Participants plan to camp for a week to bring attention to environmental issues and acts of intimidation faced by those demanding for clean air and water
On Independence Day, activists in Eastern New York and a group of veterans and water protectors from Standing Rock will join forces to bring attention to environmental issues and to protect a family who has been targeted for speaking out.
Recently, we brought you the story of Stella Martin, a woman living near wetlands in Catskill, N.Y., who has spent the last couple of years trying to get state and local officials to look into a composting business next to her home owned by a man named Fred Edwards III where illegal dumping occurred.
Dumping isn’t something just affecting the Martin Family. Those who live in rural Upstate New York are all too familiar with illegal dumping of debris — usually from large cities — that mysteriously end up in their backyards. At one point, as outlined in an New York Times piece from 1983, even the mob got in on the action.
In spite of the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) ruling that Edwards had in fact filled in holes with construction debris and trash on the property of his business next door to the Martin home, no further action was taken by state officials outside of a $2,000 fine.
This, even after high concentrations of cadmium were detected in Martin’s blood, her daughter started suffering breathing problems and her son started having seizures — all symptoms multiple doctors said were likely caused by exposure to toxic chemicals.
The good news is since Martin has moved her family out of the home she purchased and into a rental about a half-hour away, she said in a follow-up interview at the end of May, that despite some flare-ups, she has seen the children’s health generally improve.
“They haven’t needed a breathing treatment or inhaler since we left there,” Martin said. “My son just had a physical with the doctor who was treating them through all that. She was like their appearance and all that (has improved). She was so happy.”
However, much like whistleblowers, activists, and proponents demanding accountability and change elsewhere, when Martin started speaking up, she often had her concerns dismissed and became labeled as an outsider (she’s originally from Texas) trying to stir up trouble.
All of this was frustrating yet manageable until the name-calling stopped and the intimidation began.
Martin said soon after she moved into the new rental, it wasn’t uncommon for her to wake up and find footprints in her driveway and ATV tracks around her property, as if someone had been staking out her house and got a little too close; as if someone had driven miles out of the way to intimidate her and her kids. .
Martin said it’s also not uncommon for her to hear gunshots coming from the woods back behind her house — sometimes when her kids are playing.
She described one occasion when she asked her 9-year-old daughter, Stella, to do what parents do all the time: ask their kids to bring in their toys from outside.
“I hear her come back in shortly and she says, ‘No, no, there’s gunshots out there,’ ” Martin said. “I can’t imagine how she’s processing everything.”
Martin said a few people have even been there when the acts of intimidation went down including an activist working with a Colorado-based group called Veteran Power who helped her gather evidence of trespassers afterwards.
“She experienced the gunshots and saw the insanity,” Martin said. “We walked behind the camper and there was fresh boot prints. We followed two ATV tracks … that went over to the next property.”
Another person who was able to verify Martin’s claims was James Williams, a member of the New York City chapter of Veterans for Peace, and part of last year’s Veterans Stand for Standing Rock movement.
He said Monday via email that Martin reached out to the Veteran Power, who in turn contacted him to see what was going on. After doing some research, he decided to meet with Martin and other activists from the area.
“Three of us … drove up to Palenville to meet with them,” Williams said. “We decided that [they] are telling the truth, whistleblowers, if you will, and that they are being targeted and harassed — legally and physically — by the forces benefiting from the illegal dumping of toxic waste into the wetlands.”
As someone familiar with the history of illegal dumping in the Catskills, Williams said he knew something had to be done to bring attention to what was going on in Eastern New York, so he asked his fellow veterans for support.
So starting on July 4, Williams is organizing the creation of Camp Constellation, which is going to bring area activists, veterans, and water protectors from around the country to Martin’s home.
The goal is to bring more attention to the Martin family’s issues, as well as the problem of illegal dumping in the Catskill wetlands and the need to protect clean air and water in general.
“We decided our first order of business was to set up a veteran’s presence around the home of Stella to, hopefully, deter and prevent the danger surrounding her,” he said. “We plan to use the model of Standing Rock and be there in peaceful protest and to help the activists in any way we can to expose the corruption of local officials, the illnesses caused by toxic dumping and how the dumping is affecting, not only the local residents, but potentially affecting the drinking water supply of local towns.”
Martin said she hopes Camp Constellation will be the first step on the path to bring more attention to the issues facing families like hers while sending a message that she and the others will not be intimidated.
“I believe we can make a change,” Martin said. “If I lose that belief, then I’ll lose my fight.”
Those interested in attending are asked to register with the veterans before coming to the camp. For more information on how to participate or what to bring, visit the Veteran and Allied Water Protectors Facebook page and send questions to James Wilson at Mniwiconi@niany.com, or call 718-873-3060. Stella Martin can be reached through her Facebook page, @PalenvilleCatskillToxicLandfill.
