NEW YORK—We met Laura Hoffman when she was talking to students from La Guardia Community College about the way the environmental hazards of the Newtown Creek and the surrounding neighborhoods affected her and her family’s life. It was part of a half-day event bringing together advocates, professionals, and academics to discuss the past and future of Newtown Creek. As a longtime activist, Hoffman works with many local environmental organizations and coalitions to advocate for cleaning up the Newtown area, which was recently designated a federal super-fund site. She was also a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, over the Greenpoint oil spill.
The Epoch Times: How did you first get involved in environmental issues?
Ms. Laura Hoffman: My family had an array of health issues. We lived a couple of blocks away from a small park, where my husband and I used to run a softball tournament. There were a lot of unusual smells down there. This was back in the ‘80s. We eventually learned that the playground was located across the street from a sewage sludge tank. Every once in a while it would burp odors and a couple of times sludge came from underground and flooded the area. This is how we made the connection between the Newtown Creek and health.
In 1994, a small group got a little bit of access to the creek and started cleaning up. When we saw the contamination, we connected the dots with the sewage treatment facility. It started to all make sense. In the ‘90s all of this stuff came together.
Epoch Times: What changes have happened since then?
Ms. Hoffman: I can’t say the odors are horrific as they used to be, but the fact is that we still have a sewage treatment facility; we still have contamination from the old Greenpoint incinerator; we have plumes from the plastic company, even though they are not there any more; [and] we have the waste transfer station and a large oil spill. Even though the neighborhood is getting prettied-up and is looking better and smells better, all the underlying chemicals are still there.
I’ve been active in every single waterfront, environmental, and parks group in my community; every single one. I’ve been a messenger between all these different groups making sure they have each other’s information.
Epoch Times: Are you hopeful for the environmental future of this neighborhood?
Ms. Hoffman: Absolutely. Some amazing things happened. Around the sewage treatment facility we have the nature walk now, and it’s going to be expanded. That creates an area where there are eyes on the creek. It sets the bar a bit higher for the environmental agencies. The lawsuit [against Exxon Mobil] was settled. The community got a whole lot of money out of it—$20 million. That money is really going to help green up areas and do some environmental work. The more green space we create the better it is going to be for the environment.
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