The State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has paved the way for construction of a new school to replace Harding High on contaminated property off Boston Avenue owned by General Electric. Read DEEP clean-up decision here.
The $80 million school will replace the antiquated 90-year-old building serving students of the East Side and East End where neighbor Bridgeport Hospital is planning an expansion.
The 145,000-square-foot structure is scheduled to house 1,150 students with 55 classrooms, athletic fields and running track.
“DEEP’s decision allows us to move one step closer to bringing kids in the East Side and East End a new school that will be a high-quality learning environment and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities that they need to thrive,” says Mayor Bill Finch. “In turn, it will help ensure more Bridgeport kids are prepared for college and competing for 21st century jobs.”
Finch proposes to rename the school after President Barack Obama. Many Harding graduates want the name to remain.
The site also has its critics, including school board member Howard Gardner, as reported by Linda Conner Lambeck of the CT Post.
In the meantime, Gardner said, GE finds a way to get rid of its contaminated land, Bridgeport Hospital can expand on the property where Harding now sits and poor minority kids get a school build on contaminated land.
The state spent the summer and fall reviewing the plans and held public forums in the city in December to explain the plan and hear public comments on it. A majority of speakers, many of them construction workers itching for work, spoke in favor of the project.
Others, including Harding teacher Dan Kwet, expressed concern that the new school would sit on one of the biggest brownfield sites in the state. Regardless of official reassurance, he told DEEP officials that students and teachers would be putting their health at risk.
Full story here.
In my opinion, this is a poor decision. I truly hope Mayor Finch, Andre Baker, Kenneth Moales, Hernan Illingworth, Joe Larcheveque and Jacqueline Kelleher are personally held liable if any staff member, student or parent develops a serious illness that can be linked to the contamination of this site.
Dave Hennessey did not vote for this, however his comments do not surprise me. Why would Dave Hennessey care if a new Harding High School is built on the largest brownfield site in CT? After all, he won’t have any black or brown children or grandchildren who attend this school.
If you read the DEEP documents in the link above, you will find the school parcel has been designated as a “landfill” and a “disposal facility.” It also specifically states “… GE operated and maintained three hazardous waste storage units on the property …” I attended every committee meeting on this site and both public hearings and I do not remember any of this specific information being shared with the BBOE or public.
This would have NEVER been tolerated in Greenwich, Westport or Darien, however it is just dandy for poor and impoverished minority families and children.
According to the link above, the City Council voted to approve the site plan in Spring 2013. Pullman & Comely also represented the City in the negotiations with DEEP and GE. Did Steve Stafstrom cast a vote in favor of this while he served on the City Council?
If he did, this would have been a significant conflict of interest. I believe the vote was taken in May 2013. Does anyone know the answer?
This is indeed a travesty. In fact, GE is still responsible for site remediation and liability issues for the property, by state and federal law.
The Connecticut Sierra Club, which runs effective political/public relations interference on environmental issues for favored politicians and companies, has written off Bridgeport as a wasteland that should be sacrificed to keep the rest of Fairfield County–especially Easton, Weston, et al.–pristine and environmentally viable, should be prevailed upon to take a stance against this environmentally racist travesty.
The problem here is the Connecticut State Sierra leadership is largely led/controlled by political liaison Martin Mador (emeritus professor at Yale University), who is a personal friend of Bill Finch, Dan Malloy, Jim Himes, et al., and has sold his environmental political soul for general political influence with them. National Sierra has bought into the faux environmental agenda of Connecticut Sierra in this regard.
What might help the cause for putting a new Harding in a better location would be a high-profile campaign to shame GE, the DEP, and the EPA directly, and through shaming national Sierra into intervening in this unconscionable, environmentally racist decision that is based on state stinginess and political expedience, such that the DEP and EPA would step in and reconsider the decision and revoke the development position.
State Sierra should be pressured into taking the lead in this regard, as part of an integrated effort to embarrass Finch, Malloy, and the DEP and EPA into reversing support of this decision.
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The Sierra Club info needed to start the ball rolling is as follows:
Chapter/Committee Leaders
Political Chair:
Martin Mador, 203-281-4326 (h), 203-500-7245 (c),
Email — martin.mador@aya.yale.edu
130 Highland Ave, Hamden, 06518
Legislative Chair
Martin Mador, 203-281-4326 (h), 203-500-7245 (c),
Email — martin.mador@aya.yale.edu
130 Highland Ave, Hamden, 06518
Chapter Staff: John D. Calandrelli
860-236-4405 (office) or 860-394-9382 (cell)
Email at connecticut.chater@sierraclub.org
ExCom:
Chair Roberta Paro; Email — raparo@snet.net,
860-857-0976 (c), 860-889-2948 (h), 860-399-8080 (w)246A Yantic St, Norwich, 06360
Vice Chair Peter McKnight: 203-257-6796, Email — petermcknight2002@yahoo.com
Treasurer Diane Crawford 860-871-1138 (h) 860-805-8734 (c)
Secretary Peter McKnight: 203-257-6796, Email — petermcknight2002@yahoo.com
Diane Lentakis (Paul Brunner): 203-922-2151 (cell), 81 West Rutland Rd, Milford, CT 06461
Tom Paul: 203-421-5612, 813 Summer Hill Rd., Madison 06443 (802)522-3297 (cell)
Walter Grant Walter Grant, 860-536-7640, 860-287-4548 (cell), 13 Alden Street, Mystic, CT 06335
Rich Stanley; 860-816-1705, 5 Sherwood Lane, West Simsbury, CT 06092
Communications Chair
Martha Klein;(860) 542-5225 Email — puckyshouse@gmail.com, PO Box 542, Norfolk, CT 06058
Membership Engagement Chair
Amanda Kenyon; 860-352-2017, 65 High St., Collinsville, CT 06019
____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Conservation Chair
Marci Wilkins; 203-775-9644, Email — marciawilkins@hotmail.com,
56 Flax Hill Rd, Brookfield, 06804
Outings Chair
John D. Calandrelli
645 Farmington Ave, Hartford, CT 06105
860-236-4405, Email — connecticut.chater@sierraclub.org
______________________________________________________
Eastern Fairfield County Group:
Chair Peter McKnight: 203-257-6796, Email — petermcknight2002@yahoo.com,
Fairfield CT
Vice-Chair Dr. Allen Fanslow: 203-375-1284, Email– ,
31 Bridgeview Pl. Stratford CT 06614
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Just a suggestion.
There are a lot of environmental weasel-deals going on in Bridgeport that need to be brought to light and addressed–from Harding High to the Remington Woods, to all of the incinerator, recycling facilities, and dirty power plants that are ruining our health and economic redevelopment prospects.
Our mayor is not really green, and our city is not really healthy–and we have no real friends in the environmental groups, DEP, or EPA.
Time to get angry?
Jeff sent e-mail to the people you listed.
In my opinion this is fantastic news. Fantastic for the City of Bridgeport. This is fantastic for the morale of students and teachers. This gives the Mayor just another feather in his cap. The students of Harding have been underserved for decades. I am thankful to all the board members who supported and identified the urgency of the this sad situation. I am thrilled the state was able to move this project forward.
IF they decide to change the name.of the school and Obama High is too controversial as he is alive and well, I’d like to suggest Harriet Tubman High School. She was a hero. A woman who not only was a hero but should be canonized as a saint. Her contribution to history is immense and her name should be immortalized. NOT only for the underground railroad and all the lives that have been saved, but for women’s suffrage. This is a good day for Bridgeport. Very, Very excited!!!
Of course you would be excited. BTW ho many of your kids or relatives will be going to this school?
Really, who cares if we send a bunch of brown and black students to a school that will be located on a former toxic site the state claims will be remediated? The last time the state claimed a site was contamination-free was the Milford Power Plant. Many, many workers became ill with a variety of cancers, seizures and other health problems.. Let’s send our children there, most won’t graduate and many will end up in jail so who cares? This is the attitude of Bill Finch and his administration. This is the attitude of the elected members of the BOE including the acting Supt.
Do you think the rush is on so we can hand over the Harding property to tax-exempt Bridgeport Hospital? How does this benefit the kids of Bridgeport?
Why not build this high school in Remington Woods? Any pipe dream about a duty-free zone is just that, a pipe dream.
Really, Andy? We don’t care because it is black and Puerto Ricans? You are kidding, right? If the state says it is clear, that is good enough for me. If there is a problem, I imagine multi-billion dollar suits. You think Harding is safe with decades of lead paint and asbestos? Please … You can’t stand it Finch is making this city better every day. 🙂 lololololololol … I slay me!
Steve, let me ask you a question. Would you rather have cancer and be a party to a large-dollar lawsuit or would you rather be cancer free.
Andrew C Fardy, I agree with your position about Harding High School but I differ with you about Bridgeport Hospital. It’s true about them not paying taxes but they are the largest private employer in Bridgeport with over 2600 employees. Bridgeport Hospital not only provides jobs but gives career opportunities for Bridgeport residents who in turn pay taxes, they shop and spend money in Bridgeport. If Bridgeport were to acquire the property, there will be more job and career opportunity.
Ron, how many of the 2,600 employees are residents? How many of the 2,600 Bridgeport residents who are employed by Bridgeport Hospital are not security guards, clerical, maintenance, housekeeping, cafeteria, etc. employees, and what is the average annual income of all these Bridgeport residents who are employed by Bridgeport Hospital? How much does the City of Bridgeport lose in taxes because of their tax exemption? This is the information needed before we praise Bridgeport Hospital for gracing us with their presence.
Maria Pereira, okay, Bridgeport Hospital doesn’t get the property. Now what do you propose to go there that will pay taxes and hire Bridgeport residents and they have roots and a history with Bridgeport?
If it can’t be the site of a new Harding High School, then how about private medical offices with great parking and we finally get tax money for this property?
Maria, under what conditions would you praise Bridgeport Hospital, the city’s longest-existing medical institution? What’s wrong with being a security guard, clerical worker, etc? Those jobs don’t count?
Ron, that’s easy. A new Warren Harding High School.
Lennie, no one said there is anything wrong with security jobs and housekeeping jobs but let’s face it, most of the nursing jobs and doctors live in the ‘burbs. A few months ago I spent time in St. V’s and did a survey with my nurses, each and everyone lived in the ‘burbs.
Bridgeport Hospital owns almost all of the buildings on Ridgefield Ave. They were given a portion of Grant St. to build a freaking fountain.
What we receive in return from the state for supporting this hospital is squat. Maybe we should charge people from the ‘burbs a users fee. Maybe we should do that with all the tax-free programs we have in the city the state screws us on.
There is no casino here because Malloy and his down-state buddies were afraid of losing their low-paid workers who commute into Stamford every day. if they lost these low wage earners they would actually have to pay what the jobs are really worth.
Andy Fardy, the Connecticut Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program needs to change to give cities like Bridgeport more money.
Lennie, I think you took my comments regarding custodial, cafeteria, maintenance etc. positions out of context. What I was trying to refer to is how many of the 2,600 individuals employed by Bridgeport Hospital reside in Bridgeport and what is their average income when compared to the same information for non-Bridgeport residents.
Both my mom and dad were factory workers and my father worked for Raybestos for almost 30 years. I never once was embarrassed by my parents’ employment. In fact, I was always impressed my father was able to provide for a family of eight. I look back and I have absolutely no idea how he did it.
Maria, my comment about Bridgeport Hospital is based only if a new Harding High School is to be relocated and build somewhere else. Time will tell.
Yeah Ron that’s true, but the suburbs control the voting process in Hartford. Until we receive the proper amount of Pilot money let’s charge the ‘burbs to take care of their elderly, their sick, their drunks, their dope addicts, their mentally challenged and the list goes on.
Steve, do I think that is the reason they are building this school at the GE site? I have a son who has contracted seizures after working on the Milford power plant site. Many of his co-workers came down with various forms of cancer, a few have died and there was one suicide. Don’t be so cavalier about suing, it’s not that easy.
There are very few studies that have been done on these carcinogens. BTW Steve, where is all this lead paint and do you think the high school students are really biting on the window sills? What bullshit. Where is the asbestos in Harding? BTW Steve, the Milford site had been cleared by the DEEP prior to construction, they later admitted they failed to notify the proper people of their findings because they had a manpower shortage.
Do you think this site would have cleared the various boards and commissions in the ‘burbs where commission members take their tasks seriously not like the buffoons we elected to the BOE and other boards and commissions?
Andy, I concur with all your observations concerning the new Harding High School. There is no way this would have been an option if the students were predominately white. This is a political maneuver by Finch to garner the black vote by building a nice new school for the blacks and PRs from the East End, East Side areas even though the consequences could be devastating to those who attend.
Andy, first, I have no relatives who will be attending this school. I do not think it matters whether I had a relative there or not. I am not that self-centered to think it would be okay for non relatives to attend and get cancer, second, to believe Steelepointe, Remington Woods, GE Site, and all Bridgeport brownfield have no hope for development is sad. I do believe the DEP has done their homework.
To believe there is no lead paint (dust) in Harding is sad. To think I would want cancer and anybody whether I know them or not is silly.
Again, I think this is fantastic news. If the DEP has done their due diligence and there is a report available I am content with that info. If you do not believe they are doing their job then perhaps you should suggest the DEP be done away with and let the public decide whether any brownfield can be developed.
First off, labeling every vacant lot a brownfield is bullshit and in reality a moneymaker for certain people. How does a lot that had a 100-year-old house on it become a brownfield after the house is torn down? Brownfields my ass. No one said nothing could be built there but you’re not having kids there for seven hours a day or more. You can dress it up and put lipstick on it and it’s still a hazardous site.
Steve, where does lead paint dust come from? Steve, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
Andy, the age of the building alone tells you there Is lead paint. Just like the St. Ambrose site housing the Military Academy.
Do you think when we remodeled Harding years ago the lead paint was removed? If it has not been removed then why are kids still going there?
Steve, what high-school-age child would eat lead paint chips?
Reprinted from the CT Post June 21, 2013.
Greenwich High School, where soil contaminated with polychlorinated-biphenyls, or PCBs, and other dangerous toxins were found after a backhoe operator noticed oily dirt while digging a trench for a new Music Instructional Space and Auditorium project. The discovery shocked and angered parents and forced the temporary closure of athletic fields. Health officials eventually concluded the area was safe to use and the fields were reopened.
School officials there now face up to $146 million in cleanup costs and the building project is on hold. The contaminated area, encompassing over 11 acres, had been dug and probed numerous times over the last 40 years as athletic fields were built and rebuilt and other improvements were made to the school campus, which opened in 1970. Despite all that work, however, no contamination had previously been found.
I attended GHS for four years in the ’70s and have no related health issues. Unfortunately my father-in-law, an electrician working in and around Bridgeport passed from mesothelioma. Greenwich residents and Bridgeport companies were not using the same chemical or industrial wastes at that time.
The pollution that was dumped where the football field is was after the ’70s.
Congratulations to the students, faculty and parents of Warren Harding students. Finally after decades of having to deal with a horrible facility these students will be able to have pride and hopefully an excellent education in a state-of-the-art facility.
Kudos to the Finch administration. May any individual involved with this project, knowingly cover up any harmful information spend an eternity rotting in Hell. There, I am covered!
Yeah Steve, buildings educate, not teachers.
Steve, you live in a fucking dream world. “May anyone involved in this project knowingly cover up harmful information spend eternity rotting in hell.” What planet do you really live on? I am sure your words I quoted here will be a great comfort to the workers who may get sick and to the students who may get sick. Isn’t it time for you to go to city hall and kiss Finch’s ass?
Remember “agent orange health effects?” Agent Orange tied to aggressive prostate cancer was used in the Vietnam War and the government said it was safe.
Ron, it was Christie Todd Wittman the director of the EPA who told everyone working on the World Trade Center Pile it was not hazardous and no need to worry. Well the dust contained carcinogens and other stuff that killed a lot of workers and injured a lot of workers. One of the retired New York City Fire Marshals who worked for me worked the pile for two weeks and come to find out a few years later he lost 30% of his lung capacity. How do I know this? In the New York Fire Department when you retire you take an exit physical. Doctors were able to use exit x-rays and compare them to x-rays after the Twin Towers work. This guy was never a smoker.
Great job, Andy! I hope a lot of other people will follow suit. This should become an issue in the municipal elections this year.
It is amazing we can find land for new riverfront parks and workforce housing/workforce transit for Stamford on the East Side, but we can’t find a clean, inviting spot to replace a 90-year-old high school for Bridgeport kids from the East Side.
The Finch-Malloy priorities for Bridgeport are what?
The Finch-Malloy agenda is what has been the agenda for Bridgeport for years. Keep Bridgeport down and let Stamford prosper. Let Bridgeport take care of the suburban ills and let them have the non-profits and tax-free businesses and we will throw them a bone called PILOT.
Jeff, I am sorry to say that most of the Bridgeport voters suffer from terminal dumb ass.