On Tuesday, October 16, Borough President Markowitz joined Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, State and City elected officials, environmentalists, environmental justice advocates and labor leaders to urge the State Assembly to pass legislation during a special session next week that authorizes the construction and operation of a marine transfer station (MTS) at Pier 52 on the Gansevoort Peninsula in Manhattan. The Gansevoort MTS is a critical component of the landmark Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) adopted by the City Council in July 2006 and approved by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in October 2006.

“New York City's Solid Waste Management Plan, an inspired partnership between the environmental justice community and the visionary Bloomberg administration and other public officials, must now be fast-tracked in Albany so our neighborhoods and families finally get the respect they deserve,” said BP Markowitz. “For Brooklyn, which for years has shouldered more than our fair share of the City’s garbage transfer infrastructure, there is not a moment to waste!”