HERON'S HEAD SAN FRANCISCO'S TOXIC PARK
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Heron's Head Park is situated at Pier 98. On 3rd Street you take Cargo Way all the way down to the Hunters Point power plant and a few feet away from the toxic plant you see this toxic dump that is Heron's Head Park.
For years people came from every where to dump the worst possible garbage on this site. The San Francisco Port Authority neglected this property for years as it has most of its property in the Southeast Area of its 7.5 mile jurisdiction. We have living witnesses today that will tell you about the tons of chrome, lead, mercury, PCBs, tires, pesticides, paint, and the worst type of toxic unregulated garbage that was dumped at Pier 98 for years. The San Francisco Port Authority around 1998 covered the site with some top soil and presupposed this action would be sufficient to make this area whole. In the year 2000 with Willie L. Brown the Mayor and Douglas Wong his crony - Pier 98 was named Heron's Head Park. The SF Port Authority where fully aware that they could not use this site for anything purposeful. At one time this site was chosen to be a landing for a secondary bridge across the East Bay - the plan failed. In the 1989 earthquake that hit San Francisco much of the area around Pier 98 was impacted. Not far away at Pier 96 huge chunks of the Pier fell into the Bay. If you review the old maps you will notice that this whole area Pier 92, 94, 96, and 98 is all landfill. Further where the present United States Post Office stands and the surrounding area is landfill. Even today the businesses suffer from seismic affects and have to repair their premises from time to time. At one time the area around Cargo and Evans streets was lined with Butchers and cattle and goats were found in plenty. It was not uncommon for remains of the industry to be dumped at Pier 98 and the surrounding area. We have witnesses that state the area stunk and from time to time fires were set to let the garbage burn. The City and County of San Francisco took little notice of this area and the adverse impacts on the nearby community that lived in Public Housing. Old timers will tell you about Butchers Town. Old timers will tell you about the carts that they saw dump chrome and other dangerous waste from Potrero Hill where a rich printing and chrome plating industry hired poor folks to dump their toxic waste. There were no Environmental Protection Agency rules and regulation up to the late 1970s and even when they came into force - no one enforced them. Today we make a big fuss about a Toxic Park in San Jose but no one is saying much about Pier 98. This site is a thousand times more toxic and Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ) brags that it has taken over 6000 of our children to this toxic dump. The City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Environment back LEJ and this is a crying shame. The San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner can do justice by doing an investigative reporting. Have the soil tested and prove me wrong. The toxic spewing Hunters Point power plants is a few feet away and daily pollutes the site. The Bay water next to the power plant are polluted and daily wash on the banks of Pier 98 that is Heron's Head Park. The Health Department of the City and County of San Francisco instead of backing the constituents of San Francisco has made a pact with the dubious organization called LEJ. Dana Lanza is a White woman that lives in Oakland and makes her money off poor minority folks that live around Public Housing at Hunters Point. Backing this evil organization is Sophie Maxwell who has no clue about the damage she is doing to her community. Very near Pier 98 many people are dying of cancer and other chronic respiratory diseases. Mitigation money was set aside to help these needy folks but thousands were given to LEJ to mock the constituents. LEJ want to build a Living Classroom on a toxic dump. The toxic dump is bad and affects all living beings. Lead, mercury, PCBs, particulate matter like PM-10s, asbestos, and other toxins affect all living beings. It is wrong to take our children to any toxic park and more Pier 98 which is Heron's Head Park. The San Francisco Port Commission has been told very clearly NOT to allow anyone to go to Pier 98 but it does not want to listen. The City and County of San Francisco is liable for any damage. The San Francisco Environment a City Department is actively encouraging LEJ to build this Living Classroom. Jared Blumenfeld and Annie Eng have been approached by many including Francisco Da Costa and Espanola Jackson but to no avail. Our children that are innocent should not be taken to a toxic dump. LEJ has wasted over $350,000 of mitigation money that could have been used to address health issues. It is wrong to permit African American women and children to slowly die of cancer without medication and other critical care and waste over $350,000 on a toxic dump. Where is the reasoning and where is the conscience of those that should defend the poor and the sick? Here is a White woman from Oakland who does not live in the community. Here is a woman who has a track record of lying and using the minority community to make money. The grant was given in the year 2001 and LEJ was incorporated as a non-profit in 2003. Many other that want the grants were told that they had to be a non-profit but when it came to LEJ some one bent backwards to accommodate the dubious organization. When Dana Lanza's future husband sat of the Environmental Commission and his name is Parin Shah - a decision was made to give his future wife a $900,000 plus grant to work on Pier 98 and Heron's Head Park. This blatant conflict of interest is known to all parties but no one has the guts to do - right. How many times must one shout out and scream and tell the authorities that something stinks in Denmark? The San Francisco Port Authority is refusing to listen and we can see the pressure applied on some to do the wrong thing. The people are fed up with Mayor Gavin Newsom pretending to do right as far as Environmental Principles are concerned and doing wrong in his own backyard! The City and County of San Francisco brags about the Precautionary Principle and Ordinance and yet we do not apply it in this case linked to Pier 98 and Heron's Head Park. Environmentalists are silent most of them are White and really do not care for the minorities and people of color. It is a shame in the year 2005 that nothing much has changed and that racism in San Francisco is alive and well under Mayor Gavin Newsom. Our San Francisco Board of Supervisors know all about Heron's Head Park but will not do anything much. Sophie Maxwell has been told and when she hears the complaints she says she will do something but does nothing. The woman is on the take and has let down the constituents of Bayview Hunters point. It is not only on Heron's Head Park that she has failed us all but she wants to place 3 small power plants in our community. These power plants will emit PM-2.5 that is very, very dangerous. They will also release pathogens into the air. We have State and Federal Regulatory Agencies that have been informed such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Bay Area Air Quality Management, the City and County Health Department, the Mayor of San Francisco, the SF Board of Supervisors. We have been pleading of over 4 years and no one can understand this simple issues Pier 98 is a toxic dump it is very near the worst toxic spewing Hunters Point power plant. Do something and save our innocent children from slow death. Send the crooks to jail. |
