Not in my neighborhood, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday when asked about the garbage incinerators he’s been promoting.
Bloomberg insisted it’s not practical to put incinerators in wealthy areas because that would “drive away the revenue base that supports this city.”
Wading into dangerous political waters, he admitted publicly what most politicians only whisper in private: The rich have a lot more clout than the poor when it comes to blocking unwanted facilities.
“If you were to put an incinerator on Park Avenue, you would drive away the revenue base that supports this city,” Bloomberg, who lives in a townhouse on the Upper East Side, told a reporter who asked if he’d welcome such a plant near Gracie Mansion.
“The fact of the matter is that where you tend to site things – unfortunately – it tends to be in areas that are also in proximity to people who are just starting their ways up the economic ladder,” he said.
Bloomberg’s remarks came just days after he spoke in support of incineration to ease the city’s garbage crisis. At the time, he dismissed critics of incineration, saying technology has improved greatly in recent years and that there’s “no pollution.”
Bloomberg yesterday argued all New Yorkers are already paying a heavy price for shipping garbage out of state.
But he soon found himself in the middle of a flare-up.
City Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn), who represents the Greenpoint district, where the last city incinerator was closed in 1994, urged Bloomberg to focus on health, not wealth.
“I think every New Yorker has a right not to have the city poison their air and ground water,” said Yassky.
“I don’t think it’s at all a legitimate factor, when you’re talking about a potential health hazard, to say it shouldn’t go near wealthy people.”