January 2015
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Liberty Natural Gas is proposing to build an offshore facility called Port Ambrose for dirty, expensive, and explosive liquefied natural gas (LNG) just 28 miles off the coast of NJ beaches. The facility could be used to import or export this dirty fuel, which produces 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than domestic natural gas.  

  

There are two public hearings scheduled. 

 

TONIGHT, January 7th

Hilton Hotel: JFK Airport

144-02, 135th Ave

Jamaica, NY 11436

 

Thursday, January 8th

Sheraton Hotel

6 Industrial Way East

Eatontown, NJ 07724

 

An open house to gain more information on the issue will take place from 4:30-5:30pm and the hearing will be from 6:00-8:00pm. 

 
Please attend the hearings and say NO to Port Ambrose and YES to a healthy NY/NJ Harbor! Together we can stop LNG!

For more information click here

thanksThank You to All Our 

Last year, NY/NJ Baykeeper:

  •  Acquired 33 acres for a proposed new Monmouth County park located in Aberdeen, New Jersey
  • Restored approximately 30 feet of walking trails by laying down gravel and fencing off areas of erosion to prevent further damage by hikers in Matawan, New Jersey
  • Removed over 10 truckloads of trash from the rivers and streams of the Estuary 
  • Laid down 200 feet of coconut fiber mesh for hill stabilization and transplanted approximately 30 cattails to the lake shore in Cheesequake State Park
  • Planted over 300,000 baby oysters at our oyster reef at Naval Weapons Station Earle
  • Hosted over 70 volunteers at our Soundview Park oyster reef in the Bronx
  • And helped connect over 300 people to the Hudson-Raritan Estuary through our free kayak tours and Eco-Cruises.
None of this would have been possible without you! Thank you and have a green 2015!
treeTreeCycle Your Christmas Tree!

As if the holiday blues weren't depressing enough, tis the season when we see those once jolly, lit trees tossed to the curb. Instead, this year try using your tree to benefit your backyard wildlife! You can string table scraps, or popcorn, peanuts, and cranberries to the tree or it can be used as a hideaway. Learn more here


 

Also, check out Staten Island's Mulch Fest January 10 and 11 from 10:00am - 2:00pm. Recycle your Christmas tree into mulch that will benefit plantings throughout the City! Click here for locations. 


 


 

greeGreen Infrastructure Workshop
NY/NJ Baykeeper, in conjunction with fellow Newark DIG members, Rutgers University Cooperative Extension and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection will be hosting a  on Tuesday March 24, for the business community, property developers and stakeholders. The workshop will explore the economic benefits of incorporating green infrastructure in construction design. Continental breakfast will be provided for guests. Register here. The workshop made possible by the Stonybrook Millstone Watershed Association's, the Watershed Institute. 
oysterDr. Allie's Oyster Corner

Dr. Allie recently visited our reef at Soundview Park and found a thriving naturally recruited reef nearby! We'll be keeping an eye on it! If you are interested in volunteering when the weather gets warmer, email allison@nynjbaykeeper.org

 

 

sandySandy Recovery Update
New Jersey has just released a breakdown of how the last round of Sandy Recovery funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will be spent.  Of the $881,909,000 that will be released to NJ, $380 million will be specifically for the two winning Rebuild by Design projects: New Meadowlands and Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge.  The remaining $501,909,000 will be spent entirely on un-met housing needs. The Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation (RREM) program will receive the bulk of the money, $225 million, in order to serve the remaining 2,000 applicants who are currently waitlisted.  $210 million will go to the Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing (FRM) Program to repair or replace rental housing units destroyed by Sandy.  $10 million will go to the Sandy Special Needs Housing Fund (SSNHF) Program which repairs housing destroyed by Sandy for people with special needs that was destroyed by Sandy.  Finally, $15 million will go to the Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) Program to ensure rental housing is available to low-to-moderate income populations in Sandy impacted communities.  If you would like further information on this round of Sandy funding you can visit: http://www.renewjerseystronger.org/ and for more information on funding provided to date, click here
In This Issue

Oppose Port Ambrose
From the Baykeeper

Our parks are not for sale.  It is hard to believe we continually have to fight against attacks on our precious urban open space, like Liberty State Park.  The latest insult includes a last-minute amendment to legislation restructuring the Meadowlands to pull the Park under the jurisdiction of the newly created Meadowlands Regional Commission, away from the professional staff at NJ Department of Environmental Protection.  The bill was rushed through the Legislature right before Christmas and now awaits Governor Christie's signature.  We are asking him to conditionally veto the bill to remove this damaging language, but really what we need is for politicians on both sides of the aisle to stand up for the protection of the Park and not bargain it away to private interests.

 
Debbie Mans
 eventsEvents
MulchFest 
January 10-11, 10am-2pm
Staten Island
Click here for locations

Oral Argument on Appeal of NJ Public Access Rule
January 27, 9:30am-1:00pm
Trenton, NJ 

Green Infrastructure Workshop for Property Developers and Business Stakeholders
March 24, 8:30 - 11:00am
Newark, NJ

For more event details visit our event calendar
actionAction Alert
Can Newark, NJ benefit from green infrastructure? Newark DIG (Doing Infrastructure Green) is a collaboration of groups working towards making green infrastructure Newark's first line of defense in managing stormwater (known also as rainwater). Newark DIG and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program would like to know your thoughts on the needs of the community. The survey is part of a research study conducted by the RCE Water Resources Program and participation is voluntary and anonymous. To participate in the survey
click here . To like Newark DIG on Facebook, click here

Protecting, preserving, and restoring the Hudson-Raritan Estuary since 1989.
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