THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK ALBANY

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MICAH Z. KELLNER 65th Assembly District

August 23, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ross M. Wallenstein Office: (212) 860-4906 Cell: (917) 602-2433

Assembly Member Kellners Statement on Bombshell Federal Report about Wildlife Mitigation at Airports
US DOT Audit Report Backs Up the Assembly Members Charges that the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station Will Put Lives at Risk Report Blames the FAA for Not Following through on its Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Program

New York, NY Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner (D-Upper East Side/Yorkville/Roosevelt Island) released the following statement today in response to the audit report issued by the US Department of Transportations Inspector General. Yesterday, the federal government agreed that the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station is a danger to all New Yorkers. The bombshell report by the Inspector General of the US DOT is in stark contrast with the FAAs assertion that it has done everything possible to reduce bird strikes against airplanes. This report leaves no doubt that marine transfer stations like the one proposed at east 91st street attract birds and leads to more bird strikes. Clearly, allowing the East 91st Street MTS to go through would create a greater risk of bird strikes. Three years ago, a bird strike disabled an airplane after it left one of New Yorks runways. Thankfully, the skills of Captain Chesley Sullenberger turned what could have been a major disaster into the Miracle on the Hudson. But not every pilot can be a Captain Sullenberger. By building East 91st Street MTS, we are inviting another incident and New York may not be as lucky as we were on that January day. The FAA, Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn have refused to recognize the danger that the MTS plays by its proximity to our airports. This DOT report should serve as a wake up call that lives will be put at risk if the MTS is allowed to go forward. Why the Mayor would want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to put lives at risk is beyond reasonable comprehension. Assembly Member Kellner serves as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the construction of the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station. The US DOT Inspector Generals report is available here. ***
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E-mail: KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us