
constructed.
“We have an early Christmas present.
We have hundreds, upon hundreds,
upon hundreds of postcards our tenants
have signed protesting these plants,”
said Susan Steinberg, president of the
Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village
Tenant Association, naming the holiday
protest postcard recipients: Governor
Kathy Hochul, Melanie La Rocca the
Commissioner of the Department of
Buildings, Basil Seggos the Commissioner
of the NYS Department of Environmental
Conservation, and Vincent
Sapienza Commissioner of the Department
of Environmental Protection.
Environmental advocates, tenants and
Scores of residents and elected offi cials gathered to object to the power
plants.
local leaders joined elected offi cials in a
rally outside of a fossil fuel plant on the
corner of 16th Street, where the hulking
structure sticks out like a metallic
sore thumb between two apartment
buildings, 245 and 271, overlooking Con
Edison’s massive power plant.
“I can’t wait for them to open it! These
are the agencies that have the authority
to approve or deny permits for these
plants. We want them and Governor Hochul
to know how unhappy the community
PHOTOS BY DEAN MOSES
is about the power plants,” Steinberg
said, adding, “Why is Blackstone
trying to saddle us with two fossil fuel
burning plants? They are so proud of
their reputation for being green, but this
is a blot because, as far as I’m concerned,
the only thing green here is money.”
Since the plans were fi rst unveiled in
2018, residents have argued that they
will not only be sandwiched between
three power stations, but the two latest
constructs will burn natural gas, reduce
air quality, and add harmful emissions.
They charge Blackstone — the property
management — for putting profi ts before
their residents’ lives.
Steinberg also shared that this rally
comes on the heels of a New York City
Council vote to ban natural gas in new
buildings, and she believes the plants are
simply commercial facilities that benefi t
Blackstone over the residents.
When the plans were fi rst announced,
it was said that these facilities would combine
both heat and power as a CHP plant,
providing steam for 24 buildings throughout
the residential complex. But members
of the tenant association claim this is not
the case, but rather a cost-effective method
for Blackstone to save money on steam
and the electricity generated will go back
to Con Edison to use as necessary.
“This so-called combined heating
plan or CHP is being sold as environmentally
friendly. This is simply untrue.
As a city, state, and nation we need to be
moving away from these climate-killing
technologies. Not doubling down on
more investments in fossil fuel facilities
like this one,” said Congress Member
Carolyn Maloney.
In attendance at the rally were Council
Member Keith Powers, Congress
Member Carolyn Maloney, State Senator
Brad Holyman, and Assembly Member
Harvey Epstein who have all voiced their
concern and state that power plants do
not belong in residential neighborhoods.
“We don’t want these plants in our
neighborhood. We have a power plant
that we can all see right across the
street,” Powers said, “I’m asking our
management company, Blackstone, that
I think have been good partners with us
and have done a much better job than
some of their predecessors, to be fair.
Be a good partner with us. Don’t make
us go to the city agencies. Listen to the
community. Listen to your residents and
constituents and pull the plans for the
CHP and you could do it today before
it goes to any city agency, any approval
process, or make us fi ght.”
In response to the rally, a spokesperson
for StuyTown & Peter Cooper Village
released this statement:
“Beam Living is committed to making
StuyTown more sustainable, and
our combined heat and power (CHP)
project is the next step towards that
objective. Very simply, CHP is good for
our community and good for our planet.
It will allow us to supply our 30,000
residents’ heat and hot water – even
during a power failure – while at the
same time reducing global greenhouse
emissions. Government energy experts
recognize that CHP is the best next
step on the sustainability journey for
communities of our size. It has already
proven its value in hospitals, university
campuses, and other large buildings
throughout NYC. We are working to
bring this important energy-effi cient
and resilient technology here, and we
will continue to keep the community
informed.”
Schneps Media December 23, 2021 3