By Nathan Duke
Cuomo's suit is the fourth to be filed against the oil giant following a 2005 class action suit by residents of Greenpoint, Brooklyn; a suit filed by Tarrytown environmental advocacy group Riverkeeper, which also included Council members Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) and David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; and a recent suit from Riverkeeper which alleged that Exxon was operating a pollution pipe along the Greenpoint side of the creek without a proper federal permit.
Cuomo sent Exxon a notice of intention to sue on Thursday, accusing the company of endangering the local residents' health and the environment by failing to clean up the half-century old spill.
“This is one of the worst environmental disasters in the nation, larger than the Exxon Valdez and slower in the cleanup,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said his office intends to also sue Chevron, Keyspan, BP and Phelps Dodge for their alleged roles in the creek's contamination.
