As soon as the new year starts, so do the efforts to get our waterfront ports leans and green. Read below for details about a rally for “Shore Power” led by our local Councilman Brad Lander and State Senator Daniel Squadron. In spite of a gimmicky ‘surgical mask’ idea to highlight the current pollution, the matter is serious and could go a long way to making Cobble Hill and it’s neighboring communities much cleaner.

Photo by Joshua Kristal, http://bit.ly/g9E3Or

Switching to shore power — so that ships can hook up to the electric grid instead of idling their engines in port — would stop tons of unnecessary and life-threatening pollution, which is equal to thousands of cars idling.
The Port Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency have obtained $15 million in funding to build the necessary infrastructure. However, for shore power to become a reality, the Economic Development Corporation, which operates the cruise terminal, Carnival Cruise Lines which uses the terminal, and New York Power Authority, which delivers electricity to the terminal, need to come to a final agreement about the price of electricity.
Join us on Monday to rally for an agreement now, so the work needed to bring shore power to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal can begin and idling cruise ships stop choking Brooklyn!

• What: Tour of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
• When: Monday, January 3rd, noon
• Where: corner of Van Brunt Street and Pioneer Street

Councilmember Lander and Senator Squadron
For more info, check out a comprehensive post on the topic at A View From the Hook as well as this article from the South Brooklyn Post.