ROAR (Residents Opposed to the Auto Racetrack) celebrated a David versus Goliath victory in April. With the local newspaper endorsing the building of an "Autodrome" on Staten Island and a large faction of racetrack supporters on the Community Board, ROAR faced a formidable challenge.
With some groups viewing the Autodrome as a money-maker, ROAR needed to gather strong evidence for their case. Residents were savvy enough to question the answers they received from developers about their noise concerns. They contacted Noise Pollution Clearinghouse for information about noise and its effects, noise levels, noise and health, noise control, and the basics of sound measurement. They organized a strong community effort to inform the Community Board that the Autodrome would harm the community in many ways and bring little benefit.
During the time between ROAR's rallying and the April 1997 Community Board vote, many members of the Community Board visited communities with existing racetracks, listened to residents living near racetracks, heard testimonials from ROAR members, read letters to the editor, and participated in informal discussions.
When the Community Board took its first vote in a series of votes about the Autodrome, ROAR members had educated enough Board members to win the vote. They voted on a motion by the Waterfront Committee to reject the Autodrome proposal. The results were 36 to 2 in favor of rejecting the proposal. One ROAR member told us, "Board members said that the information on noise did influence their decision to vote against the Autodrome."
To reach out to residents and board members, and to educate them on the impacts of racetracks, ROAR put together the following materials for community members and anyone else interested in stopping the Autodrome.
Take a look, and take ideas to assist with your no noise campaign:
Membership
Did You Know?
Facts1
Facts2
Letter to Borough President Molinari
Letter to Mayor Giuliani
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Executive CommitteeToni Grossi
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ROAR opposes an auto racetrack at the Stapleton Homeport site & supports appropriate development of the North Shore Waterfront. Dear Neighbor, A REQUEST FOR YOU TO TAKE ACTION: The idea of an Auto Racetrack on the Staten Island Homeport site seems such an untenable, unlikely idea that most of us have not taken this threat seriously. It is, however, being taken seriously by the City's Economic Development Corporation, the developer Ianto Roberts, The Staten Island Advance and some of our elected officials. If you are like us, you do not choose to live on Staten Island to be in the midst of gridlock, traffic, crowds and noise; all things brought by an auto racetrack with very little in return for Staten Island. A group of us in your community have formed ROAR to take this threat seriously and to rise up as a community and say, "NO!" We need your help! Please, address, sign and mail the enclosed letters. Make copies for your friends and neighbors. Speak out now before others make decisions for you. Our position against an "Autodrome" is endorsed by: First Central Baptist Church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Father Byrne of Immaculate Conception Church, The Serpentine Arts and Nature Commons and The Mud Lane Society for the Renaissance of Stapleton. Please help us to stop the City from inappropriate development on our beautiful waterfront and to convince them that quality of life and positive economic development are important and real issues to all Staten Island. Add your voice to the growing ROAR against the racetrack at this proposed site. Many thanks to you in advance for your consideration and support. If you need more letters, petitions, information or can help in any way, please contact us. A membership form is attached. Sincerely
Toni Grossi, President |
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, I want to ROAR about the Racetrack! Sign me up as a member NOW!
Please make Checks payable to The Mud Lane Society, with "ROAR dues" in memo area. |
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That the racetrack isn't a dead issue? Staten Island Advance, January 20,1997 : "...Molinari said just because the city intends to issue a new RFP 'doesn't mean it has closed the door on the Autodrome.'" |
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Did You Know? |
That the track would bring 65,000 people into the area on race days? That's 9,000 more than would fit into Yankee or Shea stadiums! |
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Did You Know? |
That there would be no on-site parking for the spectators, many of whom come to these events in RVs? |
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Did You Know? |
What this would mean for your street? Your community? All of Staten Island? |
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Did You Know? |
How long it will take you to get off the island on racedays? Can you imagine the traffic congestion on streets, the expressway &V/N Bridge? Can you imagine Sunday evenings in the summer, when the shore traffic is headed towards Brooklyn and the racetrack traffic is headed towards New Jersey? |
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Did You Know? |
That racetracks are so loud, spectators arc advised to wear 'ear muff' style protection for their hearing, like airline crews? |
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Did You Know? |
That loud noise can travel over 5 miles and is unhealthful? |
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Did You Know? |
That there are also plans for powerboat races and rock concerts? |
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Did You Know? |
That the site would be used year-round for race-related activities, including a high speed driving school? |
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Did You Know? |
That a 55,000 scat grandstand (the size of Yankee stadium) would be built, blocking the spectacular views of the Bay? |
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Did You Know? |
That residential real estate values around racetracks plummet? |
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Did You Know? |
What effect the extra air pollution from racecars, buses and visiting traffic would have on your health-and that of our children? |
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Did You Know? |
How the 5,000 person sewage system designed for the Homeport would handle sewage for over 60,000 people? Would they build a new system or get a variance to dump it in the Bay-to pollute south Beach? |
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Say NO!! NO to noise, traffic, and diminished quality of life! Join R.O.A.R (Residents Opposed to the Auto Racetrack) (718) 816-7395 |
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According to the promoters, Autodrome is a proposal for the Homeport site that consists of:
(1) a 1.6 mile auto racing road circuit, built for 4 headline races per year for three hours per day
(2) an auto trade exhibition center, high performance driver training school, research and sales space for manufacturers of high tech automotive products
(3) a marina for sail and powerboat races
(4) a waterfront esplanade and recreation area for the community
(5) a venue for concerts, including rock
Isn't the Autodrome a dead issue?
Not as long as Borough President Molinari can say that just because the city intends to issue a new RFP "...doesn't mean it has closed the door on the Autodrome." (Staten Island Advance, January 20, 1997)
What the promoters don't tell us -
Noise:
If you don't want to see or be seen, you can draw your curtains inside your home or grow some hedges outside. It's not so easy to shut out noise. We can't shut our ears.
Sound travels to the brain by two pathways: one path to the auditory center and the other to the nervous system. Loud sound can increase heart rate and blood pressure; contract muscles; release stress-related hormones from the adrenal glands; disrupt stomach and intestinal functions; and create tension, anxiety and fatigue.
Loud sound can also damage hearing.
At the racetrack, the 105 decibels predicted by the promoters can damage spectator's hearing. The sound level would be between that of a subway and power tools. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) permits no more than 1 hour per day exposure to 105 decibels (the British Occupational Hygiene Society permits only 15 minutes per day). At the Long Beach track described by the promoters as a success, the St. Mary Medical Team advises spectators to wear " 'phone-like muffs' such as those worn by airline crews..."
On Bay street, the decibel level will be "...less than a subway..." which means something around 100 decibels-a level OSHA permits for no more than 2 hours per day (the British no more than 1 hour per day). Are merchants, shoppers and residents along Bay St. to wear "phone-like muffs?' And what of patients and staff at Bayley Seton?
Plus, a line of racing autos would be a "line source" rather than a "point source." Noise from a line source dissipates only half as fast as noise from a single source. If it's 100 decibels at Bay St., what will it be on Van Duzer street? St. Paul's Avenue?
The setting of the proposed racetrack on the waterfront, at the base of a hill adds to the problem of noise: the sound will bounce off Grymes and Ward Hill. Sound is also louder in humid conditions-such as on the waterfront on a summer's day.
In Long Beach, practice starts at 8:30 am on Friday morning, 8:15 am on Saturday and on Sunday, they wait until 8:30 am to start their engines!
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But if the cars only run 12 days, isn't it noisy
for only for 30 hours a year?
No. There are also practice laps and time trials on race days.
And notice the other proposed uses of the site: powerboat races, high
performance driving school and rock concerts. Based on the Autodrome's PR
sheet, our projection is 27 warm -weather days of extreme decibel levels,
and a low level rumble all year long.
Traffic
Promoters are aiming to attract 65,000 fans for the big
race days. That's 9,000 more then will fit in Yankee or Shea Stadiums.
There will be NO on-site parking. They say fans will park in remote
parking lots and be brought to the track by shuttle buses, much like the
P.G.A. shuttles fans at golf tournaments. They say driving to Stapleton
will be "discouraged" and that "special traffic regulations"
will "make traffic flow."
Stapleton is not a golf course. It is a community. Where will hundreds of buses park on Bay and Front Streets? How will residents get out of their homes Friday through Sunday? How will families attend churches, synagogues and mosques for weekly services, weddings and funerals? Further, the bus plan does not address the concert fans or the powerboat crowd.
Air Pollution
Race tracks, private automobiles and hundreds of buses will spew
exhaust fumes and oil in to the air-to land on window sills and be inhaled
into our children's lungs. According to the Advance, Staten Island already
has an alarming rate of asthma and lung disease - do we need more?
Water Pollution
The present sewer system was designed to accommodate 5000 people
at the Homeport. The Autodrome hopes to attract 65,000. Who pays for a new
sewer system? Or would the Autodrome be granted a variance, allowing the
overflow to pour directly into our harbor?
Tracks are as grimy as a race driver's face at the end of an event. Will that oily grim be washed into the harbor by run-off?
A sizable number of racing fans bring their Recreational Vehicles (RVs). There is no RV park on Staten Island and the promoters say there will be no RV parking on site. Where would the RVs park? New Jersey?
Is ROAR against economic development?
No, ROAR wants to see the right kind of development -
development that will help existing industries and merchants, that allows
citizens year-round access to the waterfront and development that
recognizes that the residential neighborhoods on the Noah Shore are
assets, not liabilities. We want development that does not put noise,
pollution and unreasonable traffic burdens on communities. Why should we
expect less? We have invested our money and our lives.
What can I do?
First, contact Borough President Molinari, Mayor Giuliani and
our other elected officials, letting them know an Autodrome is not the
right development for the Stapleton Homeport site.
Second, join
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Toni Grossi, president
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The Honorable Guy V. Molinari
Office of the Borough President
Borough Hall
Staten Island, New York 10301
Dear Borough President Molinari,
I would like to state my objection to the proposed "Autodrome" racetrack to be located at the Stapleton Homeport Site. The problems of traffic congestion, the lack of on site parking additional air pollutants from the race cars and buses, and the noise that the race cars and crowds will generate makes this project unacceptable. The uniqueness of the geography of the Homeport site, on the waterfront with the serpentine shelf behind it, will add to the problems of traffic congestion and noise pollution. There are churches, a hospital, schools and residents on whom this project will have a profoundly negative effect.
I am heartened to hear that you are still open to new proposals for the Homeport Site. I ask you to urge the City and the EDC to continue the search for a more appropriate development. I'm sure with your cooperation we can find a project that will benefit all of Staten Island. I would like to thank you for your time and consideration and I look foreword to the new proposals that your office will help attract to this unique piece of land.
Sincerely yours,
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The Honorable Rudolph Giuliani
Office of the Mayor
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Dear Mayor Giuliani:
I would like to state my strongest objection to the proposed "Autodrome" racetrack that is under consideration for the Stapleton Homeport site here on Staten Island This site is totally inappropriate for the proposed automobile racetrack. Thousands of Stapleton residents live within blocks of the site. There are also houses of worship, schools and a large hospital-Bailey Seaton nearby.
I am most concerned about the noise and traffic congestion. Racecars generate tremendous noise as anyone who has attended a race knows. The Autodrome hopes to attract 65,000 spectators to a location served by only two-lane streets. No on-site parking will be provided. Even if all of the spectators use the Autodrome's shuttle buses, there will be serious, even dangerous, congestion as spectators board and alight from buses parked on Bay and Front Streets.
I have been encouraged to see that EDC has reopened the RFP process, but I ask you to do more. Please tell us and the promoters of this "Autodrome" that their project is not realistic and will not be considered. Close the door on this proposal and open the process to new, better conceived, development.
I'm sure that with your support and help we can attract a project that will benefit all of Staten Island and all of New York City. I thank you for your time and consideration.
Yours Truly,
