Things are heating up

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Now that the primary election has come and gone, many Riverdalians are turning their attention to the next hot topic — our environment.

Some are — to use an old adage — thinking globally and acting locally, but others are both thinking and acting locally. Every one of these groups deserves our support.

On the global front, Riverdalians are adding to the momentum of the Peoples Climate March. Without corporate sponsorship or much media attention, a groundswell of community activists from all walks of life has promised to make Sept. 21 a day to remember for the environmental movement. 

As outlined elsewhere on this page by Jennifer Scarlott,  a newly formed Riverdale-Kingsbridge Coalition for Climate Action is planning  to make sure our community is heard from on issues from fracking to farming.

Closer to home, Councilman Andrew Cohen deserves praise for introducing a bill to put pressure on Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, to rescind its zoning variance allowing the LG corporation to build an outsized tower on the Palisades. 

The New Jersey town has already thought better of a broader zoning change, so it has clearly heard the almost unanimous protests from concerned citizens on both sides of the river.

Last weekend, Wave Hill’s Family Art Project introduced children as young as four to the idea that they, too, could make a difference for the environment. 

The kids were asked to create images of their own concepts for preserving the great cliffs. It’s never too early to train environmental activists.

One happy benefit of the project was to get parents thinking about what they could do — right now — to aid in the fight.

On this side of the Hudson, the Riverdale Communty Coalition (RCC) is gearing up once again to raise awareness of the intentions of the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale.

Although the home has been silent for several months about its plans, it has confirmed that it still intends to build a large urban complex straddling its current campus and land it purchased from the Passionist Catholic order.

A series of new structures would convert the home into New York City’s first “continuous care community.”

This may well be a welcome approach to deal with a rapidly aging baby boomer community, but there ought to be a way to do it without despoiling precious waterfront property.

The home has already compromised on the siting of its proposed complex. The  RCC is hoping to persuade it to scale back its very large size, too.

 

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iverdale has a proud history of defending our local environment and working to save the planet. A couple of generations ago, community leaders convinced the city to create a natural area district here that has been the bulwark of protection for trees and other natural features. 

A generation ago, the Riverdale Clean Air Campaign put an end to toxic incinerators in the area’s apartment buildings and later forced the closing of the South Bronx Medical Waste Incinerator.

The Natural Resources Defense Council had drawn its leadership from Riverdale and so has the League of Conservation Voters.

Now is the time for a new generation to step forward and think and act locally and globally.

Peoples Climate March, Riverdale-Kingsbridge Coalition for Climate Action, Andrew Cohen, LG

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