Garbage in the Pine Bush Garbage in the Pine Bush If you had to pick the ideal place to put a landfill, would you choose sand dunes over an aquifer on the site of the breeding ground of an endangered species? I don’t think you would, but the that’s where the City of Albany choose­p;the Pine Bush, right over a significant Karner Blue butterfly site. Save the Pine Bush thought this particular plan to be so tacky that we have…
ALBANY: Debbie Jackson, who works in solid waste reduction and recycling for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, gave real, concrete, specific suggestions for how each of us can reduce the amount of waste we produce at the June Save the Pine Bush Vegan/Vegetarian Lasagna Dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany. Open dumps and burning was the method widely used to dispose of garbage up until the 1980’s until the Mobro brought attention to the solid waste issue….
ALBANY, NY — Mayor Jennings’ new landfill proposal is just as bad as his last proposal, only his new proposal may mean the end of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Mayor Jennings proposes to take 10 acres from the forever wild Albany Pine Bush Preserve and turn it into the landfill. “Land dedicated to the Preserve is forever wild, which means forever wild. Taking land from the Preserve for a dump sets a terrible precedent. Who is to say that…
Garbage in the Pine Bush – City Proposes Landfill Expansion Garbage in the Pine Bush City Proposes Landfill Expansion by Tim Kostoroski The City of Albany continues to treat its most valuable environmental asset, the Albany Pine Bush, like garbage. Literally. After decades of building a mountain of trash in the middle of the Pine Bush, the City is seeking permission, yet again, to expand the landfill in order to add another 10 to 15 years of space. The last…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Resa Dimino, Special Assistant in the DEC Commissioner’s Policy Office spoke about Solid Waste Management Planning at the July SPB dinner at the First Presbyterian Church. Resa Dimino is leading the effort to develop a new State Solid Waste Management Plan in New York State. Her talk focused on the planning the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation is doing on the state level and what DEC will be asking of local planning units as they revise…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Jack Lauber spoke at the February, 2006 vegetarian/vegan lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church in Albany about the safety and feasibility of waste-to-energy. Mr. Lauber is an environmental engineer, who used to work at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. He is very proud of the many incinerators he has shut down for polluting. Mr. Lauber first came to Save the Pine Bush’s attention when he wrote an opinion piece in the Times Union last…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, a movie by Heather Rogers, was shown at the April vegetarian/vegan lasagna dinner. Afterwards, I moderated a discussion of the movie and garbage. In my travels and listening about the garbage issue, I have noticed that no one wants a landfill near them. However, I observe some statistics I learned from the movie and the book of the same name: each person in the US produces an average of…
by Lynne Jackson ALBANY: Albany City Commission of the Department of General Services Willard (Bill) Bruce spoke at the May Save the Pine Bush dinner. Mr. Bruce began by showing slides of how landfills are constructed. He emphasized that the Rapp Road landfill is not just a dump, it is a highly-engineered structure and there is a great deal of infrastructure in the landfill. Components of the landfill He began with a photo of the electrical generation system which produces…
ALBANY: The City of Albany has a serious problem: where to throw the garbage. If the City follows the law, and does the right thing, they will not be able to expand the current landfill in the Pine Bush. City officials all seem to want to do the right thing, except when it comes to challenging the garbage. Face it: no one wants a landfill in their neighborhood. No one. Ask anyone, no one wants a landfill next door. No…
by Tom Ellis In 2005, SPB joined forces with the Citizens Environmental Coalition (CEC) and Selkirk-Ravena-Coeymans Against Pollution (SCRAP) to successfully block the siting of a large regional landfill by the city of Albany on a 363-acre parcel Albany now owns in the town of Coeymans (ten miles south of Albany). Now a new struggle is unfolding. Coeymans has a law that bans solid waste imports into the town; it was enacted in 1995 after it became clear the city of Albany was serious in…
For Immediate Release: January 25, 2006 For Further Information, contact Lynne Jackson ALBANY, NY — Mayor Jennings’ new landfill proposal is just as bad as his last proposal, only his new proposal may mean the end of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Mayor Jennings proposes to take 10 acres from the forever wild Albany Pine Bush Preserve and turn it into the landfill. “Land dedicated to the Preserve is forever wild, which means forever wild. Taking land from the Preserve…
Ladies and gentlemen of the Common Council, my name is Lynne Jackson. I live in Albany and I am a volunteer for Save the Pine Bush. I am here tonight to comment on legislation that the Common Council will pass tonight, dedicating the Fox Run Mobile Home Park land to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. This legislation is a prime example of why the City administration and the members of the Albany Common Council should listen to the citizens of…
January 25, 2006 Dear Pine Bush Supporters: Mayor Jennings has proposed to take land dedicated to the Albany Pine Bush Preserve as forever wild out of the Preserve for the landfill expansion. We need to stop this now, and the only way to do it is for many people to call Assemlbyman Jack McEneny and NYS Senator Neil Breslin and ask that no land be removed from the Preserve and made into a landfill. Call: The Honorable John McEneny at…
Recent Court Cases State Employees Federal Credit Union Save the Pine Bush Wins – SEFCU To Move Away, Feb/Mar 02 Avila House Senior Housing, located behind Teresian House on Washington Avenue Extension Save the Pine Bush Sues Over Senior Housing in the Pine Bush – Proposed Project to be built behind Teresian House, Dec 01/Jan 02 Save the Pine Bush – Loses Teresian House Case, May/June 02 Charlie Touhey & 300 Washington Avenue Extension Save the Pine Bush Loses a…
Polish Community Center Washington Ave. Ext. Albany Everyone who is concerned about the Pine Bush Must Attend!!! ALBANY: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will hold one public hearing about the proposed landfill expansion on December 3. This is the only hearing that will be held on the proposed expansion. This is your only chance to tell the City and the DEC what you think of destroying 20 acres of Pine Bush for more trash. Supporters of the…
For Immediate Release: June 25, 2001 ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush filed an appeal to the State of New York Appellate Division, Third Department over the Albany County Supreme Court’s ruling to approve the expansion of the Albany Landfill in the Pine Bush. Save the Pine Bush is appealing on the grounds that the permit approval was illegal because the Department of Environmental Conservation’s authority to grant a variance expired on Dec 31, 1995. Lewis B. Oliver, Jr. filed…
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2009 🦋 2008 🦋 2007 🦋 2006 🦋 2005 🦋 2004 🦋 2003 🦋 2002 🦋 2001 🦋 2000 2009 October/November 2009 – Download printable PDF version Bringing Back Sustainable Karner Blue Populations, October/November, 2009 September Biogas Talk, October/November, 2009 Buckmoth Monitoring, October/November, 2009 Neither a Borrower or a Lender Be, October/November, 2009 Pesticide Reductions Won at Albany Common Council – We can fight City Hall and Win!, October/November, 2009…
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2019 🦋 2018 🦋 2017 🦋 2016 🦋 2015 🦋 2014 🦋 2013 🦋 2012 🦋 2011 🦋 2010 2019 Newsletter 🦋 December/January 2019-20 Newsletter Download printable PDF version Listen to the Podcasts Merton Simpson — Fighting Environmental Racial Injustice, December/January 2019 Air Pollution in Albany’s South End, December/January 2019 Dunn Landfill — Stinks Up the School; Parents and Residents Protest, December/January 2019 Proposals in the Pine Bush December/January 2019…
2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 1999 🦋 1998 🦋 1997 🦋 1996 🦋 1995 🦋 1994 1999 December 1999, January 2000 Garbage in the Pine Bush – City Proposes Landfill Expansion SPB Files Most Unpopular Suit Yet – Sues the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally Thank You to All Who Responded to the Emergency Appeal 1st Annual Pine Bush Walk-a-Thon a Sucess! October/November, 1999 Save the Pine Bush Sues…
Speakers Include: Neil Seldman, Institute of Local Self Reliance Professor Paul Connett, International Waste Management Researcher Majora Carter, Environmental Justice Leader, Founder Sustainable South Bronx Barbara Warren, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition Why do we have so much garbage? What can we do to prevent it? Looking at the trash question as a resource issue and a problem of industrial design is ushering in bold alternatives to leaking landfills and polluting incinerators in forward-thinking cities and countries around the world. What can…
By Dominick Calsolaro, June/July 2021 Save the Pine Bush Newsletter ALBANY: In April, Waste Management of New York, Inc, (WM) informed residents of Albany’s South End that it was again asking the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to approve a solid waste permit modification to allow WM to accept municipal solid waste (MSW) at its transfer station located in the Port of Albany. The facility is about 1,000 feet from Ezra Prentice Homes. MSW is putrescible waste, in other words,…
by Grace Nichols Earth Day Season began with a Teach-In by the Black Caucus of PEF (Public Employees Federation) at the Albany Public Library (on April 16th) about the environmental injustice done to the Sheridan Hollow community in Albany, NY. Sheridan Hollow is named for its location down a ravine that’s across the street from the State Capitol, centered along Sheridan Avenue. It also has a history of being Albany’s energy producer, having begun producing energy by burning coal at…
ALBANY: Mindy Whisenhunt and her daughter Alex spoke at the October Save the Pine Bush vegetarian lasagna dinner at the First Presbyterian Church. They have made two trips to the landfill outside of Guatemala City to volunteer with and organization called Camino Seguro or Safe Passage that helps the children of people who eke out an existence picking recyclables from the Guatemala City landfill. Volunteers such as Mindy and Alex go to Safe Passage for a week at a time….
ALBANY: Mark you calendars, Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00 PM at the Polish Community Center, DEC will conduct a public hearing on the City of Albany’s proposal to expand the landfill into the Pine Bush (see other announcement on page 4). For two decades, DEC and the City have been promising not to expand the landfill any more in the Pine Bush. Clearly, the government has failed the people and gone back on their promises. A bone is being tossed…
ALBANY, NY: At our February Save the Pine Bush dinner, two speakers, Keith Schue and Ward Stone, spoke about how toxic pollutants continue to impact the Sheridan Hollow neighborhood in Albany and how it might get even worse. Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) had planned to install a new Gas Power Plant in Downtown Albany at the old Sheridan plant, built in 1911, and still operates with steam from electricity derived from fracked gas shipped…
by Tom Ellis Throwing food waste into landfills creates greenhouse gases, which significantly contribute to global warming and takes up space in Albany’s Rapp Road landfill. Since Albany’s landfill was built in protected Pine Bush habitat, this is an especial problem. If you live in the City of Albany, you can reduce greenhouse gases and divert waste from Albany’s overburdened landfill, while at the same time supporting a local non-profit and ecologically regenerative micro-industry, by joining the Radix Center’s Community…
Dear All, This is an important event to attend. I hope to see everyone tomorrow! Sincerely, Lynne Jackson For Save the Pine Bush Date: Thursday April 22Time: 4:00 PMLocation: in front of Cong. Paul Tonko’s office, Dove and Washington, Albany NYWhat: Demand Climate Action Climate change groups in the Capital District will observe Earth Day (April 22) with a rally in front of Congressman Paul Tonko’s office in Albany to become a climate champion. The colorful events – The Tides are Rising and…
In celebration of the centenary of Vladimir Nabokov’s birth, Kurt Johnson and Steve Coats wrote Nabokov’s Blues, about Nabokov’s passion for butterflies and scientific investigations into blue butterflies. Our own Karner Blue butterfly has its own chapter called “Dancing with Fire” in the book. Here is a brief excerpt which describes Nabokov’s feelings for the Karner Blue. “Nabokov developed a deep, lifelong affection for this [the Karner Blue Butterfly]. In 1975, when he found out that The New York Times…
ALBANY: The NYS Appellate Division dismissed Save the Pine Bush case’s case suing the Town of Clifton Park Planning Board over a proposed development on Wood Road that is occupied Karner Blue. The Court said Save the Pine Bush does not have standing or the right to bring the case to court. Save the Pine Bush lawyer, Peter Henner, said of the case: “I am very disappointed by the court’s ruling. Although it has become very difficult for any environmental…
Nabokov’s Blues Save the Pine Bush Sues City of Albany and Department of Environmental Conservation Over Illegal Landfill in the Pine Bush ALBANY, NY: Save the Pine Bush filed suit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the City of Albany over the permit approval for the City of Albany P-4 landfill expansion on Rapp Road. Save the Pine Bush is suing on the grounds that the permit approval was illegal because the authority to grant a…
Even Environmentalists Have a Sense of Humor Even Environmentalists Have a Sense of Humor A sense of humor is essential to surviving the rigors of being an activist and fighting one of the oldest political machines in the U.S. Have you ever heard of the Ladies Against Women? I understand the group was formed to follow Phyllis Schaffly around at her speeches and ask her for her cookie and cake recipes. They have a way of poking fun at just…
ALBANY — Those squiggly compact fluorescent light bulbs are being touted as an easy solution to save energy and fight global warming. But there are drawbacks: The bulbs contain toxic mercury, and so far there is no easy way to recycle them. In the Capital Region, homeowners are being encouraged to keep burned-out CFL bulbs until local hazardous waste recycling days, although state law allows homeowners to throw bulbs into the regular trash. "If a resident calls me now, I…
Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush Walk, Hike, and Bike the Pine Bush The Pine Bush is a beautiful place to walk. The soft, rolling sand dunes are a walker’s dream. You can take a bus to the Pine Bush from downtown Albany. The Pine Bush is the perfect spot for outdoor activities. Save the Pine Bush sponsors walks almost every month of the year. Join us! – Ed. Announcing Albany’s Newest Bicycle Path by Jerry Mueller, Mar./Apr. 91…
ALBANY: Dr. Roland Kays, Mammalogist with the New York State Museum, explained to a large, appreciative Save the Pine Bush audience, why carnivores are important to ecosystems. Carnivores have a Òtop downÓ effect on ecosystems. For example, wolves eat moose, who eat plants. A change in the number of wolves will affect a change in the number of moose, which changes the vegetation in the ecosystem. Or, coyotes are known to eat cats. The population of coyotes has an effect…
Politics and Garbage – That Sweet Smell Politics and Garbage That Sweet Smell By Daniel Van Riper A Bigger Dump Believe it or not, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings wants to expand the City Dump in the Pine Bush on Rapp Road. He’s given up on the idea of throwing the city’s trash onto a farm down in Coeymans and wants to take another 15 to 20 acres out of the Pine Bush and make a new garbage pile. More…
The Two Month Debate – Jennings and McEneny In A Death-Grip The Two Month Debate Jennings and McEneny In A Death-Grip By Daniel Van Riper Part 1: The Challenger State Assemblyman and Albany mayoral candidate Jack McEneny found himself being interviewed by the editors of the local media outlet for the Hearst Corporation, the Times Union. After the usual questions they asked him, "How do you get along with the business community?" " Well," said McEneny, "I have a number…
Remember The Elections? Be Thankful We Still Have Them Remember The Elections? Be Thankful We Still Have Them By Daniel Van Riper It’s been 3 months since the November elections, time enough to assess the damage . . . and look forward to more! Here’s a quick roundup, and boy is it partisan: Bond Act Boondoggle More than a few folks were puzzled by Save the Pine Bush’s lack of an endorsement for the Environmental Bond Act, especially since it…
Save the Pine Bush Loses First Round on Landfill Save the Pine Bush Loses First Round on Landfill Clean Water takes a Dive to Garbage Albany, NY – Save the Pine Bush lost its challenge to the expansion of the Albany City Landfill in the Pine Bush in Supreme Court in October. The Judge ruled that the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation has the discretion to allow a landfill to be constructed over the principal aquifer in the…
Jennings Makes A Dump – Plans To Defile Pine Bush Jennings Makes A Dump Plans To Defile Pine Bush By Daniel Van Riper Current Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, recklessly violating mitigation agreements from eight years ago, is pushing for an expansion of the Albany Dump that will sacrifice 25 acres of Pine Bush land. The new mountain of garbage, already christened “Jenning’s Pile,” will eventually be over 440 feet high and have incalculable negative impact on bordering Pine Bush…
John Wolcott Versus The Dump – Skewering An Inane Document John Wolcott Versus The Dump Skewering An Inane Document By John Wolcott Editor’s Note: Save the Pine Bush board member and dedicated enemy of deception John Wolcott has provided a blow by blow commentary on the "Summary of the 2nd Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Extension of the Albany Interim Landfill". This is the legal paperwork required before the City of Albany can start throwing trash and…
They Have Their Niche Memo From The PB Commission They Have Their Niche Memo From The PB Commission By Daniel Van Riper What is the Albany Pine Bush Commission, where did it come from, and what does it do for the Pine Bush? Back in 1989 Save the Pine Bush filed suit to stop the 25 acre expansion of the Albany Pine Bush Dump, which is euphemistically referred to by officials as "the landfill." Because the State of New York…
by Claire Nolan ALBANY: We had three hikers join us for a chilly pre-Holiday stroll along the recently re-routed “Yellow Trail” behind the Pine Bush Discovery Center. Two more joined us for a mountain bike ride on the same trail. The two mountain bikers are students at UAlbany who came to the Pine Bush all the way from Japan. As you may remember, the Pine Bush Commission decided to re-route the trails to eliminate the inner loops. Instead of…
Friday, 17 May 2013 By Melissa Hale-Spencer GUILDERLAND — A mountain of garbage formed the backdrop Tuesday as clusters of eager students learned how to gauge life returning to a once-barren sandy plain. The land is being reclaimed by the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Farnsworth Middle School students, taught by Alan Fiero, who for 15 years has developed hands-on science projects in the Pine Bush, are in the vanguard “It’s a pilot project. We hope to do it with other…
By Daniel Van Riper Karner Blue Conspiracy Recently some crank (who deserves to remain nameless) wrote a letter to the independent weekly newspaper The Altamont Enterprise claiming that the Karner Blue Butterfly is not native to the Pine Bush, and was planted there by environmentalists, government agents and other liberal conspirators conspiring to “take” land away from the rightful owners. In response, the Enterprise was flooded with letters from all sorts of folks who wanted to set this dingaling straight…
Save the Pine Bush Sues Albany Common Council Over Illegal Office Complex The Portland Plan – A Better Way To Grow By Daniel Van Riper Back in 1979, the City of Portland, Oregon and some nearby municipalities drew a line around their developed areas. They mandated that all new construction must take place inside this line and all undeveloped land outside must remain farmland, greenspace or preserve. Twenty years later, planners Martin Hull and Marian Hull traveled all the…
At the March dinner, SPB welcomed Aaron Mair of the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corp., to speak about environmental justice. We learn something every day. We learn how dynamically we are all linked, our species, all human beings are linked to each other. We are also learning about unfortunate tradeoffs as well. Like sprawl. Sprawl is the unorganized growth, the unplanned growth of human settlements. Smart growth is organizing space. Accelerators of sprawl include new roads and widening old roads,…
A recent date to speak about Nabokov’s blues in Albany, New York — the state’s capital — afforded me a chance to visit what is left of old “Karner”, New York. Karner is the little hamlet that, in common parlance, has attached its name to Nabokov’s famous endangered species Lycaeides melissa samuelis, the “Karner Blue”. Karner got the nod for samuelis’s common name because Nabokov chose specimens of samuelis from Karner for his type series (the specimens he used…
Vote Primary Day – Tuesday, September 15, Noon to 9:00 pm ALBANY: Six candidates for Albany City-wide races came to speak at the August Save the Pine Bush dinner. Four city-wide seats are up this year (as well as the entire Common Council). Running for Mayor – Corey Ellis; for treasurer – Kathy Sheehan; for Common Council President – Carolyn McLaughlin and Lenny Ricchiuti; and for auditor – Leif Engstrom and Darius Shahinfar. Jerry Jennings, running for his fifth…
Summarized by Grace Nichols ALBANY: At the May Save the Pine Bush lasgana dinner at the First Presbyterian Church, NY State Wildlife Pathologist Ward Stone gave a talk summarizing our recent discoveries of pesticide use in the Pine Bush by both the City of Albany at the Rapp Road Landfill and Pine Bush Police and Fire Station and placing it in the context of his 39 years of work with Rezsin Adams, Lew Oliver and other leaders of the Save…
BETHLEHEM: What is the future of garbage in the ANSWERS community? Come to a Solid Waste Management Plan Steering Committee to find out! The SWMP (pronounced “swamp” — isn’t that a wonderful acronym?) has met three times now. At the last meeting, held in the Bethlehem Town Hall, the City’s consultant, Clough Harbor, presented a powerpoint presentation which included an examination of Waste-to-Energy facilities or, as they are usually known as, incinerators. The meetings are chaired by Willard Bruce,…