This is where we will list articles from Newspapers, pictures of rights and wrongs in the town, and remarks on current projects
CHEEKTOWAGA TOWN BOARD
Dennis H. Gabryszak, SUPERVISOR
James J. Jankowiak
Thomas M. Johnson, Jr.
Jeff Swiatek
Thomas J. Mazur
Patricia A. Jaworowicz
Alice Magierski
Buffalo Crushed Stone, application to "CRUSH COMMUNITY"
CHEEKTOWAGA POLITICS, we must open our eyes!
October 1, 2004 Cheektowaga Supervisor Dennis Gabryszak receives a notice from the New York State DEC.
"Dear Mr Gabryszak:
This is to advise you that Buffalo Crushed Stone Inc. has applied to this department for modification of a Mining Permit pursuant to Article 23, Title 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law for changes to the Como Park Boulevard plant 21 Quarry. Proposed changes to the operation include relocation of the existing processing plant into the east quarry basin (within a previously mined area approximately 150ft. below grade), relocation of the existing blacktop plants the the applicant's property adjacent to the railroad (north of Indian road) and mining of the area that separates the east basin from the west basin (approximately 39 acres). (  added by cheeky043)
In accordance with article B (SEQE) of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, we have identified the proposal as a "Type 1" Action. Accordingly, preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement or issuance of a Determination of Non-Significance must be done after designation of an appropriate "SEQR" Lead agency". It is the departments intention to issue a "Positive Declarations" a Notice of Determination of Significance, and intent to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement, for this proposal.
This is to inform you that the department of Environmental Conservation proposes to act as SEQR Lead Agency for the review of this mining permit application, as the Mined land reclamation Law assigns principal authority over activities to the department. However, the purpose of this letter is twofold:
1) to request your concurrence with designation of the Department as SEQR lead Agency;
2) to request information regarding any (not legible area added by cheeky043) our review especially regarding setbacks, barers to access, dust, hours of operation and zoning prohibitions.
Enclosed is a copy of the Mining application, Plan narrative, Full Environmental assessment Form, Draft Scoping Document, Organizational Report, Mining map and Reclamation Map.
Please review this material and reply by NOVEMBER 1, 2004. if NO reply is received by this date, we will assume you have no objection to DEC assuming the role of SEQR Lead Agency and have NO comments to make at this time. Please save the enclosed matereial for the mandatory 30-day application post-completeness period, as we will not send a copy with the review notice.
If you have any questions regarding the application or SEQR procedures please contact me, or if appropriate the applicant.
Sincerely,
David S. Denk
Deputy Permit Administrator
Supervisor Gabryszak did not respond to the state in 30 days as the town did in 1997 when the quarry requested a 140.5 acre expansion. The town is currently involved in litigation over the 1997 request. (Quarry vs town) He did not nituify the taxpayer groups in the area involved at his monthly meeting with the pres. of the groups. He did nothing to protect this community from further environmental damage. .SOUNDS LIKE DIRTY POLITICS AT CHEEKTOWAGA TOWN HALL ONCE AGAIN!!!
Go on, ask the question, WHY SHOULD RESIDENTS BE CONCERNED OVER THIS RECENT PROPOSAL??? I will tell you why in my next posting.
Better response rate sought for Bellevue survey
By BARBARA O'BRIEN
News Southtowns Bureau
4/15/2004
Researchers looking into the rates of autoimmune and respiratory diseases in the Bellevue area are trying to increase the response rate to their surveys.
"We're at a critical final phase now in conducting this health study. It is vital that as many residents as possible respond to the public health survey," said Joseph A. Gardella Jr., a University at Buffalo chemistry professor.
Some residents in the Bellevue neighborhood, which is home to a stone quarry and three landfills, have believed that they have high rates of illness because of the quarry and the landfills. The health study is an intensive look to see if that is true.
Bellevue is one of two neighborhoods where residents have been asked to fill out the 10-page survey. Researchers also have passed out the surveys in the Dick Road-George Urban Boulevard area. It was chosen to be a control group because its population is similar to Bellevue in size, age, gender, education and length of residence.
To reach more people, survey organizers are holding open houses at Resurrection Catholic Church Hall, 130 Como Park Blvd., near Union Road. Coordinators of the study will be there from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday and from noon to 5 p.m. April 24.
Residents can pick up new surveys and fill them out, and talk with Gardella, an associate dean at UB who is principal investigator for the study, and Christine Brinkhus, a graduate student in anthropology who is directing the project. Donna Hosmer, president of the Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition, also will be on hand to answer questions.
UB students went door-to-door last fall, handing out information about the study and the surveys. After the weather turned cold, surveys were mailed to those who had not been contacted in person. There were 3,000 surveys delivered in each community.
"We've physically been to every house twice," Brinkhus said.
The response rate has been about 8 percent, according to Brinkhus, who said, "We're desperately trying to get it up to 33 percent."
The survey will be valid only if 30 percent to 40 percent respond, Gardella said.
Brinkhus said it appears man people are choosing not to participate. Others agreed to participate but never turned in the survey. Organizers sent mailings to 1,000 people this week.
"The survey is 10 pages long, and we know it takes a substantial amount of time and thought to answer it," Gardella said, "but frankly, responding to the survey is the only way that the community will be able to have closure, to find out once and for all if further study is needed because something in their environment is making them and their loved ones sick."
Brinkhus said data collection and data entry should be completed by May 31. It could take 12 months after that to analyze the data, she said.
The study is a cooperative venture among the state Department of Health, UB, the Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition and the Erie County Health Department.
Regarding the following article
"Como Park Blvd. ordered opened to trucks"
This move is done in the name of "progress", this spring the State will
reconstruct Union rd from Como park blvd to George Urban blvd along with sections of Walden ave.
Further harm to the Bellevue community is what will be accomplished.
Bellevue, a community that is already over burdened with truck traffic as well as particulate from diesel engines. (Buffalo Crushed stone)
Our children suffer from one of the highest rates of asthma in WNY, surely this move to allow trucks on Como Park blvd will only intensify this condition.
Progess should not be at the expense of this communities young.
Donna Hosmer
CHEEKTOWAGA
Como Park Blvd. ordered opened to trucks
By BARBARA O'BRIEN
News Southtowns Bureau
3/31/2004
In 1994, Cheektowaga excluded 14 county roads from a truck route system.
Last week Erie County told the town that trucks should be returned to Como
Park Boulevard.
"I think they're mistaken. I think the county was an active part of the
process when we did that," Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak said.
After holding a public hearing, the Town Board adopted the truck route system
Oct. 17, 1994. It designated 17 major thoroughfares for use by trucks. But
trucks exceeding five tons were prohibited on 14 roads, including the town's
section of Como Park Boulevard. from Union Road to Transit Road.
"The idea of the truck route is to keep trucks out of the residential area,"
said Frank Sikorski, a member of the board of directors of the
Depew/Cheektowaga Taxpayers Association.
Sikorski, who lives on Bennett Road off Como Park, notes that trucks are
allowed to make deliveries to businesses on Como Park and dump trucks are
allowed
to pick up loads at the Buffalo Crushed Stone quarry. But opening the road to
all other trucks would create a burden, he said.
"There are a lot of options for truckers to move through the town without
moving through a residential area," he said.
Maria Lehman, county public works commissioner, maintained the town never
obtained permits to put up signs restricting truck traffic on Como Park
Boulevard
and said the signs should come down.
"The present posting has created a hardship for other towns and commercial
truckers working on local and state projects as these unwarranted
restrictions
are forcing them to take alternative routes," she says in a letter to
Cheektowaga Highway Superintendent Christopher J. Kowal.
The letter says Como Park is classified as a minor arterial, which should be
used by trucks and other vehicles. It also connects Transit and Union, two
major state routes. She ordered the town to remove the signs banning trucks by Friday.
"We posted that for five tons, which we believe is within the charter of the
town to designate the truck routes within the town," Kowal said.
Town Council Member Thomas M. Johnson Jr. wrote back to the county stating
the town's position and asking for the proper permits if they had not been
issued.
e-mail: bobrien@buffnews.com
CHEEKTOWAGA
Citizens warn of air from quarry
By BARBARA O'BRIEN
News Southtowns Bureau
3/16/2004 |
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The first Bellevue "Bucket Brigade" air sample taken by members of the Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition near Buffalo Crushed Stone shows high levels of hydrogen sulfide, residents said.
The levels were 72.7 times the New York State's annual guideline concentrations, said Donna Hosmer, president of the coalition.
"It is imperative the public be made aware," Hosmer said Monday.
"For many years we have been asking for more information," Bellevue resident John Stonefield said.
Members of the coalition, who live in the Bellevue area, captured the sample with the air sampling device housed inside a five-gallon plastic bucket on the evening of Feb. 24 after residents in the area had complained of a strong odor of rotten eggs.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with a characteristic odor of rotten eggs.
Inhalation of lower concentrations of hydrogen sulfide can cause headaches, dizziness and irritation of the eyes, mucous membranes and upper respiratory system, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The sample, taken on Como Park Boulevard near a ditch that is used by the quarry to discharge water, was shipped overnight to a laboratory in California, which analyzed it the following day.
One sample showed 72.7 micrograms per cubic meter and another contained 67.8 micrograms per cubic meter. The annual concentration guideline listed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Air Resources in 2000 was 1 microgram per cubic meter.
"We're calling for a full investigation by the DEC," said Mike Schade, Western New York director for the Citizens Environmental Coalition, a statewide environmental group.
The DEC's regional environmental quality engineer said the DEC responded to odor complaints at Buffalo Crushed Stone on Feb. 25, the day after the sample was taken.
"We ordered them to stop discharging to the ditch," said Daniel David.
"As soon as we were made aware of this complaint, the water discharge system was shut down," said Earl Wells, a spokesman for Buffalo Crushed Stone.
He said the company is conducting its own study of the results, and plans to make them public this week.
David of the DEC said before water is discharged into the ditch, which flows into Cayuga Creek, it goes through a treatment process. The DEC decided the treatment process was not working properly because there was ice on the quarry pond preventing the water from airing and oxidizing properly, he said.
e-mail: bobrien@buffnews.com
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March 15, 2004
Yahoo! The Town did something right!
We no longer will be responsible for burning plastics in Niagara county!!!
Tonight, the Cheektowaga Town Board voted on the new recycling program. They passed the resolution to amend the solid waste law in the town. The vote was unanimous.
The Cheektowaga Citizens Coalition praised the town board tonight for reinstating the recycling program. For the past year the CCC has given the town board an earful of our disappointment in their actions. Tonight was time to give them a high five for doing whats right.
So heres to you Cheektowaga for moving into this century and taking responsibility for your waste!
CHEEKTOWAGA
Restoration of collections recycles controversy
By BARBARA O'BRIEN
News Southtowns Bureau
3/2/2004
Cheektowaga returned to recycling Monday night with almost as much controversy as it had provoked by suspending the state-mandated program last year.
The president of a union representing town workers again offered to negotiate on handling recycling, and one of the unsuccessful bidders wanted to know how he lost the job.
The Town Board unanimously awarded the contract to BFI Waste Systems for ,480 or .16 per household, plus a payment to the town of per ton for all recyclables collected.
Town Attorney Michael Stachowski said Cheektowaga estimates that payment will range from ,000 to ,000 per year, offsetting the town's outlay.
Ferd Trost, area president of Republic Services of New York, wanted to know how the bids were evaluated. Upstate Disposal, a subsidiary of Republic, had bid .92 per household or ,760 to pick up paper one week and hard recyclables the next.
Stachowski said the town wants all recyclables picked up every week, which is how the other companies bid the job.
"I don't believe that's what was in the bid. It asked for recyclables to be picked up weekly. We could have bid it the other way. That was the level of service you had," Trost said.
"If you had bid it that way, there would have been more for the board to consider," Stachowski said. "BFI was more service at about the same cost."
Last year, when the town requested proposals, Republic Services bid for .22 per household.
Before the board awarded the contract, Kevin Glascott, president of the Town of Cheektowaga Employees Association, said he had not received a response to his Feb. 20 memo offering to open negotiations on having union workers pick up recycling. He said the proposal the union made last year appears to be lower than the bids from private companies.
Brian Krause, director of administration and finance, said the union's proposal was about ,000 short because it did not include the cost of liability insurance and equipment.
Glascott praised the board for getting back into recycling but added: "I do hope an opportunity to save the town money wasn't missed. I think it might have been."
The Town Board wants recycling to start April 1. BFI will mail educational materials to residents, Stachowski said. The town attorney also said the town wants to include commercial and apartment properties in recycling.
This artcle was scanned from the BUFFALO NEWS, Buffalos leading Newspaper.
CHEEKTOWAGA
Town poised to revive recycling
By BARBARA O'BRIEN
News Southtowns Bureau
1/27/2004
Less than a year ago, the Town of Cheektowaga was dubbed one of the
"Dirty Dozen" in New York State by environmentalists for dropping its
recycling program.
In three weeks, the town will open what it hopes will be very
competitive bids from private companies to restart recycling.
A little later this year, residents will put out their plastic and glass
bottles, cans and newspapers in separate bins.
How many residents will recycle is anyone's guess. In 2002, the last
year that there was recycling, 5,833 tons were picked up by town crews.
Last year, when recyclables were picked up with the garbage, the tonnage
of garbage going to American Ref-Fuel's waste-to-energy plant increased
by 8,523 tons over the amount in the previous year.
Highway Superintendent Christopher J. Kowal said he thinks that some of
the increase was because the town collected grass clippings with the
garbage in April before arranging to take them to a composting company.
Kowal's take on the comments he has received is that after a year of not
separating cans and bottles, people do not want to start rinsing them
out and throwing them in a recycling bin. see comments to follow
"People like the way it is. Their wish is to leave it as it is," he said.
"The biggest process is going to be education. We have to go back and
re-educate the people," Kowal said.
"I think that's really key," said Mike Schade, western district director
of the Citizens Environmental Coalition.
The coalition named the town one of the state's "Dirty Dozen" polluters
last April. The town pays American Ref-Fuel .94 for each ton of
garbage incinerated at American Ref-Fuel's plant. The extra 8,523 tons
picked up with the garbage last year cost about ,000, he said.
"Once you source separate, the figure should go down," Kowal said.
When Cheektowaga put out a request for proposals for recycling last
year, it got a low bid of .20 per household per year, although that
was for alternate week pickups. The other bids ranged from .40 to
.58 to .43 per household.
"We'll see," said Town Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak. "I'm anxiously
awaiting to see what the numbers come in at."
Mr. Kowal must be speaking to residents in his dreams, residents do want to recycle, they know why it must be done, they realize that through their effort the air they breathe and the earth that we inhabit will become a safer place for their children and grandchildren.
If in fact Mr Kowal has heard complaints, we can assume that these complaints have come from the very generation that thought throwing garbage in Lake Erie would not harm anyone. (What you can not see is no longer there) Look at the lesson we have learned from that mistake, dead fish everywhere, waters so polluted that our children can not enjoy their given rights as citizens of this planet, many will never know the joy of growing up going to the beaches, splashing in the warm sun all day with their families. These days we must have pools in our yards and when we do verture off to the beach we find them closed with dead fish all along the shorelines.
The problem is not that the residents need education, the problem is that the Town of Cheektowaga has been run by the same families for generation WE have a beautiful Town in Cheektowaga, rich in history, but loosing her beauty and natural resources daily. We need change in the way the town is run. A monarchy is not the answer. Generation after generation. The same ideas past down over and over again.
Cheektowaga Times
Board ‘suspends’ recycling services
January 9, 2003
Despite pleas from environmental groups, the Town Board on Monday indefinitely suspended recycling services, drawing applause from representatives of several taxpayer groups.
"This Town Board probably spent more time on this issue than I can remember in recent years," said Supervisor Dennis H. Gabryszak.
The decision means that residents will no longer have to "source separate" items such as newspapers, glass, metal, and plastic from regular garbage.
Garbage will be incinerated at American Ref-Fuel in Niagara Falls, NY. The incinerated garbage is turned into steam power to fuel generators.
Collection of yard waste and appliances is not affected by the decision.
Several councilmembers addressed the audience about the decision.
"This is something we’ve been working on for well over a year," said Councilmember James J. Jankowiak. "We will continue to work on it and come up with the best solution for the Town."
Councilmember Patricia A. Jaworowicz said she wanted the Town to continue its recycling program from her positions as an elected official and as a resident.
"Even if I publicly and privately support every legitimate argument in favor of recycling– which I do– the bottom line is that...economic issues do not financially allow the option," said Jaworowicz.
Jaworowicz said she is "extremely frustrated" that the budget was "gutted" of its recycling services.
"We reviewed it to the point of exhaustion," added Councilmember Thomas M. Johnson and noted that the Town "is not closing the door on recycling efforts that may make sense in the future [and] are economically and environmentally feasible."
Still, members of the Cheektowaga Citizens’ Coalition (CCC) and Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC) were not pleased with the decision.
"I’m really very unhappy with your decision," said CCC President Donna Hosmer. "I really hope that you reconsider and reinstate the recycling program as soon as possible."
The CEC’s Western New York Director Mike Schade said he was "disappointed and discouraged" by the unanimous vote.
"The Town has ignored the warnings of the state Attorney General’s office and the DEC," said Schade. "The Town has ignored the calls from hundreds of citizens from the Town of Cheektowaga."
Schade said he also "fears" the precedent Cheektowaga’s decision could set for other municipalities.
Hosmer and Schade also spoke prior to the Town Board vote.
Schade argued that Hamburg and Amherst contracts with BFI, which pays those municipalities per ton for recyclable materials and noted that Cheektowaga’s tipping fee alone is per ton.
"Cheektowaga has chosen a costly option," said Schade. "Perhaps another look at BFI is in order."
After the meeting, Gabryszak told the Times there are "certain things that bind the Town" in its solid waste management, such as contracts.
He made his comment in response to a question concerning whether the Town had looked into retaining BFI.
"We looked at all options," Gabryszak added.
Gabryszak said the Town’s recycling contract with American Ref-Fuel runs through December 31, 2003.
Representatives from the William Street and Depew-Cheektowaga taxpayers associations, and the Town Park Homeowners Association all were on hand to support the Town’s decision.
The Town did not include funding for its recycling department in the 2003 budget, and after examining other source separation options the Board felt suspending the program was its best option.
Cheektowaga was one of few communities in western New York to fund its own recycling department.
Because Cheektowaga does not make money through recycling, Town officials say continuing to run the department would cost taxpayers $1.4 million.
"This is not a simplistic solution," said Johnson. "It is not the final act in the process of reviewing this matter."
Source separation is required through the state’s Solid Waste Management Act of 1988 but the Town cited a section of the law that calls for separation only if costs can be recovered by the municipality.
The Department of Environmental Conservation has warned the Town that it will act if it is determined that Cheektowaga is out of compliance with state laws.
The DEC "will take appropriate action including the possibility of referring this matter to the Attorney General for enforcement," DEC Regional Director Gerald Mikol wrote in a January 3 letter to Gabryszak.
However, Gabryszak told the audience Monday that the Town "will make sure every step of the way that we are in compliance."
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