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To: William J. Hendrick, Mayor, Alan C. Beach, Trustee, Michael N. Hawxhurst, Trustee, Hilary H. Becker, Trustee, Thomas D. Atkinson, Trustee, John Giordano, Village Clerk/Administrator, Phil Healey, Department of Public Works, and Edward P....

Better Health, Better Lawns, Better Budget, Better Hearing, Better Neighbors in Lynbrook, NY: Ban...

Ban Leafblowers! They are a health hazard of air and noise pollution. They move dust and debris from one place to another, suspend toxins in the air, add their own fumes and create a daily noise stress to boot.

A Few Leaf Blower facts:
* Air Pollution—A single leaf blower operating for an hour emits as much pollution as 40 cars idling during the same amount of time.
* Leaf blowers stir up over two pounds per hour per leaf blower of dangerous particulate matter including but not limited to cat, dog, and rodent feces, pesticides, and street dust which may include mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium and nickel. (The American Lung Associate of Sacramento)
* Leaf blowers exceed the World Health Organization’s acceptable ambient noise levels by 20 decibels at 50 feet. The average neighborhood in Nassau County sees multiple uses of leaf blowers in a one block radius per day, across several blocks, spread over several days a week, creating a 7 day per week, 8 hour per day problem in all three landscaping seasons!

Do such bans work? According to Citizens for a Quieter Sacramento interviewed city officials from departments such as police, planning, public works, environmental health, and parks and recreation of 14 California cities with this ban in effect (Belvedere , Berkeley , Beverly Hills , Carmel , Claremont , Del Mar, Indian Wells, Laguna Beach, Lawndale , Los Altos, Malibu, Mill Valley , Piedmont, and Santa Monica). The survey showed the bans were 90-95% effective based on citizens complaints alone. Enforcement was not a large burden. There were no reports of gardeners going out of business or raising their rates and there was 100% citizen satisfaction. You can find the full report at http://www.nonoise.org/quietnet/cqs/other.htm

East Hampton, NY is also researching the effect this assault on your neighbor has on hearing as well as privacy and health. They are posting their studies and information on the health hazards of blowers on http://bantheblowers.org/health-hazards/

A landscaper may claim that leaf blowers make their job "more efficient" but in reality, all a leaf blower does is make the landscapers' task - cleaning the leaves and grass debris in a yard, usually done effectively with a rake and bag - into someone else's problem to clean up. By blowing leaves, toxins and debris into the yards of neighbors and into the streets and gutters, the landscapers are putting the burden and cost of the cleanup they are being paid to do onto other people and onto the Village street sweepers and local garbage crews.

Did you know that gas leaf blowers are banned in many countries around the world due to their effects on health, on the top soil and on hearing? This is a chance to lead by example and make sure Lynbrook, and Nassau County, is putting its citizens first!

Sincerely,

Why is this important?

As a new resident who plans to make this fantastic area her permanent home, I'm a bit shocked by the large number of leaf blowers in use on a daily basis in Lynbrook Village. Starting in Spring and going in to Fall, with peak use in the Summer, leaf blowers throw noise, pollutants and toxins in the air, toss trash in the gutters and streets (and neighbors yards) and rip up the topsoil, 7 days a week.

Other cities have had great success with eliminating leaf blowers altogether, and with restricting use of other noisy apparatus, such as domestic pressure washers, to certain days of the week and hours of the day. I'd love to see Lynbrook Village lead the way as a community that achieves the beautiful lawns and landscaping I see everywhere in a quieter, healthier, more neighborly and environmentally friendly way.