Town supervisor, resident clash over radioactive contamination outreach

A tense situation occurred at the Town of Niagara’s Veteran’s Memorial Community Park during a recent concert event. Lexi Hawk, a resident whose property was identified by the state Department of Environmental Conservation as having radioactive contamination, attempted to gather petition signatures and distribute information to fellow community members. The interaction escalated when town Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso approached the resident to stop the activity.

Virtuoso claimed that the gathering of signatures at town-sponsored events is prohibited and stated that such actions cause unnecessary panic among residents. She noted that the town receives frequent inquiries from citizens worried about their safety. According to the supervisor, she asked that the concert goers not be disturbed by the petition efforts.

Hawk reported that the interaction was distressing. She and other residents are pushing for federal intervention and Superfund designation for their neighborhood. They argue that the current pace of investigation and lack of transparency from environmental agencies leave them with too many unanswered questions about the safety of their land.

The history of this issue spans decades, involving legacy nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project and metallurgical slag used in local construction. While state and federal agencies maintain that there is no acute health risk from publicly accessible areas, affected homeowners remain skeptical and continue to organize. Governor Kathy Hochul recently called on the EPA to speed up their investigation into potential radiological hazards in Niagara and Erie counties.