RyeCity REVIEW THE
October 28, 2022 | Vol. 10, Number 43 | www.ryecityreview.com
Save the Sound settles with Harrison in Clean Water Act suit
A RIVALRY WIN!
Mary Sack celebrates a first half goal against Harrison in the Class A first round game on Oct. 21. The Garnets topped Harrison 2-1 thanks to two goals by Sack. For story, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
How the Community Resource Center is rebuilding its future By Linnet Tse The Community Resource Center, which has provided critical services to our community since 1998, was devastated by Hurricane Ida just over one year ago. At the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit’s Oct. 11 monthly program, the CRC’s leadership shared a look back over the past year and a look forward to the future it is planning.
Remembering Hurricane Ida CRC Executive Director Jirandy Martinez reminded the audience that it was just over 13 months ago—Sept. 1, 2021—that Hurricane Ida swept through Mamaroneck, displacing 1,000 people, flooding 535 homes and causing $18 million in losses alone in the first week. Many families lost everything. The CRC’s home at 134 Center Ave. took in 14 feet of water, seriously damaging both their main building and the Worker Center, displacing them. Martinez described how, despite the CRC’s own losses, the dedicated staff aided local families while working from
temporary space generously provided by St. Thomas Church. Nearly 300 families were given emergency financial assistance between $500-$5,000 per family; support was also provided in a variety of other ways, including helping clients with FEMA paperwork, assisting with housing needs, and helping replace clothing, furniture, appliances and other items lost in the flood.
CRC Today: Navigating New Challenges While the CRC has resumed most of its programs and services, thanks to temporary space provided by several community partners including St. Thomas, the Mamaroneck Public Library, and the STEM Alliance, Luis Zarate, deputy executive director, pointed out that there have been a number of challenges. In their borrowed spaces, there is often little or no private space for clients who need confidentiality in matters involving domestic violence, immigration issues and wage theft, as examples. In addition, the location of some of their temporary space has also been further
away from the community, making access difficult. Finally, Zarate explained that there was a trust factor to contend with. Clients are less likely to attend programs in a location unfamiliar to them. As a result, Zarate said that they are still working to rebuild participation levels in some of their programs.
Project CRC Rebuild Operating out of temporary space for the past 13 months has made the CRC leadership team and board of directors acutely aware of how much they need their own space. Board member and Rebuild Committee member Leonard Aubrey, shared that the Rebuild Committee, comprised of four board members along with Martinez and Zarate, established three project priorities after extensive discussions with stakeholder groups, including municipal leaders. These included: 1) ensuring continued easy access by their clients; 2) ensuring sufficient space for growing and planned new programs; and 3) affordability while achieving signifi
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Repairs to a sewer system that has been falling apart for decades will be made, and water quality restoration efforts will be funded, now that Save the Sound and the town/village of Harrison have reached a collaborative agreement. It would resolve Save the Sound’s Clean Water Act enforcement action filed in 2015 that stemmed from discharges of sewage from the municipality’s sanitary sewers due to deteriorating pipes. The proposed agreement was filed by Save the Sound and Harrison with the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York and is subject to a 45-day review period by the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency. The settlement came just before the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act today. The agreement requires Harrison to repair its approximately 64 miles of wastewater collection pipe, fixing approximately 6,000 inflow- and infiltration-related defects and over 9,600 total defects. As well, Harrison will contribute $60,000 to the Westchester Soil and Water Conservation District for an Environmental Benefit Project that will address water quality in the Westchester Long Island Sound watershed area. “We’re pleased that Harrison is taking this very necessary action to protect its residents’ health and Long Island Sound ecosystems. The work is extensive and spread out over several years,” said Roger Reynolds, chief legal counsel at Save the Sound. “There are firm enforceable milestones and deadlines attached, and we
will be diligent in monitoring and enforcing those deadlines as we have in our previous Westchester settlements.” In 2015, Save the Sound brought suit against Westchester County and the municipalities of Rye, Rye Brook, Harrison, Scarsdale, Larchmont, Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, Port Chester, and White Plains. For decades, the deteriorating sewer lines that ran under the streets and lawns of these towns had been overwhelmed during rainstorms and leaking sewage into our waterways, causing low oxygen, high bacteria levels, and long-term harm to Long Island Sound. Poorly maintained sewer pipes are an important reason that beaches are closed after rain, and harvesting clams or oysters in local bays and harbors is prohibited. As a result of Save the Sound’s ongoing lawsuit, the county and municipalities have been studying their systems and making repairs necessary to protect Long Island Sound. Save the Sound has reached final resolutions with five other Westchester municipalities (Port Chester, Village of Mamaroneck, White Plains, Rye Brook, and Rye), which have agreed to make necessary repairs, keep their systems in a state of good repair going forward, and perform $225,000 worth of environmental benefit projects to restore water quality in their local waterways. The settlement with Harrison would be the sixth and
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