The department's environmental concerns energized community members from the area around the proposed Brooklyn plant. Phone calls were made and mass meetings were called. Perlmutter says 1,000 people attended a candlelight vigil, in the pouring rain, to protest the proposed plant. The community group reasoned it would be better to fight the energy giants with logic. After all, the site of the proposed plant abuts a playground and an historic area.
Homes are across the street, two schools are nearby, and the neighborhood has seven churches.
Perlmutter says the neighbors thought the Public Service Commission, which must approve applications for new utility plants, would take that into account. So even before Con Ed and KeySpan put their application before the commission, the neighbors got there first. Perlmutter, the neurologist, and others searched public records and found 63 applications pending before the commission. The group also submitted land use maps, photographs, and anything else they could find to support their position. Now the communities are seeking a zoning change for the parcel, from industrial to something more resident-friendly.