By The Environment TV.

This video, from Staten Island’s Coalition for Wetlands and Forests, asks the question: Has Staten Island’s NYC Councilmember Debi Rose betrayed her constituents, the community of Graniteville.

For over four years Gabriella Velardi-Ward, an architect and environmentalist, among other fields of knowledge, has lead the fight to save these wetlands and forests based on many reasons: flooding is only one of them.

Through her fights in the court and street demonstrations, she and her members have stopped the bulldozers from tearing down the trees that held back the heavy waters from torrential rains and hurricanes until now. Although the group had the backing of the community, it’s elected officials overrode their wishes and allowed the builders to rip out the trees and pack the ground. Why? And can this still be reversed?