Borough Prez Sues Exxon for Ruining Brooklyn Water

Fifty years after Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Council Members David Yassky moved to intervene as plaintiffs in Riverkeeper’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil for violating the federal Clean Water Act.
The international petroleum giant is being sued for its role in a 17 million gallon oil spill that stretches for 55 acres beneath Brooklyn. Oil continues to leak into Newtown Creek, polluting Greenpoint’s soil, groundwater, the Creek, the East River and the whole of Brooklyn’s waterfront. The spill courses through industrial, commercial, and residential property, affecting an estimated 100 homes and dozens of businesses. Heavy unrefined oil is visibly leaking into and contaminating the creek, which separates Brooklyn and Queens.