It only took about a half-century, but a lawsuit has finally been filed to force the cleanup of the Exxon Mobil oil spill on Newtown Creek. You know the one: 17-30 million gallons spilled in the 1950s that is in Newtown Creek and under about 55 acres of Greenpoint. The spill is almost double the size of the Exxon Valdez's 1989 dumping of 11 million gallons. It was "discovered" in 1978 by the Coast Guard, which noticed the oil bubbling to the surface of the waterway dividing Brooklyn and Queens. The suit would force a faster cleanup and impose millions of dollars in fines. BP, Chevron, KeySpan and Phelps Dodge (which operated a nearby copper smelter) are also named in the suit.
· Suit Seeks Belated Cleanup of 57-Year Old Oil Spill [NYT]
· AG Files Greenpoint Oil Spill Suit [Real Deal]
· Greenpoint Oil Spill Revisited: Bigger Than Tribeca; Less Upscale [Curbed]
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