Dear Editor,
In his column ("Utility pricing needs more than a $200 Band-Aid," Oct. 1, Page 18), Sergio Esposito correctly states that there is a growing need for energy in New York’s future, and he wonders about the result had Indian Point not closed. He speculates that many of our energy problems would thereby not exist. I disagree.
Twenty-five years ago, after 9/11, others worried about a different “What if?” One of the jets that crashed into the World Trade Center had passed directly over Indian Point only minutes before. What if it had targeted the nuclear facility that was right in the middle of tens of millions of people? What if the air and the Hudson River had been filled with radioactivity? What if the nearby schools were affected? Schools within a 10-mile radius of the plant readied the distribution of iodine tablets in case such a disaster occurred. This was personal to me because I was a teacher at the time in a nearby school. Yorktown, like many other towns in Northern Westchester, supported the call by the Hudson Riverkeeper to close Indian Point. And there were other safety concerns too, including those in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2016 and in 2017, which ultimately led to Indian Point’s closure.
While it might seem attractive to “re-start” the plant, it is not as if it was a finely tuned Mercedes that simply needed an oil change to get it going again; it is more like a 50-year old jalopy that is full of rusting parts and needs to be completely re-built at an expense that would result in much higher bills for NYSEG and ConEd customers. However, even if it could be afforded, its location would continue make it a dangerous target for a future terrorist plot. A bad idea.
-Richard Clinchy, member of the Somers Town Board
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