tigerhonaker
03-25-2006, 11:55 PM
Councilman test drives a Honda Civic GX natural-gas automobile.
MICHAEL GANNON – The Journal News – 03/25/2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Civic_GX.jpg
YONKERS — Confronting one of the major bugaboos from Republican Mayor Phil Amicone's first two years in office, Democratic Council President Chuck Lesnick has launched a trial of alternative fuel vehicles aimed at reducing the operating costs of the city's fleet of cars and trucks.
Homeland Energy, a Yonkers-based company that promotes the use of clean energy, arranged a loaner 2005 Honda Civic for Lesnick to try. The car runs on natural gas, which is significantly cleaner and cheaper than gasoline, though harder to find for a fill-up.
It is the first of several alternative fuel vehicles — including hybrid, electric and biodiesel — Lesnick plans to sample.
"Look around the parking lot," Lesnick said yesterday while standing next to the Civic, parked near Amicone's big Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle on top of the Government Center Garage next to City Hall. "There's lots of vehicles that don't do as well on gas mileage."
Lesnick's gambit is the latest in a series of actions by City Council members to distance themselves from a 2004 Journal News investigation into the cost of the city's vehicles. The newspaper found that the number of city cars available to employees for 24-hour use was far larger than comparable-size cities and included luxury sedans and sport utility vehicles.
Lesnick's Republican predecessor, Richard Martinelli, had turned in his car in late 2004, months after Councilman John Murtagh, R-5th District, had done so. Councilman Dennis Robertson, D-3rd District, reimburses the city for personal miles accrued on his city-owned Chevrolet Impala.
Every other council member has full-time use of a city vehicle. Lesnick has offered the Civic, outfitted with a city seal, to other council members and city employees to try while he has it.
Amicone spokesman David Simpson said some city employees, such as commissioners who must be able to travel in snow and other conditions, would always require the use of four-wheel drive vehicles. But he welcomed Lesnick's efforts to save money.
"If it can be demonstrated that these types of vehicles save money over a period of time, it's something that we'll look to do," he said.
How much money the alternative fuel vehicle can save, however, is debatable.
The natural-gas vehicles - available in New York only to government and corporate clients that administer fleets of vehicles - cost about $4,500 more than their gasoline counterparts, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Web site, www.eere.energy.gov. Federal and state incentives can cut those costs by more than half.
Savings, however, can be realized in fuel and maintenance costs. Natural gas for vehicle consumption costs an average of $2.18 a gallon in New York and other central Atlantic states, according to a September report issued by the Energy Department. Regular gasoline prices averaged $3.15 a gallon at the same time, the report said.
The natural-gas version of the 2006 Honda Civic GS gets fuel economy similar to its gasoline counterpart, a little more than 30 miles per gallon. The 2006 Ford Expedition gets about 14 miles per gallon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Last September, as fuel costs soared in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and before Lesnick won election against Martinelli, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the mayor to look into incorporating alternative fuel vehicles into the city's fleet.
"I applaud Chuck for taking the initiative," said Republican Councilman Liam McLaughlin, who voted for the resolution.
The city has slashed the cost of its car fleet in the past two years by replacing expensive leased vehicles with cheaper ones purchased on state contracts, and reining in fuel costs, said Commissioner of Public Works John Liszewski, who administers the city's fleet.
Yonkers, after an Amicone directive to reduce the fleet two years ago, now has 137 vehicles available to employees full time, Liszewski said.
In February 2004, a month after Amicone took over the mayoralty from John Spencer, for whom he was deputy mayor for eight years, the take-home fleet stood at 231 vehicles.
MICHAEL GANNON – The Journal News – 03/25/2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_Civic_GX.jpg
YONKERS — Confronting one of the major bugaboos from Republican Mayor Phil Amicone's first two years in office, Democratic Council President Chuck Lesnick has launched a trial of alternative fuel vehicles aimed at reducing the operating costs of the city's fleet of cars and trucks.
Homeland Energy, a Yonkers-based company that promotes the use of clean energy, arranged a loaner 2005 Honda Civic for Lesnick to try. The car runs on natural gas, which is significantly cleaner and cheaper than gasoline, though harder to find for a fill-up.
It is the first of several alternative fuel vehicles — including hybrid, electric and biodiesel — Lesnick plans to sample.
"Look around the parking lot," Lesnick said yesterday while standing next to the Civic, parked near Amicone's big Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle on top of the Government Center Garage next to City Hall. "There's lots of vehicles that don't do as well on gas mileage."
Lesnick's gambit is the latest in a series of actions by City Council members to distance themselves from a 2004 Journal News investigation into the cost of the city's vehicles. The newspaper found that the number of city cars available to employees for 24-hour use was far larger than comparable-size cities and included luxury sedans and sport utility vehicles.
Lesnick's Republican predecessor, Richard Martinelli, had turned in his car in late 2004, months after Councilman John Murtagh, R-5th District, had done so. Councilman Dennis Robertson, D-3rd District, reimburses the city for personal miles accrued on his city-owned Chevrolet Impala.
Every other council member has full-time use of a city vehicle. Lesnick has offered the Civic, outfitted with a city seal, to other council members and city employees to try while he has it.
Amicone spokesman David Simpson said some city employees, such as commissioners who must be able to travel in snow and other conditions, would always require the use of four-wheel drive vehicles. But he welcomed Lesnick's efforts to save money.
"If it can be demonstrated that these types of vehicles save money over a period of time, it's something that we'll look to do," he said.
How much money the alternative fuel vehicle can save, however, is debatable.
The natural-gas vehicles - available in New York only to government and corporate clients that administer fleets of vehicles - cost about $4,500 more than their gasoline counterparts, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Web site, www.eere.energy.gov. Federal and state incentives can cut those costs by more than half.
Savings, however, can be realized in fuel and maintenance costs. Natural gas for vehicle consumption costs an average of $2.18 a gallon in New York and other central Atlantic states, according to a September report issued by the Energy Department. Regular gasoline prices averaged $3.15 a gallon at the same time, the report said.
The natural-gas version of the 2006 Honda Civic GS gets fuel economy similar to its gasoline counterpart, a little more than 30 miles per gallon. The 2006 Ford Expedition gets about 14 miles per gallon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Last September, as fuel costs soared in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and before Lesnick won election against Martinelli, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution asking the mayor to look into incorporating alternative fuel vehicles into the city's fleet.
"I applaud Chuck for taking the initiative," said Republican Councilman Liam McLaughlin, who voted for the resolution.
The city has slashed the cost of its car fleet in the past two years by replacing expensive leased vehicles with cheaper ones purchased on state contracts, and reining in fuel costs, said Commissioner of Public Works John Liszewski, who administers the city's fleet.
Yonkers, after an Amicone directive to reduce the fleet two years ago, now has 137 vehicles available to employees full time, Liszewski said.
In February 2004, a month after Amicone took over the mayoralty from John Spencer, for whom he was deputy mayor for eight years, the take-home fleet stood at 231 vehicles.