WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MARCH 1, 2018 15
Melissa Sklarz to run for Assembly seat
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
With 15 years of experience
serving the Democratic
party in a number of roles,
Melissa Sklarz is making history by
running against Assemblyman Brian
Barnwell in the 2018 primary.
Sklarz officially announced her
candidacy on Feb. 20, becoming the
fi rst transgender person to run for
the District 30 seat, which covers
parts of Woodside, Maspeth, Middle
Village, Astoria, Long Island City and
Sunnyside. At 67 years old, Sklarz said
she had been thinking about running
for offi ce for a long time, but the 2016
presidential election was a “call to
arms” for her and many progressives,
she said.
“I realized this is no time to be on
the sidelines,” Sklarz said in a press
release. “With our transportation
network in crisis, the assault on New
Yorkers with the Trump budget that
slashes billions in federal assistance
to vital programs, and women still
lacking proper representation, I am
determined to make sure all voices
are heard in Albany.”
Sklarz fi rst started on her political
journey in 1999 when she was elected
as a delegate to the Democratic Party’s
Manhattan Judicial Convention, becoming
the fi rst transgender person
to be elected to any position in the
city. From there, she went on to be
appointed to the Democratic National
Convention Credentials Committee
in 2004, the Rules Committee in 2008,
the Credentials Committee again in
2012 and then served as a delegate to
the Convention in 2016. Sklarz is also
a member of the U.S Electoral College.
In an interview with QNS on Feb.
26, the longtime transgender activist
said she believes the time is right for
her Assembly campaign because she
has good relationships throughout
the Democratic party, and her life
experiences help her to better represent
the people of the district than her
opponent.
“My story really shows someone
who has struggled and won and lost
and bounced back from diffi culties
and problems, and I’m able to stand
now as a homeowner,” Sklarz said.
That wasn’t always the case, as
Sklarz was homeless at one point
during her life; she also worked as
a truck driver. She has a degree in
political science from SUNY Buffalo
and has worked as an office
manager and an accountant. She
has owned a home now for more
than 11 years in Woodside and
draws on those past experiences
when thinking of ways to address
transportation and homelessness
in the district.
Sklarz hopes to have a significant
impact on transportation within
the Assembly by making sure the
taxpayers’ money gets put back into
resources that directly benefit the
taxpayers, she said. When it comes
to homelessness, she is a supporter
of permanent affordable housing
and strengthening rental protections,
and she also believes that it’s
important to stay connected with
the community because “people that
live there may have better ideas.”
Originally scheduled to take
place on Sept. 11, there is a push to
change the primary election date
to Sept. 13 in observance of Rosh
Hashanah and the 17th anniversary
of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Sklarz
DEP completes Newtown Creek sewer upgrades
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
One of New York City’s most polluted
waterways will become
much cleaner thanks to the
completion of a major sewer upgrade
in Queens and Brooklyn.
On Feb. 20, Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Vincent Sapienza announced
that a $42 million project to build
litter capture devices in the sewer
system near Newtown Creek has been
completed. The capture devices were
installed at four key locations in Long
Island City, Maspeth, Bushwick and
East Williamsburg where the sewer
system can discharge into the creek.
“Cleaning up Newtown Creek is
one of our top priorities and this $42
million investment will help to capture
trash and debris and ensure that it does
not foul the waterway,” Sapienza said in
a statement. “As we continue to work to
raise public awareness of the problems
associated with litter, we look forward
to partnering with elected offi cials, environmental
groups and residents on
many other projects that will further
improve the health of Newtown Creek.”
The in-sewer capture devices include
fi xed baffl es and bending weirs
to capture fl oating litter and direct
it to a wastewater treatment plant
where it can be removed and sent to
a landfi ll. The DEP installed similar
devices along the Bronx River and
the Gowanus Canal that have captured
more than 500 tons of litter and debris
over the past several years.
According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, previous samples
taken from Newtown Creek have
included a variety of hazardous
substances like pesticides, metals,
polychlorinated biphenyls and volatile
organic compounds. In 2010, the creek
was added to the National Priorities
List and designated as a Superfund site.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez,
who worked at the federal level to
secure the Superfund designation for
the creek, said in a statement that she
was proud to see the DEP doing its part.
“I look forward to continued cooperation
across levels of government
to clean up the creek, keep our communities
healthy and our streets
free from wastewater and debris,”
Velazquez said.
State Senator Joe Addabbo, a member
of the New York State Senate
Workers install equipment for capture devices near Newtown Creek.
Environmental Conservation Committee,
also added in a statement that he
was pleased to see the capture devices
up and running.
“This $42 million investment will
help keep garbage and debris out of
Newtown Creek, while protecting our
environment by diverting the captured
litter to a wastewater treatment plant,”
Addabbo said. “I am thrilled to see Newtown
Creek’s condition improve even
further thanks to eff orts such as this.”
A local organization that has been
advocating for the restoration of
Newtown Creek since 2002 is hoping
to continue its work with the new
devices in mind.
“Marine debris and plastic pollution
is a longstanding problem within
Photo courtesy of DEP via Flickr
Newtown Creek and we applaud this
overdue investment by DEP to keep
trash out of the waterway,” said Willis
Elkins, program manager for the
Newtown Creek Alliance. “We look
forward to working with the city to
monitor the impact of the upgrade and
to push for similar improvements on
other sewer and stormwater outfalls
throughout the creek.”
The Newtown Creek Alliance
launched an informational series in
January called SUPERFUN/D to help
inform and engage the communities
surrounding the creek so they can
learn about the ongoing efforts to
preserve it. The next SUPERFUN/D
event will be held in Ridgewood at the
Windjammer Bar from 6 to 8 p.m.
