Red Hook Breathes as Agencies Agree to Shore Power for Brooklyn Terminal

Cruise ships emit great quantities of exhaust and soot even when docked, a fact well known by the residents of Red Hook who have complained for years about idling ships and poor air quality around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Environmentalists say that a ship idling for one day emits as much exhaust as 10,000 cars in the same time period.

Photo of the Queen Mary 2 at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal by Robert Simko

The answer is to plug in to electrical power when docked. Last year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey set aside $12 million for building electrical infrastructure at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contributed $3 million more. Cunard and Princess, the cruise lines that dock at the terminal, agreed to spend millions to retrofit their ships. The hold-up has been an agreement on which agency -- New York City? New York Power Authority? -- will pay how much for the necessary power subsidies.

On April 13, Mayor Bloomberg announced that a competitive rate had been negotiated with the state Power Authority, and both the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Authority had agreed to subsidize part of the cost of the power. Construction of the electrical grid will begin this summer and is expected to be complete in 2012. This agreement will make Brooklyn home to the first East Coast terminal to provide shore power.

The good news was a long time coming to Adam Armstrong, a father of two young children who lives down the street from the Terminal. "After 6 years of being exposed to the dangerous but avoidable smokestack emissions from the idling cruise ships, we, the residents of Red Hook and beyond, will finally be able to breath easy, knowing that these carcinogenic, asthma-inducing and otherwise harmful substances have been removed from our air," he wrote in an email. A community advocate through his blog, A View From the Hook, Mr. Armstrong rallied his neighbors and government representatives to push hard for shore power. He calls this plan the first step. "The use of shore power in Brooklyn should set the example for the rest of our city's ports where similar 'green' practices could and should be implemented, with resultant health benefits for all New Yorkers," he said. "So, bravo Brooklyn, and let's keep pushing towards a healthier, cleaner and greener future - for our ports, for our city, and for all of our residents."