Opinion: FASNY... Herbicide Use in Conservancy

Dear Mayor and Common Council,

Has FASNY notified the Common Council that over the weekend. . .it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that the herbicide, glyphosate, marketed as “Rodeo” by Monsanto. . .was declared carcinogenic by the World Health Organization? (WSJ, March 21, 2015)

Also an MIT Researcher back on December 26, 2014 stated that “ Glyphosate Herbicide will Cause Half of All Children to Have Autism by 2025”. Here’s the link: http://healthimpactnews.com/2014/mit-researcher-glyphosate-herbicide-wil...

And this Sunday’s Journal News had a front page story about harmful effects of household chemicals and pesticides featuring Dr. Philip Landrigan, who lives in Mamaroneck and is director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. On July 23, 2014 Dr. Landrigan testified at a US Congressional Briefing on the dangers of glyphosate by saying “Exposures to herbicides in early life can lead to disease in childhood or disease later on in adult life or even old age”.

The reason that we are bringing up glyphosate and “Rodeo” is that in FASNY’s Revised Site Plan & Special Permit Submission of October 20, 2014 in their Conservancy Area Master Plan section, pages 5 and 6. . .FASNY stated that they will be using the herbicide “Rodeo”. . .most probably due to prior complaints from neighborhood residents about their planned use of the herbicide “Round-Up”.

To use FASNY’s own words. . .”The chemical herbicide to be used will be glyphosate, which is marketed commercially as Rodeo. Rodeo is similar to Round-Up, which is used by many home-owners to maintain gardens and lawns, but Rodeo does not contain a surfactant that may have harmful effects on certain invertebrate species. Rodeo is approved for aquatic use and for areas adjacent to surface water bodies. Since glyphosate binds readily to soil particles it does not represent a threat to groundwater.” Please see: http://www.johnmeyerconsulting.com/fasny/revised-site-plan-special-permi...
As usual in every FASNY communication there is always more to this story than FASNY originally presented. And we wonder what type of impact “Rodeo” will have. . .on the health of nearby residents, their children and their pets. . .as well as stormwater runoffs to other neighborhood homes as well as residences in the Southend and Mamaroneck all the way to the Long Island Sound?

We all have heard the term “the devil’s in the details”. And when we apply it to this FASNY project. . .does it seem that whenever we look at specific details of FASNY’s plans that they. . . either have not done enough due diligence, can’t get their facts correct or can’t be trusted with the information they provide to the City and residents?

It boggles our minds that FASNY’s planned use of glyphosate, or any herbicide, in their 78-acre Conservancy near residential homes and bike, walking & supposedly Nature Trails. . .has been ignored by the environmental groups who FASNY claims support their Conservancy?

Please add “herbicides” to our extensive list of concerns where residents need protection from FASNY.

Your concerned Truth Police,

We report. . .you decide.

Marie and Ron Rhodes