Saturday, April 5, 2008

Manalapan's Poobah Problems Could Impact Commissar PuPu

A civil war has begun in Manalapan within da Manalapan GOP. DaTruthSquad's TruthTellers have been working overtime following da recent events that have left two past presidents off da ballot. What GOP'ers are questioning is how it was done - and why it was done - and who some felt was behind da scenes - all of this has led to a severe rift in da Manalapan GOP that could impact da county GOP when chairman election time comes around.

Here's da story:

As it became time for candidates to show interest for joining da Manalapan Township Committee, two names immediately emerged. One was current Manalapan GOP'er club president Butch Budai, and da other was former Manalapan GOP'er club president Steve Johnson. Those in power immediately realized there were serious problems with both of these guys as candidates, details of which were leaked to daTruthSquad.

Apparently, da reason da GOP'er power trippers didn't want Budai was because he was da campaign manager for da 2007 campaign victor, Susan Cohen. Senorita Susie has a friend and ally, and his name is da Mosked Man, who da GOP'er power trippers felt had a hand in Senorita Susie's victory last year. Budai is also known as someone who will not goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders.

As for Johnson, apparently his straight-forward approach, outspoken calls for investigating da safety issue with Manalapan's newest field of nightmares, da synthetic field that both da Queen mayor and alleged Manalapan and/or Freehold resident Committeeman Andy Boy have pushed through despite health objections by fellow Committeeman Gennaro, Johnson, and New York City. He also isn't one to goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders.

So, Manalapan GOP'er Grand Poobah Steve "Iron Girth" McEnery held da selection meeting specifically on a day when Budai told da Poobah he would not be able to attend, and he stacked da deck by busing in 12 "new & improved hand-picked and-just-picked county committee" people who would vote his way or no way. He then presented his 2 choices for Township Committee.

One is Ryan Green, who has been busy lately running for school board this year. Of course, if he wins da school board and township committee, he'll have to give up da elected school board seat. He's a very nice guy who daTruthSquad hears just switched and became a GOP'er several weeks back.

Da other hand-picked Poobah pal is Blogger Bill Garcia, who like Green took da bus to Freehold at about da same time and became an official GOP'er. Blogger Bill's website mysteriously took off it's link to this site specifically after daTruthSquad mentioned it in a prior blog. DaTruthTellers voted and agreed unanimously to take away some of Blogger Bill's brownie-points for that.

So, after busing in what some have coined "illegal alien county committee henchmen," Blogger Bill and Manalapan's career politician of 2008, Ryan Green, who is running in every possible election in Manalapan this year won da vote, and ironically, those 12 votes put each over da top!

That seems to have upset many in da party. Now it's destined that a GOP'er primary will be held. Sources have told daTruthSquad that there will be a primary this year within da Manalapan GOP. Look for Budai to be one of those participants, and most likely Johnson. While rumors have surfaced about a potential run by last year's surprise candidate "Joey D," it appears he will not run in a primary.

DaTruthSquad is hearing that those opposing da Poobah are hoping to either win a primary outright and blowing da Poobah's hand-picked ticket off da line, or splitting da ticket which would force another year of separate campaigns. And, a rift like last year could be just enough to propel da Queen mayor back into her throne for another 3 years - which, by da way, could be something favored by some who goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders.

Now, you must ask yourself why da Poobah would go through all this trouble?

Could da spector of da Mosked man have something to do with it?

DaTruthSquad has learned that apparently da loss last year to Mosked man favorite Senorita Susie hasn't sat well with those who goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders - and that includes da Democrats!

Da losses last year by Democrats Drew "I'll use my clout to evict my 78-year old father and hope Covered Bridge doesn't find out" Shapiro and Honest Herb didn't sit well with da Poobah's friend/adversary, Gerard "1 Bourbon, 1 Scotch, & 1 Beer" Ward. It means now that control of da town is up for grabs this year, and da unholy alliance of da Queen, alleged Manalapan and/or Freehold resident Committeeman Andy Boy, and Cash Klauber is in question.

Democrats are still steaming that a certain 78-year old facing eviction selected as his attorney a certain Mosked Man who apparently wiped da courtroom floor with a certain former mayor who sued his father and his lawyer who is a certain political appointee to da Sewer Authority.

There is a genuine concern that if longtime GOP'ers who have been dissed by da Poobah win, they would not have much favor for his protege, alleged Manalapan and/or Freehold resident Committeeman Andy Boy.

And, it goes further.

Recently at da county level, da Manalapan Grand Poobah pulled out all da stops to get his and Commissar PuPu's hand-picked choice for Freeloader on da ballot. Da Poobah did what any whip would do and sought votes stressing his choice was da right choice.

His choice got massacred on da ballot by nearly a 2-1 margin!


This means he has effectively lost his power base and his ability to rally troops to his side. For some in da Manalapan GOP who don't goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders, it's a good thing. For Commissar PuPu, this could lead to his downfall, something we'll examine in a future daTruthSquad.

Da big question for those who goose step on cue to da GOP'er power trippers' orders, "How much influence does da Mosked man really have in this year's Manalapan election process?"

Da bigger question for Commissar PuPu is, "How much influence has da Poobah lost in da county, and how can this affect an election for county chairman?"

Another question will be, "As da now-infamous Da Township of Manalapan vs Da Mosked Man political vendetta lawsuit continues cost Manalapan taxpayers as much as $200,000 before it's over for a mere $15,000 soil cleanup, how will this case and it's out-of-control costs affect da taxpayers as more and more people find out about it?"

Oh, and 1 more question - "Why is it when da Roth/Lucas plan of attacking & smearing bloggers and blaming them for everything including da sinking of da Titanic is in full force does da GOP bring in a Blogger to run for Township Committee?"

There are other questions too, and they will be asked and answered. And that's daTruth.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a proud Democrat, I couldn't be happier about having such fine individuals like your Poobah and his Politburo pal Pupu running the Republican party.

Thanks to their fine leadership, I have no doubt that the county Freeholders will be run by a Democratic majority in 2009!

Anonymous said...

Budai and Johnson are loose cannons. The township is better served with them not on the TC. As to whether B.B. retains his presidency of the town GOP club - should be interesting...

Anonymous said...

You criticize Roth and Lucas for attacking the hateful anonymous blogs, yet you ommit the fact that Cohen also took a stand. That's the majority of the TC that take this position. (Not to mention several former Mayor's...)

Anonymous said...

Changing Times Too

The reality is here that Manalapan Republicans are fed up with McEnery. It's time for a change and a change it is a coming.

Democrats are not in great shape either, seems that the Manalapan Democratic Chair infuriated a high ranking Democrat with his NT article of support for Lucas when he was "visiting" his wife in Freehold. I think that some heat will be coming the Democrats way in Manalapan. The Queen Roth has got her share of troubles too, the Democratic machine is not going to be too happy to handle the negative press over Roth's insistance to place a synthetic field in Manalapan ignoring all of the reports that were presented that the field can be harmful to our children. When the city of New York banned them and the Queen (Let me stuff my face with another piece of cheese) Roth ignores those reports, what does that say about her and her leadership? Does it say that she the Queen of Manalapan knows more than NYC officials do? The answer is no!!! Do you want Roth playing roulette with your childrens health? I don't. DO we have a poltician worrying more about her voting block from her sports supporters than our children? My opinion is yes we do.

Gennaro said it best on reorg, he could not support her for mayor because he said leaders unite a community not poloraize them. He should know he walked away from her after years of being friends. He saw the real Roth emerge right after their election. That speaks volumes about her character.

Anonymous said...

This partisan nonsense has to stop. What Ward - and former Mayor Gray - did in supporting Lucan was the right thing.

As to the turf field, Johnson is blowing this way out of proportion for his own politicla aspirations. He neglects to mention that the Board of Ed just installed crumb rubber at two playgrounds at Milford Brook. They investigated the matter independently and felt comfortable with it. Move on....

Anonymous said...

What about Susan Heckler? Her name was given to the D's as one of the 3 people to replace Joe L.

Anonymous said...

Somebody wrote: "Budai and Johnson are loose cannons. The township is better served with them not on the TC."

You would seem to prefer tied-down cannons instead. The type that cannot move or think.

Anonymous said...

And they installed it at Taylor mIlls. It's no different thatn the infill material except that it is larger. Trust me, there are plenty of parents angry about it. It's momentum is like a slow fire, starts as a spark and then ignites and burns wildly. That is how this issue of the rubber tire crumb is going to become. As for bi partisan politics, ask the Democrats at the county how bipartisan they are? They are looking for their two freeholder candidates to attack the 3 Republicans at every turn.

Anonymous said...

the local school board installed it at our elementary schools -- just one more reason to be done with Ryan Green and to vote against him no matter how many positions he runs for this year.

Anonymous said...

Your fascination with "da mosked man" is interesting. What's more interesting is that you have at least listened to George Thorogood. It's all starting to add up regarding your identity.

Anonymous said...

is there anyone in Manalapan that doesn't seem to have a fascination with "da mosked man?"

Anonymous said...

As a Manalapan Republican it's obvious to me watching the way Butch, who works 50 times harder for real Republicans was tossed under the bus by McEnery and his hijacked committe that he must go. We need new leadership before this party splinters and falls apart.

Anonymous said...

New GOP Leadership = Rhoda.

Anonymous said...

i heard a rumor that ryan green talked the pta into paying for rubber crumb on the playground to bolster the bad decision to bring rubber crumb to soccer. face it soccer guaranteed they get priority use of the field of nightmares with their lights for the field. if this is true green is a lucas clone. selling out the kids for a job

Anonymous said...

no one is going to take ryan green seriously. The guy is running for every seat in town. He's obviously just an egomaniac that wants titles for his resume. If he really was interested in "serving" he wouldn't be running for a seat he is hoping to leave in a few months when he gets a new seat on the township committee. And you can bet that just like Lucas, he'll immediately try to turn that into another seat he's not qualified for on the county level.

Anonymous said...

Is another DELAY on the horizon for someone who has a deposition soon????

DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!

Anonymous said...

Nice one Mal E.

Anonymous said...

Drew, face it, you're a pathetic loser. No one cares that your father is being deposed by your ethically challenged lawyer on Thursday. The people of Manalapan have already told you what they think about your lawsuit against your father. They told you to get lost. They think you're the lowest form of life on earth, Drew. So do us all a favor. Just return the $5,000 you took and disappear. Only a low life like you would brag about the fact that you're forcing your 79 year old father to be deposed.

Anonymous said...

only a guy with a screw loose would be excited that his father is about to make a public record about how the guy tried to steal his father's business after running it into the ground at the same time he created a record 1.7 million dollar deficit for the township. Drew may have been the dumbest person ever to sit as mayor in Manalapan. This man shouldn't even be allowed to WALK with scissors.

Anonymous said...

LOL. You can always tell when Stu is wiping the floor with Shapiro in that lawsuit. Shapiro gets frustrated and starts posting all over the blogs. Think about it. If Drew and the $12,000,000 WMUA man were getting wiped out in court, would he feel the need to go nuts on the blogs?

Anonymous said...

LOL. You can always tell when Stu is wiping the floor with Shapiro in that lawsuit. Shapiro gets frustrated and starts posting all over the blogs. Think about it. If Drew and the $12,000,000 WMUA man weren't getting wiped out in court, would he feel the need to go nuts on the blogs?

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately for us the only way we'll ever hear about the case in the birdcage liner known as the Transcript is if Stu loses.

I wonder if the Manalapan vs Moskovitz case is payback for Stu being the lawyer for Shapiro's father in the Shapiro vs Shapiro case?

Chris Christie, Anne Millgram, where are you when we need you?

Anonymous said...

Chris Christie has already been in Manalapan. He raided town hall as a part of the Village fiasco. Remember, the fine upstanding guardian of facts News Transcript already reported on that.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand. The worst kept secret in Manalapan is that Michelle Roth had a secret meeting with the Village people in August, 2004. Why is she still free?

Anonymous said...

It looks like someone's about to talk. http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/NEWS/80407010

I think Shapiro and his WMUA chairman attorney both have a lot more to worry about right now than his father's deposition.

Anonymous said...

da truth squad is the place I read to get what's really going on with da losers who run Manalapan. Da Snoozer is the paper I let rot on the driveway. Da truth squad is our hero !

Anonymous said...

But you guys digress...let's get back to how the GOP is rotting from within.

Anonymous said...

To the above poster, if Michelle Roth actually did have a secret meeting with the Village developer, does that mean her meeting came before or after Andy Boy's limo ride to Trenton?

Also, if you have proof that's really be awesome.

Anonymous said...

her meeting was before. Obviously, the Village people didn't give her what she wanted when she was defeated for reelection three months later, because she spent all of 2005 and since opposed to the same Village Center she was meeting about secretly in 2004. Andy Boy didn't take his ride until 2005. All through 2005 and 2006 Andy was in favor of the Village Center. Then, apparently he didn't get what HE wanted from the Village People, because immediately after he lost his election bid for freeholder (coming in dead last) he turned against the center. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

So, in other words, the developers of the Village Center have tried for 4 years to win concessions, and are no closer to them than when they started? Looks like they don't exactly have the best interests of Manalapan in mind, only their wallets....

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that tactic is called:

DELAY, DELAY, DELAY the Manalapan Township way!

Anonymous said...

Heard that Moscovitz is running his slate of candidates for TC and district committee people. Should be quite a riot to watch.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean Moskovitz wants to be the municipal chairman in Manalapan? Wouldn't that be ironic if it happens. Moskovitz would become Andy's political boss!

I'd pay money to see that.

Anonymous said...

Here's another report on the artifical turf from today's Atlantic City Press:

Fake turf has real concerns behind it
By MICHELLE J. LEE
Published: Monday, April 07, 2008

Supporters of artificial turf say it is more durable.
Staff Photo by Anthony Smedile


Some people are calling foul on artificial sports fields.

AstroTurf became a household name when it was installed at the Houston Astrodome in 1966. While early turfs had a reputation for being hard, fields developed after the 1990s are made with layers of sand and rubber instead of concrete, said Shira Miller, a spokeswoman for the Synthetic Turf Council, an Atlanta-based nonprofit trade group.

Yet across New Jersey, dozens of schools and towns that have or are installing synthetic fields are being met with opposition.

Advocates of the fields say they are preferable because they can be used by multiple teams, while environmentalists and residents fear the recycled rubber tires and chemicals used could cause health problems and hurt the ecosystem.

A proposal in Evesham Township, Burlington County, that would have spent $3.1 million on artificial fields at Memorial Park and Cherokee Regional High drew protests in February and March on the basis of environmental and open-space issues, sparking a petition with more than 2,500 signatures and a lawsuit over funding.

The Township Council rescinded the proposal for the high school, but it still seeks to use open-space tax funds to build in Memorial Park.

Blogger Karen Borden, a mother of two, part-time nurse and protest organizer expressed concerned that chemicals in the fields could lead to children's respiratory problems and improper drainage could lead to water contamination.

"People didn't believe asbestos was a problem. People didn't think lead paint was a problem. And those things don't come to light until years later," she said. "I believe precaution is necessary."

But Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown, a national and college football consultant, disagreed with Borden, saying artificial fields are safe and provide better footing than grass, which can have holes, mud and ruts. Brown said the township's demand for sports is high and the recreation fields are overused.

Half of professional football teams and hundreds of colleges use synthetic turf, Brown said, "You're paying millions of dollars in athletic scholarships. You don't want an athlete to get hurt from stepping on a field."

Research supports both sides.

Environment and Human Health Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit, found four compounds that can cause skin and eye irritation and be harmful to the immune and nervous systems in a study of the rubber particles, also called "crumbs", that make up synthetic fields. On the other hand, a study of rubber playgrounds done by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, found low health risks if children swallow the rubber, and no skin sensitivity issues.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reviewed research in June and did not find significant impacts. Department spokeswoman Karen Hershey said the DEP does not have an official policy on artificial turfs and will "continue to take a careful look at the issue."

St. Augustine Prep School in the Richland section, of Buena Vista Township, is the only school where in southern New Jersey to have an sports field of artificial turf.

Tony Iaconelli, St. Augustine athletic director, said environmental concerns never came up when the school installed the field in 2005 and it hasn't caused health problems for any students.

Iaconelli said the field is used year-round and other school districts and sports groups call him to find out more information about it. "It's a zero-maintenance situation. It's lined permanently for football and soccer. (We) line it once or twice each spring for lacrosse," he said. "You can play soccer at four, football at seven. The field is not going to get torn up or destroyed by the weather."

Other school districts considering artificial fields include Bridgeton High School, which plans to renovate the 67-year-old football stadium, and Egg Harbor Township, which conducted a feasibility study for the high school.

Joe Blandino, the Bridgeton High School athletic director, said the district raised about $1.3 million for the stadium and the only questions raised about the artificial field were injuries that might occur on it. But Blandino said he and the school district will look into the health and injury concerns before signing any contracts. Egg Harbor Township Superintendent Philip Heery said his district will also research the issue before making any formal decisions.

Miller, the spokeswoman for the Synthetic Turf Council, said there are no health risks with the fields and no state or federal governments have banned them. She said the fields can actually help the environment because they recycle millions of tires each year and do not require water or fertilizer.

Yet Eileen Senn of the New Jersey Work Environment Council was concerned there are no federal or state guidelines on the fields.

"You have this 'crumb' rubber spread all over the environment and it doesn't stay in one place. It migrates on and off the field, goes into drainage water, ends up in people's cars and homes," she said. "It's alarming that this stuff is everywhere."

The council estimated about 800 artificial fields are installed each year in the United States and Canada.

"There's a reason why synthetic turf is still popular ... increased player safety, playability," Miller said.

Last month, however, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale and Assemblyman John Rooney, both R-Bergen, introduced twin bills proposing a moratorium on synthetic turf fields pending a comprehensive public health study. Connecticut's state Senate is reviewing a bill to spend $250,000 for a toxicity report on artificial turfs, and state legislatures in California, Minnesota and New York proposed bills to ban artificial turf sports fields.

To e-mail Michelle Lee at The Press:

MLee@pressofac.com

TO LEARN MORE

To read the state Department of Environmental Protection's review of artificial turf, visit

www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/research/whitepaper%20-%20rubber.pdf

To read the state legislature bills A2512 and S1549 proposing a moratorium on synthetic turf pending a healthy study, visit www.njleg.state.nj.us

To learn more about the Environment and Human Health Inc. and read their artificial turf field report, visit www.ehhi.org

To learn more about the Synthetic Turf Council, visit www.syntheticturfcouncil.org

Anonymous said...

The second and third URL's don't pick up. Seeing as how this isn't njo.com and we're not really restricted, how about posting the articles, or at least the pertinent excerpts?

Anonymous said...

It is amazing that the only response to cancerfields is more idiots are putting them in. Sounds like we got no brakes so lets drive faster!

Anonymous said...

Or, the concerns are overblown. Steve Johnson whines about the fields people the skin eating disease...don't see him rallying against wrestling mats, which have a greater chance of this due to contact. He said the kids will burn their feet playing on the fields in hot weather, which is unlikely since the kids will wear this nifty device called 'sneakers' on their feet. I guess Steve just isn't believeable, which is why he didn't get the not for the TC position from the Republicans.

Anonymous said...

Can someone find a Manalapan recreation/parks official who can give any response, even an unintelligble one? And not the obvious doublespeak from the mayoress:

app.com April 3, 2008

Some call for rules regarding artificial turf

By ALESHA WILLIAMS BOYD
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — With the township standing firm on its decision to install an artificial turf field — in spite of health concerns raised by residents and organizations inside and outside Manalapan's borders — some now are calling for the township to take steps to protect youth who will be using the fields.

Township Committeeman Anthony Gennaro and resident Steven Johnson say the township should establish rules to govern the roughly $740,000 field, made of rubber-crumb infill that they say becomes hotter than sod fields and causes more disease-spreading injuries.

Some studies on the fields, many of which are made with rubber-crumb infill from used tires, also indicate they contain chemicals, ranging from benzothiazole, which may cause skin and eye irritation, to butylated hydroxyanisole, a known carcinogen. But township officials, including Mayor Michelle Roth, have argued the tests are inconclusive on whether they actually pose a health threat.

Gennaro said one issue that can't be debated is the increased surface temperatures on the fields.

"This fact will not only contribute to the health and environmental issues regarding off-gases and leaching chemicals that have so many people concerned, but will also have a dramatic effect on the heat index," Gennaro said. "Heat protocols have been established nationally, recommending periodic hydration of the players and restricted use of any field when dangerous and extremely dangerous levels are realized. This will occur more often than not with synthetic fields."

Steven Johnson, a member of an ad hoc committee appointed to investigate the dangers of the fields, said he, too, worries about heat issues and reports of the spread of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) virus associated with the fields.

He said the plastic in the fields causes more scrapes than grass fields, increasing the likelihood of transferring the virus.

"We need to have some kind of antibiotic and sealed bandage-training for anyone who's on the field, so when a kid gets the scrape that's going to allow the virus in, they (trained individuals) are there," Johnson said.

According to the Sports Turf Manager Association, studies have reported that surface temperatures rise as high as 95 to 140 degrees higher on synthetic turf than natural turf grass when exposed to sunlight.

Tony Vlahos of Precise Construction in Freehold said he believes the fields may only become 10 to 20 degrees hotter than a natural field in extreme heat. He said the Manalapan field, which he is constructing, is equipped with connectors for a water cannon, a large sprinkler system that can help cool the field.

STMA also recommends considering altering game schedules in hot, humid or sunny climates and purchasing an infrared thermometer so that surface temperatures can be monitored.

Roth said those decisions will be left up to Parks and Recreation Director Mona Cholowinski.

"(Cholowinski) does an excellent job at managing all the fields in the Recreation Center, and this is another that will come under her authority," Roth said. "As we have rules for the rest of the Recreation Center, we will have rules for this field as well."

Roth said last week that Gennaro had yet to present any recommendations for field use to the governing body, and that the ad hoc committee never presented the Township Committee with a report. She also noted Gennaro is Committee liaison to the Board of Education but did not balk at three playgrounds the board installed at Milford Brook, Taylor Mills and Clark Mills schools where rubber-crumb mulch was used.

"If he has all these concerns (about regulating the fields), where are they? Why haven't they been presented to the governing body?" Roth said. "It's been almost five months. (The report) is missing in action."

Gennaro said he has presented the Committee with studies about the fields that have gone unheeded.

"If a consensus of the Township Committee insists on continuing with the installation of the synthetic field, then I believe it is their moral obligation to share this information with the community for their protection," Gennaro said.

Johnson said that any protections put in place for the fields' users should be mandated by township ordinance.

"It is my opinion that the township is going to just see what happens," Johnson said. "You can't just have it out there with no authority to shut down the field when it's just too hot. The Recreation Department really needs an ordinance giving them authority to shut down the fields."

Cholowinski was unavailable for comment at press time.

Anonymous said...

How about the School Board members that voted to use crumb rubber in the new playgrounds at Clark, Milford and Taylor?

Anonymous said...

There's a big difference between a school playground, which is not in use during the hot summer months, and a soccer field being used during 90 degree weather with a field temperature of over 110-120 degrees.

When our ego-driven committee members voted to put their names on this, did they budget in for a water cannon to cool the field? Did they budget in for a paid-health aide to be there to immediately treat athletes for the potential for MRSA or heatstroke from the high temperatures?

Congratulations, taxpayers. More for us to shoulder.

Anonymous said...

For those who insist on saying, "Look at New York City," here is a New York Times report about second thoughts from Feb. 29, 2008:

Groups Urge a Moratorium On City Use of Artificial Turf
By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

Several environmental and civic groups are calling for a moratorium on the use of artificial turf in new sports fields in the city, and question the seriousness with which the Bloomberg administration is investigating the turf's potential hazards.


In a letter to the city's parks and health commissioners, dated Thursday, the groups say the installation of such fields should be suspended pending the results of a review of health risks being conducted by the health department.


''The city has a responsibility to protect children, and a vested interest in protecting the environment,'' the letter states. ''Yet even as evidence suggested that artificial turf may pose health risks and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene initiated its review, the Parks Department continued to make plans to install dozens more artificial-turf fields. The Parks Department has shown little interest in studying artificial turf's effects on health and the environment.''


The letter adds, ''This brings into question the agencies' commitment to conducting a thorough health and safety review of artificial turf.''


The call for a moratorium is part of a growing concern among parents, public health officials and environmentalists about synthetic-turf fields. Thousands of the fields have been installed nationwide in recent years, including 77 in the city during the past decade. Twenty-three more are planned.


The letter was signed by Betsy Gotbaum, the public advocate, who is a former city parks commissioner; Christian DiPalermo, the executive director of New Yorkers for Parks; and members of the Natural Resources Defense Council and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.


Adrian Benepe, the parks commissioner, is an advocate for turf fields. He has said the surface is safe and cheaper and more durable than grass.


''With obesity and related illnesses on the rise, creating opportunities for physical activity has never been more important, and we have built and maintain more than 800 athletic fields to support recreation in New York City,'' Mr. Benepe said in a statement. ''Most fields are natural turf, but in building more sports fields, Parks explores all appropriate technologies, including synthetic-turf fields, which can support year-round play and are cost-effective and 'green,' as they do not requiring weekly mowing, watering with potable water, applying chemical herbicides and fertilizers, seeding, polluting machinery or time-intensive maintenance tasks.''


Tuncer B. Edil, an engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a researcher for FieldTurf, a company that has built many of the city's turf fields, also said the material poses no hazards.


''Extensive and thorough scientific reviews in the United States and Europe have continually reached this same conclusion,'' he said in a statement on Thursday.


Critics, however, have said that synthetic turf, particularly crumb rubber fields made from recycled tires, may pose risks to athletes because of the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which may be carcinogenic.


It remains unclear, however, how easily the hydrocarbons can be absorbed by the human body.


In recent months, several organizations and municipalities that have installed artificial turf have had second thoughts.


Earlier this month, the Trust for Public Land announced that it would no longer use crumb rubber infill for the fields it builds at school playgrounds in the city. And Newark city government declared one of its synthetic turf fields to be a ''public health hazard'' after researchers found that dust there had levels of lead more than triple the federal standard for indoor spaces. The field was closed several weeks ago.


The city's health department has been researching turf fields for several months. The department's Web site says its study will not involve scientific analyses of turf fields, but will instead review ''current scientific research on crumb rubber products,'' and identify gaps in ''what is known about potential health effects.''

Anonymous said...

what does it tell you when you see that Shapiro (malypractice) is on NJ.COM supporting McEnery and attacking the reform republicans? Not really a surprise. Everyone knows how McEnery made a deal with Shapiro and Ward last year to throw Susan C. under the bus. Butch and a few others made sure that didn't happen. This year, McEnery has another deal with Ward to put up candidates who can't possibly win, so that Roth gets reelected. If this were the real world, and not New Jersey, there'd be a prosecutor knocking at his door.

Anonymous said...

Thanks to the truth squad hopefully these lowlives will be paid a visit by U.S. Attorney Chris Christy. Go truth squad go.

Anonymous said...

Goodnight, Steve and Butch.

Anonymous said...

Good night Andrew and Jimmy McG.Hey Andrew, I sure hope Brie has a powder blue suit to wear for your apologetic press conference.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see what datruthsquad uncovers about this GOP rift in Manalapan.

Anonymous said...

Uncovers"? He's behind it!

Anonymous said...

If "he's behind it," that's good. Maybe we'll be reading accurate material instead of the usual official claptrap for a change.

Anonymous said...

datruthsquad behind the rift? McEnery is daTruthSquad? I doubt it. datruthsquad can actually write English. The only thing McEnery has ever been able to do is get his daughter a job and lose money by being dumb enough to invest it with Princeton's dumbest graduate ever.

Anonymous said...

I want the Bacon Head awards back!

Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Just think, we can give Andrew and Steve the baconhead awards while Michelle gets the porkbutt award and Shapiro gets the smoked ham award.

Anonymous said...

And when it's time for the next Manalapan budget to come out, thanks to Andy Boy and his Queen we'll all be receiving the pork barrel award for the frivilous lawsuit and unhealthy field they're forcing us to pay for.

Anonymous said...

wait. I thought Andy Boy WAS the queen.