Flushing, NY – City Council Member Peter Koo today joined with environmental advocacy groups to announce “All Hands on Deck!” a Flushing Waterways Community Visioning Workshop.
The workshop seeks to create a cohesive community vision for the Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay. The state is currently considering a Long Term Control Plan to manage combined sewage overflows, and now is an opportune time to engage stakeholders in imagining and designing a future that provides greater opportunities for restoration, remediation, resilience and recreation with respect to Flushing’s waterways.
CM Koo stated, “Flushing’s waterfronts store a world of potential, but that promise goes unrealized every time it rains. Raw sewage overflows directly into the waterways creating a toxicity that is bad for our environment and our quality of life. The city must take a stronger stance on cleaning up Flushing’s waterways, so we’re asking for our community to get involved. I encourage everyone who cares about the future of Flushing to come to this visioning workshop because the Flushing Creek and Bay are a part of the very foundation on which we live. If the Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay are not healthy, then our community is not healthy. Our health, and our children’s health, depends on a clean environment.”
Sean Dixon, Staff Attorney at Riverkeeper, stated, “Flushing Bay and Flushing Creek are two of the most historic waterways of New York City, hosting two World Fairs and decades of commitment to providing open space to our communities. Unfortunately, over time, the Flushing Waterways have fallen behind the times – with pollution and neglect – presenting our community with a vital opportunity to help shape the vision of how we want our waterways to be rebuilt and reengaged in the decades to come.”
Korin Tangtrakul, Coordinator at Guardians of Flushing Bay, stated, “Guardians of Flushing Bay is thrilled to have this opportunity to bring our voices together to envision a clean and healthy Flushing Bay. As active users of the waterway, we’ve been fighting for pollution reduction and remediation of Flushing Bay, and this visioning process brings our fight to the forefront.”
The workshop will take place on Friday, June 23rd from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Queens Museum. Translation services will be available.
RSVP on Eventbrite: allhandsondeckflushingwaterways.eventbrite.com
Photo caption: Sean Dixon, Riverkeeper, Cody Herrmann, Riverkeeper, CM Koo, Chrissy Remein, Riverkeeper, Korin Tangtrakuul, Guardians of Flushing Bay
Source: Office of City Council Member Peter Koo
Aric Chen
Editor