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EPA Honors New Yorkers For Outstanding Environmental Achievements

Release Date: 04/23/1998
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(#98041) New York, N.Y. -- Fourteen individuals and organizations from New York State were honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today for their outstanding commitment to protecting the environment, as EPA Region 2 Administrator, Jeanne Fox, presented Environmental Quality Awards to the honorees during a ceremony held at the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City. Dr. Joanne Fox-Przeworski, Director of the United Nations Environment Programme for North America and an Environmental Quality Award recipient, gave the keynote address at today's event.

"The work of the Environmental Quality Award winners has a direct effect on the quality of the environment in this region," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "The unwavering commitment of these New Yorkers to making our world a better place should serve as an example to us all. These awards are our way of saying 'thank you' to the adults and young people with whom we share a sense of environmental purpose."

EPA Region 2 presents Environmental Quality Awards annually to individuals, nonprofit groups, educators, businesspeople, government officials and journalists from New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have made significant contributions to improving the quality of the environment in the region. Winners are chosen by an internal panel that reviews nominations submitted from inside and outside the Agency.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Region 2

Environmental Quality Award Winners: New York

Individuals

Mary Richard, Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, Oyster Bay

Sadly, this Environmental Quality Award is being given posthumously. Mary, who devoted her life to nature, ran the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, the nation's very first Audubon preserve. She designed and taught classes and other programs at the sanctuary and educated thousands of people about the importance of conservation to our area. While her life was tragically ended by a car accident, Mary's legacy of environmental commitment lives on at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary.

Laura Braddock, New York City

As a member of the Green Guerillas, Laura has helped hundreds of impoverished communities develop gardens and open space. Traditionally, these communities had no resources to build gardens. Laura lent them her technical expertise and provided free plants and seeds to help get them started. She is not only fostering a community appreciation for the environment, she is also beautifying the city -- one garden at a time.

Non-Profit Groups

Sam Sage of the Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Syracuse

Sam Sage played a critical role in negotiating a settlement between the Atlantic States Legal Foundation, New York State and Onondaga County that will ultimately lead to a cleaner, healthier Onondaga Lake. Sam helped make the settlement a realistic, cost-effective and environmentally effective one. He and the Atlantic States Legal Foundation were integral in developing the components of the settlement related to public participation, water quality planning, management and monitoring.

Bronx Green-Up, Bronx

Bronx Green-Up is a community-based program that empowers local citizens to revitalize their neighborhoods by transforming abandoned, rubbish-filled lots into fully functioning gardens. The group conducts hands-on demonstrations and hosts workshops for community members. The program has assisted more than 300 grassroots groups in creating beautiful gardens in their communities.

Urban Forest and Education Program, City Parks Foundation, New York City

The Urban Forest and Education Program is New York City's only comprehensive program of forest restoration and management. Thanks to the program, New York City's forests have made dramatic improvements. Participants have planted over 150,000 native trees and shrubs and have removed hundreds of abandoned cars and trucks from wooded areas and built thousands of feet of protective fences. This program has improved the quality of life for all who live and work in New York City.

Natural Resources Defense Council, New York

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), in conjunction with the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound, Inc., has been instrumental in helping to ensure that municipalities are doing what they must to better protect Long Island Sound. The group has put together an assessment of the environmental practices of 78 coastal municipalities. These assessments help to encourage local governments to take a more active role in protecting the Sound. The assessments, called "report cards," also educate area residents about how their own city or town can improve its practices to alleviate the pollution of the Sound.

Peconic Estuary Program's Citizen Advisory Committee, Long Island

The Peconic Estuary Program's Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) has been the key to the successful education of Long Island citizens about environmental issues and the importance of a healthy Peconic Estuary. The CAC has launched an extensive public outreach campaign that has included three children's conferences and in-school educational programs, a cable television show on the importance of Peconic Bay, numerous radio public service announcements that highlight the importance of the estuary, and a printed brochure. The CAC also started a small grants program to foster projects involving schools, local environmental groups and businesses.

Media

Paul MacClennan, Buffalo News, Buffalo

Mr. MacClennan has spent much of his career reporting on and educating the public about the environment. A veteran reporter at the Buffalo News, Paul has been responsible for imparting information about the dangers of polluting our environment and the long struggle to bring it back to life. He has written many in-depth articles that explored different sides of wide range environmental concerns. His honest and objective writing has informed and involved the public on environmental issues and set a standard for environmental reporting.

Environmental Educators

John Kominski, New York City

This Environmental Quality Award is being given posthumously to a man who was a true pioneer in the field of environmental education. Before his tragic death last August in an accident, John devoted over 25 years to educating the students, teachers and residents of New York City about environmental issues. John was the Founding Executive Director of the Alley Pond Environmental Center, Chair of the Environmental Education Advisory Council, Founding Project Director of the High School for Environmental Studies, Assistant Director for Science at the New York City Board of Education, and former Vice President of the New York State Outdoor Education Association, to name just a few of his many distinguished accomplishments. John's efforts have resulted in broad-based, multi-disciplinary environmental education that will serve students and residents of New York City for years to come.

William Aghassi, P.E., Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn

William Aghassi, a retired engineer who spent his first career in the private sector, has developed and currently teaches a two year advance placement Environmental Science Course, the first of its kind at Brooklyn Technical High School. He created a unique curriculum by putting a heavy emphasis on hands-on field activities. His course is recognized as among the best high school environmental courses in New York City. William is currently assisting educators at the Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment in constructing field laboratory activities that will be used in advanced high school classes city-wide.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., Poughkeepsie

The Clearwater has developed a diverse set of environmental education programs focused on the Hudson's marine ecology and the history of the Hudson River. The Clearwater uses its 106-foot- long wooden sloop as a "Classroom of the Waves" to teach young people about the fragility and beauty of the Hudson River. The program also includes the development and distribution of curriculum materials, an inner-city internship program and a graduate-level teacher training course given at State University of New York at New Paltz.

Dr. Stephen Frantz, M.S., PhD. , New York State Department of Health, Albany

Dr. Frantz is internationally renowned for his research and knowledge in the field of integrated pest management, a system to control pests without using harmful pesticides. His methods reduce indoor exposure to harmful chemicals that can cause numerous health problems, including asthma attacks. Stephen is currently assisting the Environmental Protection Agency in an assessment of the effectiveness of integrated pest management in a building in the South Bronx.

Peter LaDuca, Nassau County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Westbury

Under the leadership of Peter LaDuca, two Long Island schools became the first in the nation to successfully implement an EPA program designed to improve indoor air quality in schools. The program, called "Tools for Schools," helps schools identify indoor air quality problems and fix the problems once they have been identified.

Business

United Technologies, Carrier Corporation, Syracuse

The Carrier Corporation, a division of United technologies has proven that what's good for the environment is good for business by implementing a very aggressive waste reduction and recycling program. Carrier, which has an impressive solid waste recycling rate of 70%, saved over $3 million in disposal costs in 1997 alone. In addition, Carrier composts some of its waste on-site -- the first company in upstate New York to do so -- and uses the composted waste in landscaping.

Nominees for the 1999 Environmental Quality Awards should be sent to Chris Sebastian, 290 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007.

For more information contact:
Mary Mears, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3669 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: mears.mary@epamail.epa.gov