VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
TESSLER: Late Thursday evening, Syracuse Citizens gathered at City Hall to voice their concerns with the lead level in their water.
MURPHY: “It is putting the children of the city at even greater risk, and we are it’s high time that we do something about it and take serious action.”
TESSLER: That is Maureen Murphy, a concerned citizen who wants the council to take further action.
MURPHY: “We hope that the city of Syracuse will declare a state of emergency to tap federal resources to address this issue and that they will move urgently to provide water filters to all members of the city to provide education on this issue”
TESSLER: With the public being more alarmed, Councilor Gethers hopes this town hall will provide the citizens with the true set of facts.
GETHERS: If you’re going to have a question, we should be able to answer that question and give you the facts and not just something that you read from a third party article.”
TESSLER: Councilor Gethers says that he isn’t ruling out his support for Syracuse declaring a state of emergency.
GETHERS: “If what is being given shows that there are great samples of lead within our water and absolutely I think that we need to move forward by causing this to be a state of emergency.”
TESSLER: However, for now, the council believes the lead levels aren’t high enough to declare a state of emergency.
TESSLER: Sean Tessler, NCC News. (:08)
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Syracuse Common Council hosted Syracuse citizens at City Hall to answer questions and hear the public’s concerns over the lead levels in their water.
“It is putting the children of the city at even greater risk, and[…]it’s high time that we do something about it and take serious action,” said Maureen Murphy, a local citizen.
Murphy believes the Syracuse Common Council needs to be taking more action so less families are exposed to lead poisoning.
“We hope that the city of Syracuse will declare a state of emergency to tap federal resources to address this issue, and that they will move urgently to provide water filters to all members of the city to provide education on this issue,” said Murphy.
Murphy was one of many people calling for Syracuse to declare a state of emergency at the town hall.
With the public more concerned than ever, Councilor Amir Gethers, the organizer of the town hall, said he hoped it would give residents the true set of facts.
“If you’re going to have a question, we should be able to answer that question and give you the facts and not just something that you read from a third party article, ” said Councilor Gethers.
Councilor Gethers says that he isn’t ruling out his support for Syracuse declaring a state of emergency.
“If what is being given shows that there are great samples of lead within our water and absolutely I think that we need to move forward by causing this to be a state of emergency,” said Gethers.
For now, the council believes the lead levels aren’t high enough to declare a state of emergency.
For more information on the data the Syracuse Common Council has presented and their advice go to syr.gov/lead-free-Syracuse.