Local lawmakers brave the cold to oppose Gowanus fracked-gas plant repowering
“It shouldn’t be happening, not now, not after everything we know about the effects of pollution,” said Brooklyn native Ken Schles. “I am a heart attack survivor and I had childhood asthma.” Schles, a photographer and member of 350 Brooklyn, is worried about how more fossil fuel infrastructure could lead to adverse health effects for Brooklyn residents.
Schels, along with other concerned Brooklynites and local lawmakers, gathered at Thomas Greene Park in Gowanus on Saturday to urge Governor Cuomo not to approve the repowering of The Gowanus Fracked Gas Plant, operated by Astoria Generating Company.
The Gowanus plant has been operating since 1971, its peaker plant status means that it is used on days where the city needs extra energy. This usually falls in the summer months when AC units are running.
The Astoria Generating company currently operates two power plants in the Gowanus/Sunset Park area located on six barges at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal. The Gowanus Unit sits on four barges, next to it sits the two-barge Narrows Generating Station.