Grimm: Government Should Remove Gravesend Bay Ammo

Last week, Congressman Michael Grimm told the live audience of radio station WCBS 880 that the ordinance lying on the bottom of Gravsend Bay near the Verrazano Bridge should be taken away by the Feds, rather than merely cordoned off with a safety zone.

And he thinks the department that most likely deposited the munitions, namely the U.S. military, should be the ones doing the heavy lifting.

From CBS:

“Whether it’s the DOD, Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, or  the Navy, I don’t care which one has to take lead on this, but we need  leadership that says, ‘Okay, we have a problem. We’ve identified the  problem. Now, let’s have solution.’ It’s not rocket science,” Grimm told  WCBS 880 reporter Rich Lamb. “Whoever’s in the best position to safely  and quickly remove the munitions, they have everything they need. We  have the best and brightest military in the world.”

Grimm has sent a letter to incoming Defense Secretary Leon Panetta asking him to get it done.

Gene Ritter, the local diver who discovered the ammo, as well as many others, believe an ammunition barge that got loose from a tugboat during a 1954 storm caused the underwater cache.

Rep. Michael Grimm represents New York’s 13th District, which includes all of Staten Island, as well as parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Gravesend.