1. New York County: AN ENVIRONMENTAL DIAGNOSIS
By: Liam Fitzgerald
Sophomore, Tamarac High School
Mentored by: Pedro de la Torre III

2. LOCATION Southern NYS Borough of Manhattan
East, Hudson, and Harlem Rivers

3. TIMELINE OF NY COUNTY
1609: Columbus discovers and maps present day Manhattan Island
1524: French explorer Giovanni de Verrazano visits present day NYC
1624: New Amsterdam is established
1825: Opening of Erie Canal (Connected Atlantic Port to Midwest)
1857: Central Park opens
1898: Consolidation of 3 counties into NYC
1904: Establishment of NYC subway system
1925: Manhattan takes over as “world’s most popular city (previously London)
1990’s: Crime rates drop dramatically
2001: Terrorist Attacks on WTC
2001: Final landfill in NYC closes
2012: Hurricane Sandy Strikes NYC
2014: de Blasio elected as NYC mayor
2014: Brewer is elected as borough president

4. BACKGROUND Known as economic and cultural center of the United States
Population: 1.6 million people (69,469 per square mile)
Attracts more than 50 million tourists each year

5. GOVERNMENT Manhattan Borough President: Gale A. Brewer
NYC Mayor: Bill de Blasio
59 community boards

6. ENVIRONMENTAL/OTHER CONCERNS
Lead exposure (in children)
Garbage disposal
Storm readiness

7. LEAD EXPOSURE Used as indicator for environmental and financial health
1,425 children poisoned in 2012 (NYC.gov)
Neighborhood housing apartments

8. POSSIBLE SOLUTION Enforcement of regulating paint
Childhood Lead Prevention Act of 2003
Education of residents/landlords/business owners about the dangers of lead paint

9. “WEALTH GAP” 21.2% of residents below poverty line9
64.7% graduation rate in NYC schools
53,890 housing apartments
-Connection to lead poisoning

10. GARBAGE DISPOSAL 36,200 tons of garbage produced every day
All NYC landfills closed since 2001(6)
“20 Year Plan”
Transport trash to other state’s landfills via truck

11. POSSIBLE SOLUTION Barge garbage to other town’s in New York State
Boost upstate’s economy
Creates jobs

12. DISASTER READINESS NYC Office of Emergency Management
Effects of Hurricane Sandy in 2012
53 total deaths of NYC residents
Hundreds of homes destroyed
Approx. 250,000 vehicles destroyed
$18 billion loss
Approx. 94,769 power outages in NY County (ConEdison Inc.)

13. POSSIBLE SOLUTION Storm walls New, anti-storm infrastructure
Evacuation strategy

14. ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
Air Quality
Type of Energy Used
Greenhouse Gas Emissions

15. AIR QUALITY
Improving, but continues to be significant environmental threat
6% of annual deaths accredited to air pollution (NYC.gov)4
PlaNYC

16. ENERGY Nuclear and gas energy make up 97% of energy used
Large buildings (skyscrapers) account for 45% of NYC’s total energy use4

17. POWER USAGE IN TIMES SQUARE
161 megawatts (Bouey)3
Twice the amount of energy used to power all casinos in Las Vegas
Enough power for approx 161,000 U.S. homes
Three times amount of power consumed in Sierra Leone

18. SOLAR PANELS IN NYC
2/3 of the one million rooftops in NYC are suitable for solar panels (CNN)1
City could receive about half of total electricity from the panels
Reduces chance of blackout (summer)

19. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
7.1 metric tons per capita(2)
San Francisco=11.2 metric tons per capita
Majority of residents (60-70%) do not own motor vehicles
Mass transit (subways/taxis)

20. RECAP “Setting a standard” PlaNYC Enforcement of landlords “Clean Up!”
Solar Panels

21. NOTABLE SOURCES 1) 2) 3)
4) NYC.gov
5) "Carbon Visuals." : New York's carbon emissions. (accessed March 31, 2014).
6) Cohen “Wasted: New York City’s Trouble with Disposal”, 8–5.
7) Environmental Protection Agency. "U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report." EPA. (accessed April 15, 2014).
8) “Lead Posioning Prevention.” 2014.The Official Website of the City of New York. 1.
9) “National Poverty Rates.” 2013. U.S. Census Bureau 2012, 1.
10) Steve Hargreaves “Solar Power in the Big Apple.”CNNMoney, 3–14.
11) Tatianna Morin “Soil and Water Health in NYC.”
12) "The 2012 Statistical Abstract." - U.S. Census Bureau. (accessed April 5, 2014).
13)Weaver, Terri. "NY Safe Act meeting with Cuomo." syracuse.com. (accessed March 31, 2014).