City Floats Bill to Pave Way for
Filter Plant The
Feb. 8 New York State Court of Appeals ruling that gave cheer to local
opponents of the city's plans to build a 28-acre water filtration plant in
Van Cortlandt Park did not close the door to building the facility in the
park. It only stated that the city must first get the permission of the
state legislature. And
though getting that permission is probably a longshot at best, the city is
apparently shopping a bill around the state legislature looking for
sponsors. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a staunch opponent of plans to
construct the plant in the Bronx, provided a copy of the legislation to
the Norwood News. Dinowitz
maintained his assertion that such a bill is unlikely to go anywhere,
because he has the assurance of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver that,
since the park is in Dinowitz' district, he will be deferred to on the
matter. Dinowitz
said that even if the city were able to find a sponsor for the bill, it
would have to be assigned a bill number, a committee, and be voted out of
committee. "I just don't expect any of that to happen," Dinowitz said. The
city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) acknowledged they had
sent a bill to Albany, but would not comment further. "An appropriate bill
for the Mosholu site has been submitted to both houses of the legislature,"
said Geoffrey Ryan, a DEP spokesman.
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