Reisman: The plot to reindustrialize the Hudson River

A clutch of state and local politicians took turns accusing the federal government of following its standard operating procedure — mendacity.

This was Wednesday and the pols were speaking on the banks of the Hudson River at George’s Island Park in Montrose, which is one location among 10 being considered by the U.S. Coast Guard as an anchorage for privately-owned oil barges.

Not to dumb this down too much, but there is a glut of domestic oil, thanks to new technologies leading to a boom in the Dakotas. The oil is being shipped east to the port of Albany, and one way or another, needs to be transported further downriver in order to expedite overseas export.

And so the moneyed interests are asking to store the oil on these giant eyesores that will be moored at sites along river towns from Kingston all the way down to Yonkers.

The anchorage idea caught everybody off guard, to say the least. After all, it’s not as if the feds really wanted to loudly advertise a policy that, if approved, would effectively re-industrialize the Hudson and reverse the remarkable progress made over a generation to clean, beautify and forever protect it from harm.

The 208-acre George’s Island Park, one of the many jewels in the Westchester County park system, contains clues to the river’s industrial past. Scattered among the rocks in the shallows can be seen bits and pieces of 19th century masonry left over from the brick factories that were once common in the town of Cortlandt, of which Montrose is a part of.

“Look at the beautiful Hudson River right behind us,” said state Sen. Terrence Murphy, R-Yorktown, who along with state Sen. Sue Serino, R-Hyde Park, invited some 15 elected officials to speak at the press conference.

“Look at this sight,” Murphy said. “Could you imagine 1,500-foot barges docked right out there? This is so vital to our ecosystem, it is so vital to our environment and crucial to our economy, that we must make sure we get the answers that we need.”

Thousands of citizens have already signed online petitions protesting the anchorages.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said “we the people of the Hudson Valley” won the first round by pressuring the Coast Guard to extend the public comment period to December.

“But we can’t stop here because we’re dealing with the federal government,” he said. “Trust me, I’ve dealt with the federal government and I know what it’s like.”

A “long-term” berthing of barges is defined as 30 days or more, according to Astorino.

“That’s not stopping by,” he said. “That’s moving in, and that is a big, big problem. So 30 days is classic federal government-speak, which means in essence, in perpetuity. These barges would stay there for a very, very long time without having to move at all.”

The feds were slammed left and right, for lack of transparency and for a paucity of common sense on the grounds that the barges would potentially hurt tourism, destroy water quality, curtail recreational boating and create a new target for terrorists. Several pols brought up the specter of 9/11.

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro listed a series of “insults” SUPPOSEDLY perpetrated by the federal government, among them the charge that opponents are merely NIMBYs.

“First and foremost, the Hudson River isn’t in our backyard, it’s our front porch,” Molinaro said. “And we spent millions upon millions of dollars year after year trying to turn the Hudson River from the backyard to our front porch — and they’re not invited to park there.”

The “parking” metaphor is a common refrain. Yonkers City Council President Liam McLaughlin, who was at the press conference, used the term “warehousing.”

REISMAN: Oil barges? Not in our back water!

EDITORIAL: Trust in Coast Guard to protect the Hudson

RELATED: Coast Guard extends Hudson River anchorage comment period

Yonkers could be a big victim in this scheme. Sixteen barges are slated along the city’s revitalized waterfront, overlapping into the village of Hastings.

Everybody seems united in the cause to fight the barges because the proposal covers so many jurisdictions up and down the river. But what happens if the final decision comes down that the barges will only be anchored in, say, Yonkers?

Will support from the other towns fade away?

I posed this question — and the answer pretty much came back that everyone would stick together no matter what.

And here’s another question: Where is Gov. Andrew Cuomo on this issue? I put that one to Astorino, who ran for governor against Cuomo in 2014.

Astorino said he hadn’t spoken a word to the governor since the night of the election.

“I don’t even get invited to events he attends in Westchester,” he said. “So no, we have not heard a thing from him.”

I realized this was a fat pitch right over the plate. Astorino swung from the heels.

“This is a huge bipartisan issue for all of us,” he continued. “The fact that he’s been dead silent basically speaks volumes and it’s also negligent in some respects. He should be leading the cause and certainly helping us, but to our knowledge he hasn’t done a thing.”

Twitter: @philreisman