Marcia Ladiana, who worked for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for 33 years, called for a comprehensive air quality study to better understand what the health impacts would be near the planned 3/4-mile-long tunnel on the East Side. The tunnel would extend from Dodge to Sidney streets, with a deck above to reconstruct a portion of the once-grand Humboldt Parkway designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, which was destroyed in the 1950s and ’60s to construct the highway. 

“The people who live, go to school or work where the tunnel portals will be exposed to higher concentrations of all pollutants, specifically carbon monoxide and PM 2.5, which is a form of particulate matter,” said Ladiana, who retired in June.

“I have reviewed the draft design report for the Kensington Expressway project, and I have grave concerns about the levels of pollution people will be exposed to after the tunnel is built. For this reason, I believe we need a complete environmental impact statement so we can see the real impact of the tunnel.”   

Ladiana spoke at a press event held by East Side Parkways Coalition, which opposes the current plan, at the Delavan-Grider Community Center.

At DEC’s Division of Air Resources, Ladiana evaluated air pollution resources and regulatory compliance for stationary sources, like factories. She didn’t work on mobile transportation studies such as the Kensington Expressway, but said she felt confident raising her concerns.

The state Department of Transportation’s review found mitigation measures, including a ventilation system using jet fans in the tunnel, will keep contaminants within federal standards. That’s despite finding particulate matter increasing “slightly” up to 6% near tunnel portals.

“The air quality analysis in the Draft Environmental Assessment was conducted in compliance with federal and state regulations, and the published air quality data was based on a conservative approach,” said Joe Morrissey, DOT spokesman.

That included approval from the DEC, Ladiana’s former employer.

“Both DEC and EPA reviewed our analysis, emission, receptor placement and disbursement models, and concurred with the methodology that led to the study’s findings,” Morrissey said. 

Ladiana said she drew her conclusions after looking at how the DOT reached theirs. She estimated concentrations of PM 2.5 would result in an increase of 25% to 40% at either end of the tunnel. Carbon monoxide would increase 117% to 138%, she said.

The particulate matter is of particular concern, she added.

“It is so small that when you breathe it in, it can pass from the lungs into the bloodstream,” Ladiana said. “Once it is there, it can affect your cells and make you sick.” 

Ladiana, 68, knows the project area well – she has lived on Humboldt Parkway, between East Utica and East Ferry streets, for 37 years and said she’s seen the effects of air pollution from the expressway firsthand.

“All three of my nieces who grew up next door to me have asthma and other respiratory issues,” Ladiana said. “There is a neighbor who had leukemia, and another whose wife has lung cancer.

“My husband is losing his hearing from the noise,” she said. “My Apple watch goes off at decibels of over 100 when an ambulance or motorcycle passes by, and that happens on a regular basis.”

She takes issue with a comparison air quality study between the current proposal and the expressway if left as it is. A better comparison, she said, would be to look at filling in the highway to restore the parkway – something the DOT did not study.

The DOT, she said, is also not following the requirements of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed in 2019.   

“When you do a review for a disadvantaged community, you must include co-pollutants with the greenhouse gases, such as the toxic air pollutants that come out of a car,” she said. “There is an impact from the mobile sources, and they didn’t even do that. They also have to look at all sources of hazardous air pollutants, including industrial, commercial and institutional sources in that area.”

Ladiana also criticized what she considers to be a rushed project approval process.

The 328-page draft environmental assessment was published in mid-September, which didn’t leave enough time to do a thorough review and submit public comments even with the extended Nov. 10 deadline, she said. 

“We have the right to know what’s there,” Ladiana said about the air quality. “It’s a New York State constitutional right to have clean air, clean water and a healthful environment.”     

Kevin Ndayishimiye, a member of the coalition, said the DOT should have undertaken an epidemiological health assessment to better understand the pollution-related ailments along Humboldt.

“The critical need for this baseline study is one of the most important reasons that an environmental impact statement is required for this project,” he said.