Is Upstate Natural Gas Drilling Safe or Hazardous for Brooklyn?
By Harold Egeln Brooklyn Daily Eagle CANARSIE — To drill or not to drill? As the nation’s worst environmental catastrophe unfolds in the Gulf of Mexico, that is the question now being asked by state Senate Majority Leader John Sampson, a Democrat representing Brownsville, Canarsie and East New York. Sampson, however, is concerned about drilling in this state, not in the gulf. He is asking New Yorkers all over the state to call his office at (518) 455-2788 to voice their opinion about proposed legislation that would place a four-month moratorium on drilling for natural gas upstate. After the state legislature adjourned before the Independence Day weekend without action on the bills, which are aimed at protecting the city’s drinking water supply, Senator Sampson announced on Tuesday that his office would poll New Yorkers on the issue. He wants to know how legislators should vote on the bills. The legislation calls for a 120-day moratorium on drilling on or near the city’s watershed land
