Citizen's policy guide to environmental priorities for New York City, 1974-1984 Interim report

[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

05765

Coastal Zone
Information
Center

CITIZEN'S POLICY GUIDE TO

ENVIRONMENTAL
PRIORITIES FOR FEB 3 1976
NEW YORK CITY
1974-1984

COASTAL ZONE
INFORMATION CENTER

INTERIM REPORT

HC
108
.N7
C59
1973

COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY - 51 CHAMBERS STREET, N.Y., N.Y. 10007 (212) 566-0990

A CITIZEN'S POLICY GUIDE

E N V I R 0 N M E N T A L P R 1 0 R I T I E S

FOR
NEW YORK CITY

1974-1984

INTERIM REPORT

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NOAA
COASTAL SERVICES CENTER
2234 SOUTH HOBSON AVENUE
CHARLESTON , SC 29405-2413

COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY
PUBLISHED IN NEW YORK, N,Y.
DECEMBER, 1973

Property of CSC Library

THE COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY

The Council is a broadly-based citizens' group affiliated
with the Office of the Mayor and funded through voluntary
contributions of individuals, organizations and corporations.
In presenting this interim report of Environmental Priorities
for New York City, 1974-1984, the Council wishes gratefully
to acknowledge the contributions of members of its Executive
Board and of literally hundreds of others in supplying
priority statements, the basic task force labor, in reviewing
and commenting on findings, and in volunteering their knowledge
and views to assist us in reaching our goals. This publication
is a distillation by the Executive Board of the work and the
thinking of all contributors. It does not necessarily
represent the views of any individual contributor nor of
the Council task forces themselves, and we ask that those
who do not see their own carefully presented views reflected
here read the report with this in mind. Complete task force
reports, supplemented with other useful outside opinion,
will be forthcoming early in 1974. Readers who may wish to
offer their views for consideration by our task forces are
invited to do so through January 31, 1974.

The Council wishes particularly to express its sincerest
appreciation to those foundations and corporations whose
grants and contributions have supported the preparation
of this interim report. They include: The Rockefeller
Foundation, the IBM Foundation, the New York Telephone
Company, the Mobil Foundation, the Reuben H. Donnelly
Corporation, and Brooklyn Union Gas Co. They exercise
no control over the project and bear no responsibility
for its results.

,COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY

Executive Board

Marian S. Heiskell, chairman

Michael Belknap F.W. Murray, III
Corporate Property Investors Chemical Bank

Jerri Buehler Norton Nelson
Queens Envirorffiental Project I New York University

David Danois John 0. Riedl
Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corp. Alley Pond Restoration Cannittee

William Ellinghaus Granville Sewell
New York Telephone Campany Colurrbia University

Donald Elliott Anthony B. Smith
Webster, Sheffield, Fleischmann, Office of the Mayor
Hitchcock & Brookfield
Arthur M. Squires
Thomas H. Fay The City College of New York
Colurrbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
C. Frederick Stoerker
Alexander B. Grannis Kingsborough CaTmunity College
Berle, Butzel & Kass
Edward H. Tuck
Harold Gershinowitz Shearman & Sterling
The Rockefeller University
.Evan Williams
John P. Keith Cobble Hill Association
Regional Plan Association Brooklyn College

George R. LaTrb Ingo Walter
American Conservation Association New York University

David Lenefsky Ruben S. Brown
Attorney at Law Council on the Environment of NYC

iv.

COUNCIL ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF NEW YORK CITY

Council Staff

Ruben S. Brown Steven Hoffnung
Executive Director Staff Noise Specialist

Louise Bryant Omar H. Khalifati
Staff Secretary Special Consultant to
Waste oil Project
Demetrios Cacnis
Computer Specialist, Sonia Maltezou.
Waste Oil Project Staff Economist

Thomas Chan Larissa Maziar
Assistant to Office Manager Secretary to Waste Oil Project

Joan Duddy Patricia Mulvaney
Office Manager Staff Secretary

Michael Gerrard Barry C. Samuel
Assistant to Director of Communications Associate Director

James A. Scott
Director of Communications

TASK FORCES

Special thanks are due the moderators of our task forces,

whose willing determination to elicit the liberal attention

and the best thinking of task force members is responsible for

the progress to date on this study.

Task Force Subject Areas and Moderators

Energy Noise

Harold Gershinowitz Thomas H. Fay
The Rockefeller University Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

Townscape Materials Recovery & Disposal

Edward H. Tuck Ingo Walter
Shearman & Sterling New York University

Pollutants Education

Granville Sewell Gene Euzersky
Columbia University Educational Facilities Lab.

Enforcement Transportation

Alexander B. Grannis John P. Keith
Berle, Butzel & Kass Regional Plan Association

Consultants

Elizabeth Barlow, Editor, "Townscape"

Anne Wright, Content Analyst, priority papers

vi.

CONTENTS

Foreword ii

Executive Board iii

Council Staff iv

Task Forces v

"Bear Us Company" I

Energy Resources and Environmental Quality 6

Transportation 16

Wastes - Recovery and Disposal 27

Pollutants 35

Noise 39

Environmental Education 44

Enforcement and Dispute Settlement 49

Townscape 53

"BEAR US COMPANY"

"You are about to show me shadows of the things
that have not happened, but wiZZ happen in the
time before us.," scrooge pursued. "Ghost of the
Future!...I fear you more than any spectre I have
seen. But as I know your promise is to do me good,
and as I hope to Live to be another man from what
I was, I am prepared to bear you company....If--
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by CharZes Dickens

The winter of 1973 in New York City is one during which

New Yorkers might reflect intensely on Scrooge's vision. That

we are facing a new way of life is apparent in more than the

much-discussed worldwide fuel shortage. The City is faced with

a number of overlapping environmental dangers, only one of

which relates to the.immediate shortages of clean fuels. There

are other, longer-term environmental threats approaching, too.

That is why the Council on the Environment of New York City, in

late Summer, 1973, began this study of priority decisions that

must be made soon by both-citizeris and leaders in New York.

Neither the vision nor the language in our preliminary report

is as sweeping as Dickens' was, though the implications are clear

that we are facing major changes in the way we live.

New Yorkers have been well served over the past decade

in matters of environmental protection: we have a.regulatory

and administrative structure to seek compliance with environ-

mental laws--and we have the laws--that did not exist four

years ago. Our air and surrounding waters are cleaner than before;

our parks and streets are cleaner, better-lighted and better cared

for. In general, questions of environmental protection and planning

are now influences in all major decisions by government and

business leaders. New Yorkers themselves are much better-

informed and more conscious about the real importance of their

environment and what can be done to improve it.

It has been several years since the concept of the

environment burst upon the nation and the City and in a way

many of the advances we have since recorded have brought about

major changes in the nature of our environmental problems

and in the ways they should be anticipated and met. It became

apparent to the Council's Executive Board early in 1973 that

Americans were seeing important and hard-won environmental

progress lost through a number of organized attacks on the

country's natural and environmental resources. The nature of

the battle for environmental protection was changing and it

seemed a good moment for a body like this to stand back, take

stock and re-assess.

The Council on the Environment of New York City was

established by Mayor John V. Lindsay in 1970 and was assigned

by Executive Order of the Mayor to advise his office on

environmental questions and serve as liaison with environmentally-

concerned organizations and individuals concerned about m aking

New York City more liveable. The Council has published other

citizen research reports in the intervening years, notably

studies of the economics of recycling and the effectiveness of

the National Park Service programs in New York City, and is

currently addressing resource recovery from waste oil in the

metropolitan region, noise problems in schools, and the development

of effective block and tenant associations to facilitate neigh-

borhood environmental care.

This booklet is a preliminary report to the public on the

findings of our environmental priorities study, with recommendations

on action or planning which should begin now in order to forestall

11crisis" proportions in environmental problems which yet will

confront us, in the words of one contributor, "as surely as the

next tide will come.in." Some are problems whose effects may be

felt only in the long term; it is nevertheless urgent that we

begin to confront them now.

Full reports from our Executive Board and from our present

group of eight task forces will be published early in 1974,

their findings supplemented by contributions from a broad cross-

section of informed persons and organizations within and outside

the City. Some 600 of these were asked to supply their views.

Not every interested organization or individual could be included,

simply because there are so many and the Council staff was limited

in the time and manpower available to the study. The task forces

themselves comprised varying numbers of recognized professionals

and informed laymen from many social, educational and environmental

groups, from business, the professions, government, and from various

neighborhoods of the City. It is the Council's belief that the

resulting reports were indeed typical and broadly representative.

Because the Council and its Executive Board believe that

these deliberations provide an excellent profile of what New York

citizens may rightfully and reasonably expect from their leaders

and from protagonists on all sides of the environmental question,

decision was made to offer this preliminary report in advance of

the complete study. We believe it will be of interest to all

reasonable persons living or working in New York City.

As citizen environmentalists, our contributors were not

required to approach environmental problems from the standpoint

of public budget managers,.though they could not ignore the

vicissitudes of public finance and the public and private

economic impacts of the need to enhance environmental,quality.

Neither were they required to resolve the intricacies of bureau-

cratic politics within or among city, state or federal governments.

They could, and did, we think, help simplify complexities and

provide useful outside perspective to promote positive action

and ease wasteful conflict. They were not required to embrace

any particular established bureaucratic and administrative structure,

program, or activity just because "that's the way we have always

done it" or because it was somebody's pet platform. Yet, citizen

environmentalists should not ignore efforts by public agencies

that have proved to work well in enhancing environmental quality

or conserving environmental resources.

The members of the Executive Board of the Council on the

Environment are seeking a synthesis combining outside opinion and

fact, offered in response to the Council on the Environment's query

with the best current thinking of our task forces, expressed as

clearly as it is in our power to do. We urge readers to consider

it as the work of intelligent and informed persons.who share

common concerns about the future of the quality of life in New

York City.

The competency of this Council, by definition, is limited

to considerations of the City environment. Thus, while

acknowledging that New York City is faced also with myriad

other priority decisions in housing, health, jobs, law

enforcement, and education.- we must leave discussion of

these problems to other groups for other studies.

ENERGY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

In its broad outlines, an energy policy can be formulated

only by the federal government. In detail, however, the prob-

lems of energy supply and usage vary greatly from one region to

another. Since the problems of New York City differ consider-

ably from those of the nation as a whole, New York City should

have an energy policy of its own. It is the responsibility of

both the administration and the citizens of the City of New York

not only to do everything within their own power to balance

their energy requirements against the dangers of deterioration

of the environment, but to make sure that their partic-

ular and special needs are taken into account in the formulation

of state and national policy.

Energy, from its sources to its ultimate uses, is the.

cause of some of the most severe threats to the quality of our

environment. Abundant, readily available, and reasonably

priced energy is essential to our western industrial society.

The truth of these statements has never been more clearly evi-

dent than today. Both the immediate fuel crisis and the

growing pressures to convert to alternative, more polluting fuels,

because of world-wide shortages of clean fuels, are giving rise

to major environmental problems in New York City. Faced with

this, the United States is belatedly trying to develop an

energy policy.

We make no claim to uniqueness or originality for most of

our recommendations. The recently published Third Annual

Report of the Mayor's Interdepartmental Committee on Public

Utilities presents a praiseworthy record of accomplishments

as well as recommendations for further action. our principal

concern in this particular report is with environmental impact

and we have tried to point out the interconnection of the immed-

iate and the longer range problems. The range of activities

and interests represented-by the members of the Executive Board

of the Council has made possible a comprehensive discussion of

the trade-offs that may be required to achieve both an adequate

supply of energy and a healthful and pleasant environment.

A brief discussion of the nature of the problems and

possible solutions is essential to an understanding of both the

intent and content of these recommendations. We shall consider

the problems under three separate but related aspects:

(1) sources of energy, (2) transport and storage of energy,

(3) usage of energy and reduction of demand.

SOURCES OF ENERGY

The sources of energy most desirable at the present time,

namely natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, are depletable

resources. The time when the world-wide rate of discovery of

new reserves will drop below the rate of consumption must now
be measured ion decades rather than in centuries. For the

United States itself, this point may already have been reached.

For coal and shale oil, especially in the United States, the

the prospect is more favorable. The known reserves appear to

be adequate to satisfy our national needs for several centuries.

Uranium is also a depletable resource but developing technolo-

gies give us greater confidence that in the long run mankind

will not perish for lack of energy.

We must make sure, however, that mankind does not perish

from the by-products of the production of usable energy.
Fortunately, the federal government appears to have recognized

the nature of the problems and is proposing to support a long

range research and development program designed to make sure

that our energy reserves can be utilized economically, safely,

and with full regard to environmental protection.

The current energy crisis, therefore, is not one of fuel

reserves. The immediate severity of the crisis, caused by the

embargo on oil exports by the Arab States, is a preview of what

we will have to anticipate in milder form as the world's re-

sources of natural gas and petroleum begin to diminish. This

crisis, painful as its effects may be, is in some respects

beneficial. It forces us to begin at once to take measures

that we might be reluctant to take if the decline in availa-

bility of fuel were to follow a more gradual course towards

ultimate depletion.

The United States, with its large reserves of coal and

shale, is in a more fortunate position than some other parts

of the industrialized world. In order to achieve national

self-sufficiency, it will be necessary to use all our potential

sources of energy. It is our opinion that for some time to

come the environmental hazards involved in the production of

natural gas and petroleum are less than those which would be

encountere&in a rapid switch-back to coal. The sooner New

York City can decide on necessary precautions--likely to be

more stringent than any now in widespread application--against

pollution from nearby oil production and refining, the more

likely such precautions will be undertaken. A completely

negative or passive position will give the City no chance to

have its vital environmental needs taken into account.

This rather optimistic view of long range energy supplies

does not diminish the intensity or severity of the current

crisis, nor does it eliminate the need to act quickly. On the

contrary, any optimism is based on the assumption that we can

act promptly and that the measures we take will eliminate or

reduce the intensity of future crises. Whether one blames the

Arabs the oil companies, the environmentalists, the economic

system or "Washington," the fact remains that there is a real

shortage of available gas, oil, and coal in this country. Only

equitable allocations of available supplies and economies in

the use of energy will see us through the present emergency.

It is with respect to allocation that the differing needs of

different geographic areas become appar ent. Allocation can

not be simply an equitable distribution of the total quantity

of fuel available. The environmental effects of the more

polluting fuels, such as coal or high-sulfur fuel oils, are

much more serious in New York City than in other regions.

10.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to city

life, but in one respect the very large city is superior to

other forms of habitation--its energy efficiency. The report

Patterns of Energy Consumption in the Greater New York Area, by

the Regional Plan Association and Resources for the Future, Inc.

shows that New York City has a per capita consumption of energy

45% below the U.S. average, even though income per capita is

higher than the national average. In fact, per dollar of money

income, energy consumption in New York City is less than half

the national figure.

Unfortunately, the high density which makes possible this

efficiency also aggravates the effects of pollutants. The great

improvement in the air quality,of New York City over the past

few years has been made possible only by banning the use of

fuels with high sulfur and ash content. The effects on rural

communities and small cities are much less, and strong efforts

should be made to convince Washington leaders that allocation

should take into account fuel quality as well as quantity and

that relaxation of emission standards should be done carefully,

case by case.

We have one final comment on sources of energy. If the

wastes of the City could be used as fuel, it would alleviate

both our energy needs and our waste disposal problems. The

City and Con Edison are already investigating this possibility

and we believe the pilot initiative should be e xpanded as soon

as possible.

TRANSPORT & STORAGE

As far as the immediate fuel shortage is concerned,

little can be done to help through changes or innovations in

transport or storage. From the longer term point of view, the

need for new transport and storage facilities will depend very

much on where the needed supplies will come from. If imported

oil is to be relied on, supertanker ports and perhaps large

capacity storage farms would be desirable, the former because

there would be less danger of marine pollution than from a

multitude of small tankers, the latter to protect ourselves from

disruptions in supplies.

If oil and gas in large amounts are found on the outer

continental shelffneither superports nor storage would be

necessary.

In the long term, it is almost certain that coal will be

called upon to displace oil as the major fuel for stationary

energy usages. Every effort should be made to preserve the

network of railroads which connect New York City with the rest

of the continent.

REDUCTION OF DEMAND

It is obvious that the quickest way to react to the current

shortage of energy supplies is to reduce the use of energy.

President Nixon has already asked for voluntary reduction of

heating and gasoline usage and has asked the Congress for legal

authority to make these and other reductions mandatory rather

than optional. The President's requests do not meet the needs

of.New York City and some of our recommendations are for

12.

more drastic moves. Some of these are already being considered

and we wish only to add our voice in suppo rt.

Another obvious way to relieve the shortage is to permit

the use of more polluting fuels. This, we think, should be.

resisted as long as there is the possibility that proper

regional allocation on the basis of quality needs could reduce

New York City's pollution load without adding undesirably to the

loads of others.

Many of the measures we propose for the reduction in

energy consumption will not give immediate results. The present

crisis does give the incentive for, and puts the public in the

mood to accept, modifications in life-style and ways of doing

things which would greatly reduce wasteful and unnecessary use

of energy. The current emergency may end but the long term

prospect is quite definitely for increasing costs of energy.

Anything we can start now to reduce the energy we consume in

our lives and our work will help to make possible not only a more

sound economy but a better environment.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The most effective measures to reduce both the severity
of the current fuel supply crisis and its environmental impact
are those which would quickZy lessen consumption of energy. Many
of these measures, if retained after the crisis, will reduce

the severity of future problems.

Even if efforts to lower consumption are successful, it
is probable that more polluting fuel will be needed for the City.

13.

It is important that the unique problems of New York City be

called to the attention of those who will be responsible for

fuel allocations.

The announced national policy for self-sufficiency in fuel

might demand a reconsideration of local objections to some

proposed methods of achieving such self-sufficiency: drilling on

the outer continental sheZf., additional refining and Zong-term

storage capacity, provided stringent environmental standards are

observed.

1. Support fully and emphatically all federal proposaZs for

conserving energy unless they clearly interfere with

essential services. Inhibit excessive energy consump-

tion by automobiles through reguZation, taxes, toZZs,

taxi cruising bans and other sanctions and improve

operation and maintenance of mass transit facilities.

(See the Transportation section of this report.)

2. oppose efforts to grant unnecessary variances to the

Clean Air Act, and lobby for national allocation of

clean fuels to high popuZation-density areas.

3. Conduct energy use inventories of all major structures

and all electrical appliances; discourage or restrict

sale and use of such excessive energy-consuming products

as inefficient air conditioners and "frost-free" refrig-

erators.

14.

4. Use the City's purchasing power to encourage

manufacture of energy-efficient products and vehicles,

and use the vehicle fleets owned or controlled by

the City as exampZes to encourage other fteet owners

to conserve energy.

5. ImpZement plans, like those of the PubZic Service

Commission, to a@ter electric and gas rate structures

so as to eliminate quantity discounts and otherwise

discourage consumption.

6. DeveZop the use of solid waste, sewage sludge, and

waste oil for fuel, where no higher level of use

(e.g., metals from solid waste) can be found. (See

Resource Recovery section.)

7. Enforce regulations that prevent the illegal disposal

of waste oils. Establish requirements that waste oils

be coZZected and processed for use as fuel and other

petroZeum products.

8. Require energy impact assessments before any major

new construction or other important project, incZud-

ing vehicle fZeet purchase, can be undertaken.

9. Mandate energy-conserving design, maintenance,

operation and construction of buildings.

10. The City should take the lead in investigating the

problems and benefits associated with offshore

15.

expZoration for oiZ and gas deposits, with

superport construction and use, and refinery

construction and other onshore deveZopments

reZated to these faciZities.

11. DeveZop unique aZternative energy sources.

16.

TRANSPORTATION

Millions of people have come together to live and work

in the geographically small place called New York City and

though things are concentrated, they are still not so close

that people can walk everywhere they must go. The movement

of these people and their goods in and about the City becomes

a major undertaking.

One of the benefits of the dense development of this

urban area is that mass transit becomes feasible. The City's

237-mile subway system, the largest in the country, is a cheap,

fast, low polluting, and energy-efficient method of travel.

Unfortunately, it is also dirty, congested, crime-ridden,

noisy, uncomfortable,and continually subject to fare increases.

At their peak in 1947, the City's subways carried 2.05

billion passengers, at 5@ a ride. In 1972, they carried 1.172

billion at 35@ each. Unfortunately, whenever ridership has

declined, the number of operating trains has been reduced, so

remaining passengers have not benefited from reduced subway

congestion.

The threatened increase in subway fares from the current

35@ to 60@ or more is a portent of environmental disaster be-

cause it would certainly lead to even greater auto use and air

pollution, as well as further energy shortages. Keeping the

fare as low as possible is an urgent environmental priority

for the City, and a battle whose outcome will soon be known.

17.

Lack of routes is not the most serious subway problem,

now that the Second Avenue subway and smaller lines are under

construction. In addition to the present construction, the

existing subway system must be rehabilitated to make it more

attractive to current riders as well as to current auto users.

Provision of more cars that are more comfortable, air conditioned,

and quieter, designed with rush hours more clearly in mind, along

with improved police protection and better cleaning and main-

tenance, will go a long way in this direction.

In many parts of the region, unfortunately, only the

automobile is adequate for transportation. The automobile,

with its servants -- highways, gasoline, etc. -- has a

multitude of environmentally destructive impacts. The auto-

mobile and the mobile society have grown up together and

are nowto a large degree interdependent; only a massive change

in our institutional and physical structures would significantly

reduce our dependence on the car.

The total transportation order in the City -- the net-

work of vehicles, roadways, tracks, fuel supply, and other

physical support mechanisms, and their patterns of use --

includes among its adverse effects on life in the City:

Pollution. Transportation of people and goods

accounts for roughly 95% of the carbon monoxide emissions,

65% of the hydrocarbons, 40% of the nitrogen oxides, and 15%

of the particulates in the City's air, as well as significant

doses of toxic heavy metals. Additionally, waste oil causes

serious water pollution problems.

18.

-- Energy. Nearly one-third of the energy used in the

metropolitan area is consumed by transportation. of all forms

of transportation, except for the airplane, the urban auto-

mobile uses by far the most energy per passenger mile.

-- Land. Even in so tightly packed a place as Manhattan's

Central Business District (the area between 59th Street and

the Battery), where land values and the need for new land are

among the highest in the world, 37% of the land is given over

to streets and parking. The automobile uses much more land

per passenger mile than any other common form of transportation.

-- Noise. Transportation, mainly subways, horn blowing,

and trucks, provides the source of most complaints about noise

in this noisy city. Noise has been shown to be a pollutant

with health effects often as severe in their own ways as those

of dirty air and water. (See this report's Noise section for

further discussion.)

With the wide variation of origins and destinations,

times of travel and numbers of people and amounts and types

of goods on the move, no one mode of transportation will do

the entire job. Even if we could know the ideal vehicle mix,

our options for implementing it would be severely limited.

of the limiting factors, probably the most fundamental

is the pattern of land use in the metropolitan area. There

is little point and even less economy in running a subway line

through a place which will only generate a few riders an hour.

Though all of Manhattan is densely enough developed to support

19.

subways, many outlying areas in the other boroughs and most

places beyond the City limits, are so sparsely developed that

only the automobile offers feasible transportation. These

areas have often been been designed so that homes, shopping

centers and factories cannot be reached easily without a car.

Better transportation to the central city must be devised. At

the very least, this involves requiring the use of satellite

parking lots at mass transit connections.

Another impediment to City action to change transporta-

tion patterns is public unwillingness to switch from the auto

to mass transit. Unfortunately, the easiest way to change

travel patterns is apparently to increase fares, which

significantly reduces mass transit use; this is the opposite

of what is desired. Mandatory controls of various sorts will

certainly be needed unless we reduce fares; in an era when

higher fares are being seriously discussed, that seems at

first glance a fanciful proposition, but it is being done

successfully in other cities and, with sufficient ingenuity

and work in finding subsidy money, it could be done in New York.

The State Comptroller suggests that hundreds of

millions of dollars are available from the State's current

operating budget. Without drastically re-ordering other social

priorities it should be possible to find adequate sources of

subsidy without special bond funds.

Now that we have spelled out the basic transportation

dilemma shifting away from the automobile toward mass

transit we will mention each important mode of transportation

in turn. (Subways have already been discussed.)

20.

-- Automobiles. Between 1947 and 1912, the number of

people traveling by subway dropped by nearly half and the

number of cars in the city increased; for example, during

the same period the number of vehicles crossing the Hudson

River bridges and tunnels soared from 44 million to 159 mil-

lion, at a constant toll of 50@. The gears are in motion to

produce a cleaner, less-polluting automobile. In a few years,

pollution-reducing catalytic converters will apparently be

standard equipment on all American cars. These converters,

unfortunately, themselves emit sulfates and trace metals.

More testing on this problem is needed but once that is
completed implementation could proceed rapidly. Un-

fortunately, catalysts reduce fuel economy and significant

trade-offs are required between energy and environmental

considerations. City-owned and licensed fleets of cars,

such as police cars and taxis, provide ideal opportunities

for large scale demonstrations of more efficient combustion

and pollution control systems.

Though vehicle turnover will eventually mean that all

cars will have cleaner systems, the process is not fast

enough and installation of emission control devices on older

cars, called "retrofitting," may be needed, if appropriate

devices can be produced. The City will also have to train more

mechanics and inspectors, without whom requirements for

pollution control devices will be ineffectual.

21.

Measures must be taken to make it more difficult or

more expensive to drive a car in or into Manhattan, where both

pollution and congestion are worst. Among possible techniques

are the following: '

-- Tolls on all bridges to Manhattan would both

reduce traffic and generate millions of dollars. Bridge tolls,

on the other hand, raise serious equity problems because they

would fall hardest on the poor.

-- Requirements to make tolls on all bridges and tunnels

into Manhattan's Central Business District reflect occupancy

of the car and vary with the hour of the day, to reduce rush

hour demand.

-- Restrictions on parking. Change the zoning and tax

laws to discourage garages which are not used anywhere near

capacity anyway. Eliminate all on-street parking in midtown

and enforce the laws thoroughly and consistently. Fewer people

would use their cars in Manhattan if they knew they could park

only with great difficulty.

-- Bans on taxi cruising in midtown Manhattan. Taxis

contribute a major portion of congestion and pollution and

more than half the taxis driving in midtown are empty. More

taxi stands, a ban on cruising and cab sharing would be

minor inconveniences to New Yorkers.

Buse Though they are the slowest form of urban

travel averaging about.four miles per hour -- buses are

among the most efficient. In midtown Manhattan during mid-

22.

day, they cover only 3% of the vehicle miles but provide 38%

of the person miles of travel; the average bus, during those

hours, has 25 passengers, compared to 1.3 for autos and .88

for taxis.

To encourage bus and subway travel, the inconsistent

system of double fares must be changed. Somewhere between

one-quarter and one-half of all commuters in the metropolitan

region must take both a subway and a bus, or two buses, to get

to work; some pay one fare, some two, without any real pattern.

To improve travel time, the city needs more buses

making fewer stops. Other measures to improve bus service

include expanding the program of building new bus terminals

and shelters; working with the federal government and with

manufacturers to insure that there is no shortage in new buses;

experimenting with "minibuses" on less-traveled routes; retro-

fitting buses with pollution control devices, and establishing

better maintenance and inspection programs.

-- Trucks. Only one-fifth of all midtown traffic is

contributedby trucks but a much greater proportion of the

vehicle pollution, congestion, and noise is caused by trucks.

Much of the problem is caused by an essentially irrational

system of goods delivery in the city, which might be improved

by careful planning.

Much of the truck traffic in Manhattan is merely thru-

traffic between New Jersey and Long Island and Connecticut.

Either peripheral roads or a deep tunnel would solve this

problem. Changes in Interstate Commerce Commission routing

23.

regulations could keep much truck traffic out of the city by

eliminating unnecessary routing of trucks through New York,

a common practice now. Eventually, means should be found to

reduce the use of trucks themselves. Finally, much closer

attention should go to emissions from individual trucks and

pollution control devices on new trucks. Inspection and

maintenance can be of significant help here.

-- Railroads. Action must be taken before the

passenger railroad goes the way of the horse and buggy. Trains

are very efficient and environmentally sound, and they have

the added advantage of an already existing extensive set of

tracks. A few new routes are needed and some are now under

construction or planned. But the immediate priority is to

preserve the existing Penn Central tracks, which should come

into increasing use in transporting people and goods.

Airplanes. The metropolitan area may not need a

fourth jetport. Further study and community consultation are

needed to determine whether the leading contender as the new

site, Stewart Field in Orange County, can be upgraded to a jet-

port with acceptably low environmental disruption. Meanwhile,

Stewart Field can be expanded as an alternate landing place;

but the relatively short lead-time in converting it to a jet-

port, and the likelihood of fuel shortages cutting back on air

travel, mean the City and -state can afford to wait before a

final decision is made.

24.

At existing jetports, to save fuel, jets should be

prohibited from starting and idling their engines until they

are cleared for immediate take-off.

-- Bicycling and Walking. These two methods have, of

course, the maximum beneficial effects on the traveler with

the least adverse effect on everyone else and areas for walk-

ing and bicycling, with as few hazards from cars and congestion

as possible, should be expanded in the City. Pedestrian malls

and bikeways are methods which require small capital expenditures

but add considerably to the quality of urban life.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

If current trends toward greater reliance on the auto-

mobile continue, the quality of life in the City will continue

to be in jeopardy. Automobiles must be sharply curtailed and

mass transit systems upgraded.

New York City and New York State have already agreed to

implement a far-reaching set of transportation controls mandated

and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The

next City administration will have to live with these controls

and very serious thought should be given before they are

tampered with. If they are closely followed, the City should

be in a good transportation position; otherwise, reaZ trouble

portends unless effective adjustments can be found that are

acceptable to both the state and federal governments.

25.

In consonance with the federal EPA plan and with our

own findings, implementation of the following proposals should

begin immediately. Some will have short-term effects and others

will not be felt for several years but work on aZZ must begin

now.

Automobiles

1. Discourage automobile use by banning midtown Man-

hattan taxi cruising; tolling more bridges and

tunnels into Manhattan, and making the toZZ structure

discourage peak traffic and encourage car pools;

and restrict parking in Manhattan.
2. Use taxis, police cars and other City-controZZed
fleets for Zarge-scaZe demonstrations of pollution

control systems.
3. Restrict large automobiles and engines to reduce
gasoline consumption, beginning with taxis and

City-controNed fleets.
4. Train mechanics and inspectors for aZZ motor

vehicles.

Subways and Buses
1. Undertake a fuZt-scaZe, completely new Zook at
the funding of mass transit. Continue to search
for subsidy money to minimize subway and bus fares.
2. Require accountability and disclosure of Metro-
potitan Transit Authority and Port Authority
procedures and problems to the City Administration.
3. Hasten installation of new, more comfortable
subway cars and buses3 improve maintenance and
appearance of existing fleets.

26.

4. Increase the number of rush hour trains and extend

rush hour coverage.

Trucks and Trains

1. Rationalize goods delivery systems to reduce

unnecessary truck traffic.

2. Find acceptable truck bypass systems to reduce

unnecessary truck travel through Manhattan's

Central Business District perhaps by providing

toll incentives for trucks to use certain routes.

3. Retrofit trucks and buses with pollution and noise

control devices, when they become available, and

mandate effective devices on all new trucks.

General and miscellaneous

1. Encourage land development throughout the metro-

poZitan area in densities which will permit mass

transit use.

2. Carefully study the need for and environmental

impact of a fourth jetport.

3. Expand the City's system of bikeways and pedestrian

areas.

27.

WASTES - RECOVERY AND DISPOSAL

In New York City materials are used to provide convenience

and satisfy desires for goods by individuals, businesses, industries

and institutions, including government. The use of materials

creates waste, both in production processes and in consumption.

Rough estimates indicate that the New York region is currently

generating solid wastes at the rate of approximately 50,000 tons

per day, of which approximately 30,000 tons are attributable to

New York City alone. For the period 1962 through 1972, there was

a 50% increase (4.6% per year) in collections by the City of New

York Department of Sanitation and receipts of refuse by City

disposal facilities. Projecting on the basis of a conservative

3.0% rate of growth, by the year 1985, New York City will have to

handle approximately 55,600 tons of solid waste per day. Several

disposal options present themselves.

Landfills available for New York City's general use will expire

between 1985 and 1990, for construction wastes the City EPA now

claims 1975. It appears there are no new sites available on land

within the limits of the City and alternatives in New Jersey

appear Virtually closed to City use. The City should now make a

firm commitment to the inevitable, a constructive and comprehensive

resource recovery system, coupled with fills for otherwise un-

recoverable materials.

For present or new incinerators to meet air quality control

requirements, substantial remedial or preventive measures are

required at considerable expense. It is unlikely that

conventional incinerators could be expanded, given siting

difficulties involved.

28.

Ocean dumping in restricted areas is currently employed for

some sludge from sewage treatment plants. Loose garbage is not

dumped. The economic, engineering, and ecological prospects of

dumping baled, compressed solid wastes are not well understood,

but might provide some future possibilities -- taking due cognizance

of federal regulations and international treaty obligations on ocean

dumping.

It was evident in the inputs to this study that a broad

consensus in favor of resource recovery exists within the

metropolitan region. While the volume of waste actually recovered

remains small, the momentum of growing numbers of people helping to

recycle should not be ignored and should be capitalized upon by

policy makers. There is growing experience within the City

Administration and within local institutions, such as the Port

Authority, in making available post-user waste in a form that can

compete to some extent in the marketplace. Curbside collection of

separated newspapers is expanding rapidly in residential neighbor-

hoods.

The reason for minimal materials recovery is simple. It does

not yet pay. The economics of waste collection, sorting, reprocessing

and marketing of recycled materials are such that little incentive
exists for disposal by the recovery process. IN.

There are clearly four ways to increase the output of recycled

materials or, what is the same thing, the input of waste into re-

cycling operations: (a) Reduce the cost of recovery and transport

to a level no higher than corresponding costs of alternative C01-

lection, transportation and disposal measures. (b) Reduce the cost

of sorting, a prerequisite to materials recovery. (c) Reduce the

29.

cost of processing and storage within the materials recovery

plant itself. (d) Improve the ratio of the price of recovered

materials in comparison with virgin materials.

These elements, considered from a purely economic standpoint,

are the principal determinants of the incentive to recycle. They

do not, however, take into account the environmental damage resulting

from materials that are un collected and materials that are disposed

of in other ways. The environmental costs incurred by society in

either of these areas must enter into the economic equation and a

great deal of research is required in each of these areas,

particularly on the nature and trends of markets for recycled

materials.

There are several requirements for efficiency with respect

to resource recovery. Some are'economic, as indicated above,

dealing with the continued feasibility of marketing the items

recovered from the waste stream. other efficiency criteria deal

with environmental desirability and trade-offs between one form

of environmental impact and another, such as the air pollutants

released by burning organics in an energy recovery process versus

waste water pollution when recycling organics to reclaim cellulose

fibers for paper products.

The meshing of partial resource recovery efforts into an

overall systems approach is essential. Here we must deal with

problems of scale and priorities for public investment allocations.

An additional problem in promoting more efficient resource recovery

and disposal is the problem of contracting constraints imposed upon

the City of New York by established legal or administrative

30.

procedures that impede collaboration and risk sharing with,

enterprises possessing new technologies and systems. These should

be changed promptly.

New Yorkers must be prepared to use more effectively every-

thing from packaging to construction materials. our industry,

commerce, institutions and agencies must strive to reduce waste

and to re-use materials whenever possible. Goverment should set

the example by its own actions. Recycling should be promoted in

every way possible. We can not wait for Washington to lead the

way except in the case of certain national standards for the

use of materials. Standardizing containers and packaging to

promote recycling might well occur as part of a national con-

version to the metric system.

Volunteer citizen recycling must be encouraged and supported

by public collection services, especially with respect to the curb-

side collection of newspapers in residential neighborhoods. The

public and private sanitation systems' overall incentives, however,

continue to accent waste disposal -- not resource recovery, and

this needs to change. Institutions and businesses must continue

to follow through on the improvement of individual resource

recovery and waste disposal systems. This include.s issues such as

returnable versus non-returnable containers. It also includes

front-end separation in the case of paper. The Council on the

Environment of New York City's economic study on the waste oil

problem in the metropolitan region provides an apt example of-a

local resource that should not be lost, particularly in a manner

31.

highly damaging to the environment. This is an example of the

kind of analysis that is required.

Local government aided by the state, however, will bear

the greatest responsibilities for managing the recovery and

disposal crisis soon to plague the City. Capital and operating

expenditures should be increased significantly to support the

installation and operation of large scale resource recovery

facilities and systems.

Optional fill arrangements should continue to be sought

and they will always be needed. They offer at best, however,

a temporary respite. More support for municipal resource

recovery should be sought and it should be viewed as an

essential ingredient of positive governmental support for

environmentally sound industrial development. The key to

resource recovery is having an economically worthwhile

market for a recovered resource. Special assistance should

be sought from the federal and state governments and special

appropriations should be obtained for the City to promote

market analysis for recoverable.resources and the sound

economic development of collection and recycling organizations,

agencies, authorities and industries.

32.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The City should declare that its policy shall be to conserve

resources, promote resource recovery and enhance environmental

quality. Therefo-re, during the coming decade the City should,

within its powers, examine, set and implement priorities for

managing the flow of materials through the region to reduce wastes.

1. During 1974 the City, in consultation with the state and

federal governments, should conduct a special examination

of the materials requirements of New York City, resource

recovery prospects, solid and liquid waste disposal

problems and requirements to enhance environmental

quality. A special task force involving government,

citizens, business, environmentalists and labor

should be appointed to advise the Office of the Mayor.

The whole input and output of materials and wastes

should be examined:

a. to reduce the generation of wastes and conserve

materials,

b. to promote recycling and resource recovery, and

the use of recycled products, and

c. to improve environmental quality, reduce Zitter,

and prevent the disposal of wastes in environ-

mentally unsound ways.

2. Capital and operating allocations by the City should

be increased significantly to match state funds avaiZ-

able for resource recovery facilities under the

Environmental Bond Act of 1972. The City should move

decisively soon.

33.

3. DetaiZed requirements for efficiency with respect to

resource recovery shouZd be speZZed out:

a. State and City government shouZd underwrite market

anaZyses for recovered materiaZs and energy.

b. Criteria for assessing environmentaZ impacts of

atternative resource recovery systems shouZd be

identified.

c. Criteria for meshing partiaZ resource recovery

efforts into an overaZZ systems approach shouZd be

identified in consuZtation with operators of present

recycZing efforts.

d. Contracting constraints shouZd be changed by Charter

amendment so that resource recovery and waste manage-

ment contracts in New York City and other major

metropoZitan centers can be negotiated for periods

not exceeding 20 years (rather than five years at

present) and without annuaZ competitive bidding

requirements.

e. Performance appraisaZ and productivity criteria

s,houZd be tentativeZy identified for new systems,

especiaZZy those requiring pubZiclprivate cooperation.

4. VoLuntary citizen and institutionaL recycZing shouZd be

strongZy encouraged and supported by pubZic coZZection

services and pubZic resource recovery measures:

a. Separate rack coZZection for newspapers shouZd be

spread throughout the City.

34.

b. Exemplary block, neighborhood and building

associations which promote waste reduction, recy cling,

and cZean-up should receive special recognition for

their efforts.

5. Productivity gains among public and private sanitation

systems should be consolidated with additional indicators

and with continued improvements in available collection and

cleaning equipment. Productivity should be compared with

san,@tation workers in other cities.

6. Private sanitation workers need special training programs

and incentives to improve their productivity, especially

with respect to resource recovery..

7. Institutions and businesses must be urged to follow through

on internal separation systems for recoverable wastes., such

as office paper, metals and waste oil and computer punch

cards and printout paper.

8. The City and State should expZore optional interim fill

arrangements. However, the City should not now retreat

from making a firm commitment to the inevitable, a con-

structive and comprehensive resource recovery system

coupled with fills for otherwise unrecoverable materials.

9. Special efforts should be made by the City and State to

promote sound economic development of collection and re-

cycling organizations, agencies, authorities and industries.

35.

POLLUTANTS

At the present time, New Yorkers are.exposed to A wide

range of pollutants acting individually and in some cases collec-

tively or synergically. Some of these pollutants, such as

sulfur dioxide, are well known in terms of their source and

effects on our health. Others, such as nitrogen oxides, require

more study and a number, no doubt, remain to be discovered.

In this preliminary report, we will not attempt to review

status and trends with respect to exposure to toxic substances in

air, water, and other media. Specifics will receive more attention

in. the final report. Here, instead, we address some of the general

functional and structural problems of setting standards for

pollutants in the New York region.

A pollutant can be described as something "out of place,"

a material causing undesirable effects such as impairment of human

health, property damage, or environmental disruptions. Using air

pollution as an example, we know with certainty that air pollution

is a contributing factor to human disease, although generally we

are still unable to predict the exact improvement in health that

can be anticipated from a specific decrease in air pollution.

In dealing with the problem of setting standards for

pollutants, ideally, one would wish to act on the basis of firm

information as to a) source and current level of exposure and

b) the impact on public health of the pollutant at various

exposure levels. Once these data are known, a meaningful standard

36.

could be set and control strategies instituted. Unfortunately,

the data in b) are extremely difficult to obtain. Thus the health

effects of current levels of a number of pollutants are unknown at

this time. For this reason, standards are often unavoidably set

on the basis of arbitrary judgements and honest, competent

scientists can vary significantly in their recommendations. But

appropriate standards are urgently needed to protect human health.

To establish a standard, scientists review the various

reports, articles, and other documents describing our knowledge

of a certain pollutant's effects. Most of the studies involve

short-term effects, while the long-term effects may be considerably

more serious. The gestation period for a form of lung cancer from

asbestos, for example, is 25 to 30 years. Complicating the

situation further is the typical exposure in an urban setting

to many pollutants with proportions varying constantly. No

laboratory setting or industrial exposure can duplicate this

complex mixing and phasing of exposure to pollutants. In spite

of these complications, we must establish environmental goals

for both practical and legal purposes. The task must be taken

up by the City as well as federal and state agencies in cases

where the conditions to be controlled are unique to New York City.

Apart from these individual pollutant problems, the task

force believes that the City should improve its ability to cope

with existing, anticipated and unexpected environmental problems.

One of the most important means would.be greatly increased

37.

interaction between the City's highest authorities and the

exceptionally talented scientific community found within the City's

boundaries. The City is urged to invite scientists to official

and unofficial City functions. If kept informed and involved,

they can provide understanding and guidance when science-related

questions involving the environment arise.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Considerable progress has been made in New York City over

the past decade to correct environmental problems but emergence

of new problems demanding policy decisions appears to be a recurring

feature of our industrial society. The City needs to refine its

ability to respond to new problems as they emerge and, going beyond

that to head off potentiat problems.

1. The great pool of scientific and technical talent of

persons within the City's boundaries should be brought

into a clear advisory relationship with City government,

to serve as independent and recognized authorities in

judgements requiring these skills.

2@ Within federal and state constraints, the City should

take the lead in establishing clear and authoritative

"best available" environmental standards for New York City,

as well as standards for performance of "best available"

technology for use in meeting City problems of the coming

decade.

38.

3. New York City's own environmentaZ monitoring system

represents an earZy state of the artl it shouZd be

modernized and expanded where necessary, and integrated

and coordinated with state, regionaZ and federaZ

monitoring programs.

4. City institutions and organizations, while subject, to

constant review and revision, shouZd be expanded and

streamZined to improve standard-setting, dispute

settLement and enforcements the existing City Environ-

mentaZ ControZ Board might, if increased in scope and

authority, serve as a basis.

NOISE 39.

The New York City Noise Control Code of 1972, if properly en-

forced and slightly augmented, could qualify as the most advanced

program in the nation. The fact that the City is one of the nois-

iest human gathering places in history is well-known and research

has now proven that loud, unpleasant and un-anticipated sounds-

11noise"- can adversely affect the human organism intermittently

and over long periods; that human performance is radically affect-

ed by such sounds and that, generally, these sounds can be cor-

rected or eliminated with adequate planning and technology.

New York subway noises are known to exceed levels hazardous

to hearing,yet, because other comparable systems have done so, we

know it is possible to remedy these conditions. New York City has

made some progress in this regard, with purchase of new rolling

stock and more intensive attention to road-bed preparation, but

progress so far is inadequate. A comprehensive and systematic

noise abatement plan for the New York City subway system in its

entirety must be developed and carried out, including plans and

designs for control of noise in: (1) all future additions and re-

visions affecting the system; (2) system maintenance programs and

retrofitting; and (3) an effective system-wide noise monitoring

and enforcement mechanism.

Buses in the City are noisy, too, internally and externally,

but these faults can be corrected with relative ease through

better maintenance of vehicle interiors, engines and mufflers, the

retrofitting of engine compartments of existing buses with sound-

40.

proofing materials and, of course, application of noise level

standards in City purchasing policies.

Inadequate enforcement of muffling requirements on private

cars and trucks continues to be a problem. Improved inspection

and licensing systems can obtain more effective reduction of

exhaust noises, elimination of excessive engine, transmission and

body noises, and better methods for securing loads.

A special area of noise supression where great advances have

been made during the last three years, since the Environmental

Protection Administration and the Council on the Environment

initiated a joint prevention campaign, is the reduction of noise

in the collection of garbage. The bagging of garbage has made it

possible to pick up garbage with much less banging of cans and

virtual elimination of night pick-ups in residential areas has

helped improve local noise conditions. Quieter compactor trucks

should still be sought to follow up the prototype silent truck

recently built and demonstrated by the City Sanitation Department.

Trucks hauling large waste containers should be modified to reduce

noise levels, especially during night return runs.

Inadequate repair and resurfacing of City streets is a

constant problem for New Yorkers in many ways and poor street

surfaces contribute significantly to ambient and total impact

noise levels. Noise considerations should be taken into account

in planning-for traffic routes and the City should meet at least

the noise-control criteria required on federal-aid highways. Non-

emergency street openings by City and private utilities must be

better coordinated.

41.

The largely symbolic special campaign against excessive horn-

honking in Manhattan during Summer 1973 may have served valuable

educational purposes but more effective and stringent measures are

needed. Technical requirements for quieter city horns

should be established and required by law on all new vehicles

registered in the City, especially taxis and City-owned vehicles.

City purchasing policies regarding vehicles other than buses

should include noise specifications and the existing City vehicle

fleet should be retrofitted in all cases where technology is avail-

able for operational noise abatement. This act of good faith alone

would do much to support City-wide efforts to obtain compliance by

private citizens and operators of commercial vehicles.

operating procedures for aircraft on the ground at FAA-con-

trolled airports are undergoing change in the face of energy

shortages. This would be an excellent time for concerned leaders

in New York City to impress FAA officials with the compatibility

of noise limitations and energy-saving ground maneuver procedures.

Engine starting and warm-up at Heathrow Airport in London, for

instance, are not authorized until planes are cleared for take-

off.

Other noise problems demanding early attention include con-

struction noise and the noise impacts of poor land-use planning

and management. Some essential steps have already been taken,

through the Noise Code, toward control of construction noise but

the key to success in this effort is careful attention to monitor-

ing these sources for effective enforcement. Here, the concept

of total-impact noise is important, to assure that intermittent

42.

bursts of noise do not escape notice and abatement, so monitor-

ing must be prolific, wide-spread, and frequent.

As with the approach to airport noise, the act of assuring

that noise considerations are included in land-use planning,

in zoning laws, and in plans for residential building (to insure

that noise from inside, as well as outside, the building does

not intrude on human comfort) should be pursued and greatly

increased attention should go to upgrading design and construc-

tion features and acoustical insulation in existing buildings

where noise levels present a problem.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Noise Control Code of 1972 should be diligently

enforced and broadened to include: (a) improved noise sup-

pression as part of preventive maintenance for transportation

systems; and (b) systematic reassessment of noise levels and

revisions of the Code.

1. A comprehensive and systematic noise abatement plan for

the entire New York City mass transit system must be

developed and implemented.

2. New York City should amend its purchasing policy for

all equipment and vehicles, including garbage trucks,

to include noise specifications which will provide

employees and the general public with adequate safe-

guards against noise.

43.

3. New York City should develop a total noise policy for

streets and highways within its- boundaries.

4. Noise control - external and internal - should become

a factor in City-approved building construction and

modification and construction site noise must be

brought under control through application of modern

noise control and equipment technology.

5. Modern acoustical engineering principles should be

incorporated into all City decision-making affecting

transportation and building design and should be

equally applied in control of ambient City noise.

44.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Environmental education in a metropolitan area should be

an integrated, multi-disciplinary process through which people

learn to understand and care for their man-made environment, the

natural environment and the relationship which exists between

the two.

Like science education 15 years earlier, sparked by the

launch of the first Sputnik, environmental education has experi-

enced a meteoric rise in importance since the environment

suddenly became a vital national issue in 1969 and 1970. As a

result, the requirements for environmental education have grown

much more rapidly than the ability of established educational

institutions to incorporate these new needs into the educational

system. Crises in definition, misapplication of resources,

bursts of energy and lulls in activity have all resulted. But

a consensus as to the objectives of environmental education is

finally emergingr emphasizing a need for:

--- Development of environmental literacy based on an

understanding of natural laws.

---Development of an environmental ethic leading to life-

styles which are in harmony with sound environmental principles.

--- Ability to make decisions based upon clear environ-

mental ethics and understanding.

--- The imperatives of individual action for environmental

improvement.

45.

In general, students are being educated in a number of

roles--resource consumers, voters, active citizens. Additionally,

the knowledge imparted to children can have the "fallout" effect

of influencing and educating adults. Both children and adults

must learn the impact of their actions on the environment, the

total interdependence of all living things and the potential

influence of the individual on decisions which affect his

environment.

There are three chief modes of environmental education.

The first is to work environmental topics into such traditional

subjects as biology, social studies, literature and so forth.

The second is to offer additional subjects, dealing

exclusively with environmental problems. The third is to

restructure the entire curriculum around the idea of environment,

so that each subject offered deals with a specific discipline

under the framework of environmental problems. Though the third

method may be theoretically the most elegant and desirable, it

is not at this point a practical recommendation and some combin-

ation of the first and second modes must be employed.

A wide variety of possible teaching methods is available

in environmental education. In consonance with current trends,

environmental education should be presented as "discovery" programs.

Students should become instruments and sources of useful local

environmental information and of actual, positive environmental

change.

46.

Before New York City's needs for environmental education

can be fulfilled, a number of institutional changes will have to

take place. Most important is firm financial support from city,

state and federal governments and the private sector.

An expanding number of programs, materials and facilities

for environmental education is being offered by an increasing

variety of sources and it is vital to educators that a clearing-

house be established, in an existing governmental organization,

so that researchers, writers and educators can make use of

available classroom aids and make certain that their scholarly

work is not duplicating that of others.

Environmental education in New York City would benefit

greatly from existence of an authoritative and recognized group

of specialists and educators who, on behalf of all education

in the City, could:

--- Identify and disseminate the objectives and parameters

of environmental education.

--- Examine existing curricula in various disciplines and

recommend modifications designed to make them more compatible

with sound environmental concepts and attitudes.

--- Evaluate environmental education materials and

disseminate these findings, with recommendations for methods of

using them in an interdisciplinary curriculum.

--- Propose development of new curriculum materials,

resources and facilitiesi such as urban environmental education

centers and "city-to-country" programs.

47.

The City needs teachers trained in environmental education,

with the proper materials and support. Teacher training programs--

workshops, seminars, mini-courses, and summer courses should be

s.ponsored by the Board of Education, with environmental groups

playing an active role in instituting these programs. More in-

depth programs, on the Master's degree level, should be instituted

to train both environmental leaders and future teachers.

Outside the school, public, quasi-public and private

agencies can play an important role in planning and supplementing

the curricula established by the school systems. Zoos, museums,

botanical gardens, parks departments, environmental action groups,

Boy and Girl Scouts, and others should be encouraged to assist

the schools by providing expertise and such supportive services as

speakers, films, publications, trips, mobile vans and exhibits.

These agencies can also be even more effective than school systems

in adult environmental education.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Establish an office within an existing agency of City

government to serve as a clearinghouse among educational and

environmental groups offering materials, programs and facilities

for environmental education and to coordinate the diverse

activities of these groups. In addition, the City shouZd:

1. Increase funding for environmental education in

New York City.

2. Form a task force of environmental education

specialists to advise the clearinghouse.

48.

3. Initiate teacher-training programs in environmental

education.

4. Establish a recognized graduate environmental

education program to train leaders in the field as

well as teachers.

5. Expand environmental education activities for adults.

6. Introduce environmental considerations into

vocational training programs and driver education.

49.

ENFORCEMENT AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

The City must have a spirited climate of enforcement if

there is to be a meaningful program of protection and restora-

tion of the City's environmental resources. Laws alone are

useless. It should be remembered that New York State's environ-

ment suffered substantial damage and has undergone substantial

recovery, for instance, with virtually the same set of statutes,

rules and regulations applying during both periods. What has

not remained constant is the attitude toward dealing with these

problems.

The causes of many of our most distressing elements of

pollution--whether noise, air, water, land or solid waste--

are largely understood, the sources identified and the technology

developed enough to provide many workable solutions to the

mechanical aspects of pollution. Often, however, as the saying

goes, we are dealing with people problems--people who don't

care, those who care but don't act, those who care but find

the solutions are beyond their control. In many instances,

as with automobiles and excess and non-returnable packaging

and containers, we are dealing with life styles which must

change, either voluntarily or otherwise, if New York is to

improve its environment. One of the problems for New York has

been reluctance on the part of its citizens, public officials

and commercial enterprises to comply with the City's environ-

mental laws on a voluntary basis.

With its noise control code (Local Law 57), air pollution

control code (Local Law 49) and proposed new sanitation code

50.

(Local Law 74) and its Environmental Control Board, the City

has created in recent years,or is proposing,the tools for

removing many of the irritations and threats to health of

living here. What has been lacking is adequate commitment to

use these tools effectively and efficiently.

The existing New York City Environmental Control Board

should be expanded in scope, competency and authority or a

new structure established to serve as an "environmental court".

Such a body, properly enabled, has been shown to serve the

purpose of relieving the congestion in civil and criminal

court systems of other, smaller and less complex city govern-

ments and would clearly benefit New York City.

The salient characteristic of environmental affairs

today in the United States and especially in New York City

is the tendency of environmental progress to bog down in

dispute, disagreement and litigation. Disagreement and rigid,

almost ideological, thinking have focused attention as much on

the ways and means of achieving forward progress as on the

nature, scope and urgency of environmental damage caused by

the activities of Man.

We do not have adequate systems for settling these disputes

fairly and expeditiously, in the planning process or later,

with the result that the courts have become one of the major

arenas in the environmental light. Courts are clogged with

criminal and civil environmental litigation, judges and juries

are often not adequately informed about questions of great

technological complexity and decisions are not reached, or

51.

wrong decisions are arrived at. The system of appeals so

precious to the nation is often cynically employed as a system

of delay and dilatory maneuver and--nothing gets done. If

threats to the environment are permitted to continue while

the requirements of courtroom justice are fulfilled, preventive

public action cannot take place. Improvements are needed.

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The City has prepared a complete revision of its

sanitary code (proposed Local Law 74) which.9 if

vigorously enforced, will continue the trend to

cleaner streets. The Sanitation Department's

enforcement program has recently received a needed

boost from the State legislature. Sanitation

policemen can now serve arrest warrants on those

buiZding superintendents, ZandZords, and merchants

who fail to respond to department-issued code

violation notices. With this authority and the

use of computer records, and a desire on the part

of the Department and the Environmental Control

Board, violations by those who fail to obey the

code can be quickZy processed.

2. Illegally parked cars prevent street cteaners

from reaching the curbs. Sanitation police and

all sanitation supervisory personnel have the

authority to ticket these illegally parked cars

and should be required to do so. They should caZZ

offenders to the attention of the police for towing.

52.

3. If the need to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles

should lead to the reduction in the City's business

districts of on-street and off-street parking and to

bans on taxi cruising, enforcement measures by police

and the Traffic Department would be greatly facilitated.

4. To locate unregulated furnaces and incinerators, a

computerized reporting and compliance monitoring

system for stationary air pollution sources must

be developed and implemented. it would be based

partially on the present construction and operating

permit systems and a separate review of the records

of local oil suppliers and carters.

5. The City must also complete inventories identifying

industrial emissions and the present status of

compliance measures by industrial sources.

6. The City should make a vigorous commitment during

the next several years to enforcing pre-treatment

standards for industries discharging wastes into

the City sewer system.

7. Vte wealth of concern and energy now devoted to

environmental affairs by citizens and citizen groups

in New York City can and should be mobilized by the

City as a trained citywide auxiliary force in the

successful manner used in creating auxiliary police

forces, to monitor environmental performance and

to serve as neighborhood "nerve centers" for

disseminating accurate information.

53.

TOWNSCAPE

It is the position of the contributors that concern for

quality of townscape is not separate from other social concerns;

quality of place matters because places condition people.

The ideas put forward in summary here do not stem from

a nostalgia for a different life or from an unreasoned anger at

technology. They are submitted as a part of a concern with the

more identifiable social ills of poverty, crime and bad housing

in the belief that improving the functioning and livability of

our city can contribute to the solution of those ills.

In general terms, the land planning issues for New York

are those which at long last are being debated throughout the

country. In the context of a nearly fully developed city with

serious development problems the basic question here is more

critically important than elsewhere: can we achieve needed

development without unacceptably compromising our environment?

Continued commercial concentration south of 59th Street

in Manhattan and in the downtowns of other boroughs should only

be carried out if congestion can be avoided, air and water

pollution problems are met and energy is both available and used

carefully. Therefore, zoning districts, transit improvements,

building code regulations, supporting and complementary uses

must all be merged into a coherent whole. Realistic standards

which are woefully lacking must be developed in each of these

areas. The City Planning Commission's recent efforts to improve

the quality of the City's residential environment should be

pursued. In addition to zoning issues, a rational housing

54.

program must be added to provide necessary subsidies. The

problem cannot be narrowly considered. The issue is the quality

of life in the community, not simply the safe, sanitary or

even non-polluting characteristics of a structure or group of

them.

The City must also decide what types of industry it is

willing to encourage or even subsidize (and where) and which

ones should be forbidden.

of equal concern, though seldom given it, is the provision

and operation of adequate open space.

In every facet of this undertaking,the issue of what can

be achieved by regulation or incentive and what must be paid

for by public funds will often be overriding questions affecting

the results of every other effort.

In pursuing these goals,it is essential to recognize that

how things look and how things work are inextricably inter-

related. For it is precisely the look, feel, and character of

a great city--A London, Paris, Rome--that is a primary, not a

superficial,ingredient of its long term viability. In this

sense all planning-development decisions are urban design

decisions. And in designing its own facilities, whether street

furniture, sidewalks, subway stations or buildings, the City

itself should lead.

Too often, even where money is available for good design

and where whole areas have been rebuilt, the result is uniformity

and sterility. This trend can destroy the little that New York

has of genuine urban elegance or greatness, its few handsome

55.

avenues and sophisticated plazas. Particular care must be taken

with what is left, such as the side streets all over town that

are only beginning to be affected by the type of bleak con-

struction that has characterized too much avenue development.

As one contributor put it, "New York's side streets are

a human-scale, pedestrian environment. Their measure is that

of the foot and the eye. Their feature is their fascinating

continuity. one is drawn along by the unflagging interest of

their uninterrupted, highly personal pleasures and uses in

an endlessly varied architectural context. To destroy this,

you can bomb the streets or build office tower plazas. The

effect is just about the same.

"Wherever the lively streets exist, there is vitality

in a city. This is where the action is."

In the City today, the environment is made by man. We

have eradicated many of the City's basic landforms: its hills

have been leveled, streams buried, rock outcroppings sheared

away--the things that gave its original landscape feature and

diversity, coherence and composition.

In addition, much of New York's man-made historical.

townscape also disappeared before the current movement to

preserve historic landmarks got under way and, finally, much

of human value, though not historically significant, is dis-

appearing too. In New York today, if you love a building or

if you care about a corner, you must do so with the understanding

that the physical site can chanqe overnight. The feeling of

always having to live in the present may contribute to urban

dynamics. It also makes it difficult to find or sustain roots

56.

in both historical and personal terms.

it is up to us to do more to preserve and use what we

have and to do more on a human scale when we create. It is

possible in this summary only to cover a few of the specific

suggestions made in the.underlying reports.

The parks are those areas of the City most obviously

designed for and dedicated to the pleasure and quiet of its

citizens. They and its waterfront are also among the few

areas where the City's original geography and topography

remain palpable and perceptible. As works of man, which they

are, they have also by the passage of time become of historical

significance. In addition, "better parks and recreation"

consistently rank high on citizens' lists of priority. Despite

all these factors, the City's relative commitment to parks

within its budgets has for years been grossly inadequate and

is declining. The result has been that a line of generally

sensitive and devoted City park commissioners have been

condemned to inadequate efforts to halt the deterioration of

our parks with no hope of improving them or their use. While

creating new organizations and management systems elsewhere,

the City has paid littleattention to the management of the

park system. Inadequate budgets and the fragmentation of

responsibilities has made a hollow promise of the City's

commitment to recreation outside the parks.

State and federal commitments to the City for parks

and recreation are in early or developmental stages and

should be followed through and strengthened. Most importantly,

57.

work must be done (which has never really been done) to assess

people's open space and recreation needs so that money, which

will always be scarce, can be sensibly used.

Outside of the parks in our City, there are not many

opportunities to stop to rest or watch people go by, or

congregate, and where there is the most to see there are the

fewest places from which to see.

It is odd this should be so. New York has the best

urban design program of any city in the country. By offering

bonus incentives to builders, the City has obtained plazas

and wider sidewalks, theaters, arcades, statuary, fountains,

and other amenities. But the emphasis is on visual effect, and

in stressing form many architects sacrifice function; there is

nothing in municipal procedure to make them consider the social

uses of design, let alone plan for them, and once a project is

built, there is no check to see how well it works for people.

Thus is the most expensive open space in the world squandered.

on the basis of studies that have been made it is clear

as a minimum that zoning regulations should be changed to

require a reasonable amount of sitting space in building plazas.

As a minimum, builders should be required to provide as many

feet of sitting space as there are feet in the outer dimensions

of the property, a fairly easy standard to meet.

58.

More than 100 of the nation's 500 largest corporations

are headquartered in New York. While it has in the recent

past too often been suggested that "business should" take care

of social problems, it seems clear that a small commitment

by each to reviewing, in the light of available knowledge, the

usefulness of space created by zoning regulations on their own

front doorsteps would make a major contribution to the townscape

in our most congested areas.

Open space and new opportunities to use it are available

elsewhere as well. Over 30% of our city land area is given over

to vehicular traffic, and the problems of danger, pollution, noise

and congestion that result. Elsewhere in the Council's report it

is recognized that even in the absence of the energy crisis other

means of transportation which do not aggravate these problems (and

incidentally consume less ground space) are urgently needed. Sav-

ing energy will make this easier to achieve and in turn give re-

newed hope to those who have championed the cause of the pedestrian

in the past. Walking is the most efficient way to move large num-

bers of people for short distances in high density areas. Common-

sense suggests that pedestrian movement be encouraged.

Unlike most plans to reverse the deterioration of urban'

life, which often are so vast as to preclude implementation, plan-

ning for pedestrians can be undertaken experimentally and in stages,

and made part of the continuing structural changes occurring in

every city. It can be applied in areas where benefits would be

abundant and obvious to all. The ease and economy with which a

street can be temporarily closed facilitate experimentation. If

59.

the results of an experimental closing are favorable, the project

should go forward. If not, it can be revised or dropped.

Experiments should be made with widened sidewalks, part-time and

full-time pedestrian streets, and "park streets", where curbs

would be removed and the road bed filled in, creating a single

level between building lines.

A special City agency should monitor and evaluate experi-

ments of this sort. Although the Departments of Traffic, Police

and Sanitation are supposed to concern themselves with the well

being and happiness of the man in the street, and within the

area of their special responsibilities may well do so, none is

specifically responsible for creating improved conditions for

those who use the streets. To do this job, an advocate for

pedestrians is needed.

The possibility of improving-the environment for New York

depends in large part on the attitude of New Yorkers to their

City. That attitude begins with the neighborhood, however defined,

in which each one of us lives. If New York is to become a more

humane City, it must begin by re-encouraging strong neighborhood

feelings. Diversity of neighborhoods is one of New York's

greatest assets and their existence is a key to the rediscovery

of New York, a rediscovery which can have a profoundly

humanizing effect on life in the City. City governments in

the recent past have done something, but can easily do more,

to help neighborhoods establish their own identities and help

their own environments. This is particularly important in

the poorer areas of the City. City dwellers at any income level

need usable open space but poor families are specifically

60.

affected. Apart from living with internal crowding, as well,

they live with what the core City holds for tll-.em, while others

buy space through travel or otherwise.

Pride in and concern for the City as a whole require

also that many who have not seen it as a whole do so. This

applies to all its citizens.

The poor person may visualize City space in a distinctive

manner. He is, so to speak, a block dweller. He does not feel

at home outside his neighborhood, perhaps not anywhere farther

than 10 to 20 blocks from his home. Some children in Harlem

have never seen the Hudson River. There are families in Queens

who do not know what Staten Island looks like. The man who has

more money may in his own mind be a City dweller and call on it

resources as a whole. But it might help the City move forward

if he saw the whole City for himself.

Cities are loved not so much for their natural and archi-

tectural splendors but also for the variety and intensity of

the spectacles that the ordinary events of human life generate

in the streets, the malls, the squares, the parks, and other

public places. The human, as against economic, success of a

city is measured by the opportunities that it gives its citizens

and its visitors to participate in its collective life.

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