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Residents: Idling Cruise Ships Choking Brooklyn

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The Queen Mary 2 and other cruise ships that call Brooklyn home apparently aren't good neighbors.

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1010 WINs' Al Jones reports

Red Hook residents complain the ships at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal keep their diesel engines running to generate electricity which in turn pollutes the air for hours at a time making it difficult to breathe for some.

"You can smell the air right now, we have an overlay of diesel in the air," one man said.

"If you drive over the Brooklyn Bridge on certain days you actually see the plume going into the air," another man said.

Local lawmakers are calling on the city, state and utilities to find a clean air alternative and make available on-shore power and electricity to ships so that they can plug into an electrical grid at the port rather than sit idling.

"They spew noxious diesel fumes into the air the entire time they're here," State Sen. Daniel Squadron said.

Squadron said the money is there to supply the power to the ships but after nearly two years of negotiations it's the maintenance and operating costs that have choked off a solution.

 "It's time to stop choking Brooklyn," Squadron said.

 "We've had two years of idling ships, and idling negotiations. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a real difference in the health of our communities, and the sustainability of our port. We want an agreement before the next ship comes in," Councilmember Brad Lander said.

Lander said a cruise ship docked at port with its diesel engine running emits as much pollution as thousands of idling cars.

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