September, 2012 - The Nyack Villager

4 The Nyack Villager September, 2012
REPORTER
at large
On the new bridge
Plans to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge have
moved a giant step forward.
In Piermont, with the Hudson River as his
scenic backdrop, Gov. Andrew Cuomo proclaimed
...“a different day for the Tappan
Zee,” adding, “We’ve made more progress
in the past few months than we made in 13
years.”
Indeed, as of Monday, August 20, the NY
Metropolitan Council, comprised of the
county executives of Westchester, Rockland
and Putnam, gave their approval, clearing
the way for the governor to seek federal financing
for part of the project’s cost.
Not everybody is happy about it. There is
still uncertainly about where $5.2 billion
will come from—and there is real outrage
about the projected toll of $14 which, some
say, will put the new bridge beyond the
reach of working commuters.
There are plenty of concerns. Paul Gallay,
president of Riverkeeper, the pro-environment
watchdog group that has criticized the
governor’s plan, wrote, “In the business
world, no reputable company would hold a
vote on, let alone approve a $5 billion investment
on the basis of a sketchy, one-page
financial plan, especially from a business
that’s already having problems with its bond
rating, like the Thruway Authority.”
On Monday the state killed off all hopes for
rail service over the new Tappan Zee Bridge,
dooming Rockland, Westchester and Putnam
counties to countless generations of
dependence on their cars, with all the hydocarbon
emissions that will surely follow.
The best mass transit we can hope for is a
dedicated bus lane during rush hours.
Howard Glaser, director of state operations,
called the August 20 vote "an important
step forward. There's been 10 years of
study, hundreds of public meetings, and finally
we'll begin to move forward," Glaser
said. "The (55 year old) bridge is outdated,
it's unsafe. Residents of Westchester and
Rockland and Putnam deserve better, and
it's an important economic lifeline for all of
New York State."
Among many questions that remain: why
was is Tappan Zee Bridge falling apart after
only 55 years? The GW will celebrate its
81st birthday in a few weeks.
What they’re saying
● GEORGE SHERMAN ON THE NEW TZ BRIDGE
In a letter dated Aug 7, George Sherman, a
resident of South Nyack and longtime advocate
for the environment, complains that
meetings intended as public information
sessions have been monopolized by local
politicians whose speeches add nothing to
the debate and leave no time for local residents
to be heard.
“I'm sure that you are aware that this area is
and has been out of compliance with federal
clean air standards for years,” wrote Mr.
Sherman, “The proposed new bridge(s) will
create more traffic and only compound this
problem. Yet this serious threat to our
health has not been addressed and we are
faced with a major increase of cancer causing
toxins being spewed into our air.
This whole region will suffer as polluted air
knows no boundary. When 287 and 87
were joined, we saw a doubling of truck
traffic through this corridor. I don’t see that
the sign at the 287/87 juncture directing
trucks north to 84 has had a significant impact
in reducing the truck volume.
“We had requested that epidemiological
studies be done in this region to determine
the degree of illness so a realistic assessment
could be made but we were turned down by
the NY State Thruway Authority. Somewhere
in the 88 million dollars spent on
consultants, money could have been found
for this important study.
Are they afraid that such a study will reveal
a problem that they do not want to deal
with?”
The letter was sent to Brian Coneybeare,
former News 12 anchor, now a spokesman
for the governor.
● SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND ON REP. TODD AKIN
“In all my years of public service, I’ve heard
a lot of shocking remarks on the campaign
trail. But yesterday’s appalling comment by
Tea Party senatorial candidate Rep. Todd
Akin of Missouri took things to a whole
new level.”
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has
ways to try to shut that whole thing down,”
he said, falsely claiming that rape survivors
can’t become pregnant as a result of the
crime, while defending his opposition to
abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.
Sen. Gillibrand added that Akin’s opponent
is Sen. Claire McCaskill, “who has been a
strong progressive voice in the Senate on
behalf of women’s rights.”
Rosie O’Donnell’s close call
Hours after she
helped a woman
from her car in a
Nyack parking lot,
Rosie O’Donnell,
popular actor, comedian
and South
Nyack resident, said
she experienced
chest ache, clammy
skin, nausea and vomiting. She did an online
search for heart attack symptoms in
women and took some aspirin.
The cardiologist she consulted the next day
told her that her coronary artery was 99%
blocked. The cardiologist installed a stent.
At last report, Ms. O’Donnell was making
good progress toward recovery.
Considering herself lucky, Ms. O’Donnell
urged women to know the symptoms of
heart attack and to “listen to the voice inside—the
one we all so easily ignore.”
Great advice. Get well soon, Rosie!
Symptoms of heart attack
Anthony Komaroff, MD writes that, although
the most common sign of heart attack
in both men and women is chest pain
or discomfort, other symptoms tend to vary
depending on gender.
In men—
symptoms include pain or discomfort in the
center of the chest, pain or discomfort that
radiates to the upper body, especially shoulders
or arms and neck, sweating, dizziness.
In women—
symptoms include pressure, aching, or tightness
in the center of the chest (although not
as frequently as in men), shortness of breath,
weakness; unusual fatigue, nausea or vomiting,
dizziness back or jaw pain.
Dr. Komaroff is professor of medicine at Harvard
Medical School and editor-in-chief of
Harvard Health Publications.
Fact checking
As much as we admire and use the Internet,
we must recognize that it’s the perfect
medium for legitimizing lies and half-truths.
Get to know Snopes, if you’re not already
acquainted with it. Be your own fact
checker at http://www.snopes.com/
Snopes describes their site as “the definitive
Internet reference source for urban legends,
folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.”
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