This is a letter of support to the Chair of the Economic Development Committee, CM Farias, as well as the Speaker's office, for a hearing about Intro 1050.

As a Title I school, P.S. 15 Patrick F. Daly Magnet School for the Arts has already been identified as economically disadvantaged.  It is the only public elementary school in the neighborhood, with a student population of 421 children ranging in age between 2 and 11.  The majority of our student body reside in NYCHA housing and over 80% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. More recently, our school has also welcomed a significant number of refugee families, many of whom look to the school for safety and guidance. Red Hook as a community has a long and sordid history of being systematically marginalized, and our children deserve better. 

Multiple times a week, a cruise ship docks at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal (or BCT) in Red Hook, a few hundred yards from P.S. 15.  These cruise ships, when docked and running on diesel fuel, emit the equivalent amount of air pollution as 34,000 idling trucks.  Averaging roughly 3 times a week, that is around 100,000 idling trucks very close to P.S.15 each week, all year round.  This is unacceptable.

There is, however, an easy solution to this problem: we need to pass Intro 1050. Intro 1050 would require ships to use shore power, instead of running off of diesel fuel.  It would also include community traffic mitigation plans to help reduce the increased traffic, noise and pollution brought in by the cruises.  In this petition, we are not asking for cruise ships to go away; we understand the industry can have a positive economic impact.  We are simply asking that they dock responsibly!

The PTA has been advised that Intro 1050 is months - if not years - away from being made into law, and in the meantime our school and wider community is breathing heavily polluted air.  According to air sensors directly across the street from P.S. 15, there were 28 days with AQI levels of 50 or more from April-October of 2023; this is at or above levels which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says can be harmful for sensitive groups such as people with asthma.  Data from NYU Langone shows that residents of NYCHA housing in Red Hook have three times the asthma rate as the NYC average.  Our children cannot wait years for cleaner air.

In conclusion, please move forward with a hearing for Intro 1050 as soon as possible.  We are urgently coordinating with other Red Hook schools, childcare centers, and community groups to spread awareness and garner further support for the legislation.  We will also continue working with local air quality monitoring groups to stay vigilant.

There is already a solution in place for this important issue - we ask that the Economic Development Committee take the necessary steps to utilize it. Plug In or Ship Out!