Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions

Mission Statement

Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions -- CURES -- is a coalition of 14 civic associations from Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Glendale, Elmhurst, Woodside, Forest Hills, and Woodhaven -- all communities along the local railroad corridor. CURES believes that increased railroad traffic is coming as both a cost-saving and environmentally sound measure.

However, our organization is dedicated to ensuring that this increase in railroad traffic does not come at a cost of increased environmental burdens for our communities. Our communities already are suffering from noise, the stench of garbage left sitting on sidings for long periods of time, health-threatening diesel emissions from outdated locomotives, and security threats from easy access to rail yards that store dangerous cargo, such as liquefied petroleum gas.

Therefore, we pledge to work with federal, state, and local agencies, our elected officials, and the railroads themselves to lobby for funding to retrofit old diesel locomotives to reduce their polluting emissions and cut back on idling; to ensure that the rail yards themselves are free of hazards and threats to neighborhood health and security; and that the railroads are proactively utilizing cleaner technologies and new controls in an efficient and responsible manner for the good of their own businesses as well as the health and welfare of our neighborhoods and NYC.