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Hoosick Falls, New York

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126-541: Hoosick Falls is a village in Rensselaer County , New York , United States. The population was 3,501 at the 2010 census. During its peak, in 1900, the village had a population of approximately 7,000. The village of Hoosick Falls is near the center of the town of Hoosick on NY 22 . The village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Hoosick Falls Historic District . The village has

252-544: A class-action lawsuit was filed against Saint-Gobain and Honeywell, with 3M and DuPont Co. later being accused as well. In July 2021 a preliminary settlement of $ 65.25 million was reached with Saint-Gobain, which provides current and former residents with compensation for potential health impacts due to exposure, compensation for the loss of property value following the addition of the area to the Superfund National Priorities List, compensation to those who had

378-496: A common household product, now offered by hundreds of manufacturers across the world. The brand name Zepel was used for promoting its stain-resistance and water-resistance when applied to fabrics. In the 1990s, it was found that PTFE could be radiation cross-linked above its melting point in an oxygen-free environment. Electron beam processing is one example of radiation processing. Cross-linked PTFE has improved high-temperature mechanical properties and radiation stability. That

504-499: A county administrator, who acts on behalf of the legislature, the legislature must maintain ultimate control over the actions of the administrator. Many, but not all, charter counties have an elected executive who is independent of the legislature; the exact form of government is defined in the County Charter. In New York, each city is a highly autonomous incorporated area that, with the exceptions of New York City and Geneva ,

630-589: A home in the village and is buried there. Jenny Holzer, the American conceptual artist, has lived just outside of the Village for years. Yucel Erdogan, the NYC artist and photographer, operates the 3rd Eye Gallery in a renovated department store in the downtown commercial district. Hoosick Falls is noted for its murals and outdoors art displays. The downtown hosts two significant murals, one by local artist Roger Weeden, that depicts

756-631: A land-use classification for private land under its Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan (APLUDP). The APLUDP extends the boundaries for its classification of hamlets "well beyond established settlements" to allow for growth. In New York, a village is an incorporated area. About 85% of villages fall within a single town. Villages in the State of New York are classified by the Census Bureau as incorporated places . Like all municipal corporations, villages have clearly defined legal boundaries. A village

882-417: A mayor and (usually) four trustees. The board is responsible for approving mayoral appointments, managing village finances and property, and approving a budget. The mayor, who is generally the chief executive of the village, may vote in all business before the board and must vote to break a tie. The mayor generally does not possess veto power, unless this is provided for by local law. Administrative duties of

1008-645: A minimal loss of performance over the lifetime of the gasket. PTFE is an ultraviolet (UV) transparent polymer. However, when exposed to an excimer laser beam it severely degrades due to heterogeneous photothermal effect . Processing PTFE can be difficult and expensive because its high melting temperature, 327 °C (621 °F), is above its decomposition temperature. Even when molten, PTFE does not flow due to its exceedingly high melt-viscosity. The viscosity and melting point can be decreased by inclusion of small amount of comonomers such as perfluoro (propylvinyl ether) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP). These cause

1134-402: A new chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant, called tetrafluoroethylene . The gas in its pressure bottle stopped flowing before the bottle's weight had dropped to the point signaling "empty". John J. Beall (chemist), noticing a weight differential in his test cylinder, brought it to the attention of Roy Plunkett. The chemists in the lab sawed the bottle apart and found the bottle's interior coated with

1260-487: A private well contaminated ($ 7.7 million, 12% of total), case expenses and attorney fees ($ 13.4 million, 20% of total), compensation for the ten main plaintiffs that contributed significantly to the case ($ 250,000, .4% of total), and establishes a 10-year medical monitoring program ($ 23 million, 35% of total). Throughout the court proceedings attorneys for Saint-Gobain and Honeywell moved for the case to be dismissed, claiming that “mere accumulation of elevated levels of PFOA in

1386-493: A regional center of trade and export. Local farmers and manufacturers would come to town to sell their goods and load them on rail cars bound for New York City or abroad. These goods consisted of manufacturers, grain, milk, livestock, construction materials (mostly slate and brick), paper & pulp, timber and beverages. The Estabrook Octagon House , Hoosick Falls Armory , Hoosick Falls Historic District , St. Mark's Episcopal Church , and United States Post Office are listed on

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1512-583: A single mass. The most common use of PTFE, consuming about 50% of production, is for the insulation of wiring in aerospace and computer applications (e.g. hookup wire, coaxial cables). This application exploits the fact that PTFE has excellent dielectric properties, specifically low group velocity dispersion , especially at high radio frequencies , making it suitable for use as an excellent insulator in connector assemblies and cables , and in printed circuit boards used at microwave frequencies. Combined with its high melting temperature, this makes PTFE

1638-513: A thriving early-20th century downtown commercial district, and many of the buildings have been restored. Recent commercial additions include a bakery/sandwich shop, a French restaurant, a coffee roastery, an art gallery and bistro, and a barbecue joint with a live music venue. Painter Grandma Moses is buried in the village. The site of the British entrenchments at the Battle of Bennington , August 6, 1777,

1764-597: A town; 35.9% were living in a town but outside a village. Whereas cities and villages can cross county boundaries, each town in New York is completely contained within a single county. New York towns are classified by statute as being a town of the first class or a town of the second class . Additionally, a town of the first class can further be classified as a suburban town upon meeting certain criteria. Originally, towns of different classes possessed different powers. Since 1964, all towns, regardless of classification, have had

1890-473: A uniform statewide Village Law (twelve villages still operate under charters issued by the state legislature prior to a revision of the State Constitution in 1874 that forbade chartering villages). Also, villages are part of a town (or towns; some villages cross town borders), with residents who pay taxes to and receive services from the town. Cities are neither part of nor subordinate to towns except for

2016-504: A village becomes a city, the Legislature requires clear evidence, usually in the form of a locally drafted charter, that the community in question seeks to incorporate as a city. The forms of government cities can have are council–manager, strong mayor–council, weak mayor–council or commission. Forty-six cities, the majority, use the mayor–council form. The City of New York is a special case. The state legislature reorganized government in

2142-482: A village or town but will perform some of the functions of the other form. Villages remain part of the towns in which they are located; village residents pay both town and village taxes, and vote in both town and village elections. Towns can contain several hamlets and communities. If the United States Postal Service (USPS) has a post office in a hamlet it often will use the name of that hamlet, as will

2268-496: A waxy white material that was oddly slippery. Analysis showed that it was polymerized perfluoroethylene, with the iron from the inside of the container having acted as a catalyst at high pressure. Kinetic Chemicals patented the new fluorinated plastic (analogous to the already known polyethylene ) in 1941, and registered the Teflon trademark in 1945. By 1948, DuPont, which founded Kinetic Chemicals in partnership with General Motors ,

2394-425: Is Because tetrafluoroethylene can explosively decompose to tetrafluoromethane ( CF 4 {\textstyle {\ce {CF4}}} ) and carbon, a special apparatus is required for the polymerization to prevent hot spots that might initiate this dangerous side reaction. The process is typically initiated with persulfate , which homolyzes to generate sulfate radicals: The resulting polymer

2520-423: Is Sherrill, New York , with just 3,071 inhabitants in 2010. The smallest city by area is Mechanicville, New York , which covers 0.91 sq mi (2.4 km ) (of which 0.08 sq mi (0.2 km ) is water). Some places containing the word "city" in their name are not cities. Examples include Johnson City , Garden City , and New City . Several cities, such as Albany, are divided into wards for

2646-407: Is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high- molecular-weight polymer consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine . PTFE is hydrophobic : neither water nor water-containing substances wet PTFE, as fluorocarbons exhibit only small London dispersion forces due to the low electric polarizability of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any solid. Polytetrafluoroethylene

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2772-525: Is a brand of expanded PTFE (ePTFE), a material incorporating a fluoropolymer membrane with micropores. The roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis , US, was one of the largest applications of PTFE coatings. 20 acres (81,000 m ) of the material was used in the creation of the white double-layered PTFE-coated fiberglass dome. Because of its extreme non-reactivity and high temperature rating, PTFE

2898-408: Is a municipality that provides services to the residents, services that may or may not include garbage collection, management of cemeteries, street and highway maintenance, street lighting, and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other municipal services. Villages have less autonomy than cities. While cities are not subject to a town's jurisdiction, villages legally remain part of

3024-402: Is commonplace to change boundaries and define new CDPs for each census. The Census Bureau formerly referred to CDPs as "unincorporated places" from 1950 through the 1970 decennial censuses. The term CDP was first used for the 1980 census , and minimum population criteria for CDPs were dropped with the 2000 census . Though the term "hamlet" is not defined under New York law, many people in

3150-579: Is considered a minor exposure pathway to PFOA. As a result of the lawsuits concerning the PFOA class-action lawsuit , DuPont began to use GenX, a similarly fluorinated compound, as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers , such as Teflon-brand PTFE. However, the EPA has classified GenX as more toxic than PFOA and it has proven to be a “regrettable substitute”; its effects may be equally harmful or even more detrimental than those of

3276-456: Is contained within one county. Cities in New York are classified by the U.S. Census Bureau as incorporated places. They provide almost all services to their residents and have the highest degree of home rule and taxing jurisdiction over their residents. The main difference between a city and a village is that cities are organized and governed according to their charters , which can differ widely among cities, while most villages are subject to

3402-548: Is in three towns and two counties. Five towns are coterminous with their single village and have a coterminous town-village form of government. Despite their names, Greenwich Village , the East Village , and Queens Village are not villages, but neighborhoods of the City of New York . A borough is one of the five major administrative divisions of the consolidated City of New York . Boroughs do not currently exist elsewhere in

3528-608: Is leading the investigation and cleanup of the McCaffrey Street site, with support from the EPA. In June 2016 Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International were deemed “potentially responsible parties” for the contamination, and entered into a consent order with the NYSDEC. As an interim remedial measure to address the contamination, the two companies installed a granulated activated carbon (GAC) filtration system on

3654-506: Is nearby and is maintained as Bennington Battlefield State Historic Site . Although this has been an issue of considerable debate, it's believed the first documented settlers came to Hoosick Falls, on the Hoosic River , around 1746. The French drove the settlers out in 1754 and most of the settlement was burned, but they returned and rebuilt after the French & Indian War ended. Hoosick Falls

3780-878: Is no longer being made in the United States. PTFE was added to the Living Building Challenge (LBC) Red List in 2016. The Red List bans substances prevalent in the building industry that pose serious risks to human health and the environment from construction that seeks to meet the criteria of the Living Building Challenge (LBC). Sodium trifluoroacetate and the similar compound sodium chlorodifluoroacetate can both be generated when PTFE undergoes thermolysis , as well as producing longer chain polyfluoro- and/or polychlorofluoro- (C3-C14) carboxylic acids which may be equally persistent. These products can accumulate in evaporative wetlands and have been found in

3906-568: Is notable for its extremely low coefficient of friction, its hydrophobia (which serves to inhibit rust), and for the dry film it forms after application, which allows it to resist collecting particles that might otherwise form an abrasive paste. Brands include GT85, Tri-Flow and WD-40 Specialist. PTFE is best known for its use in coating non-stick frying pans and other cookware, as it is hydrophobic and possesses fairly high heat resistance. The sole plates of some clothes irons are coated with PTFE. Other niche applications include: While PTFE

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4032-403: Is often used as the liner in hose assemblies, expansion joints , and in industrial pipe lines, particularly in applications using acids, alkalis, or other chemicals. Its frictionless qualities allow improved flow of highly viscous liquids and for uses in applications such as brake hoses. PTFE architectural membranes are created by coating a woven glass-fibre base cloth with PTFE, forming one of

4158-439: Is stable at lower temperatures, it begins to deteriorate at temperatures of about 260 °C (500 °F), it decomposes above 350 °C (662 °F), and pyrolysis occurs at temperatures above 400 °C (752 °F). The main decomposition products are fluorocarbon gases and a sublimate , including tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and difluorocarbene radicals (RCF2). An animal study conducted in 1955 concluded that it

4284-509: Is still present also. Along with the Walter Wood plant, Hoosick Falls was a boomtown in the 19th century. Many other businesses came to town, creating growth and prosperity. Hoosick Falls once had factories that made paper, small numbers of appliances, glass, and some nominal soda and beer bottling plants. A large number of rich Victorian homes were built during this period and are still there today, most in good shape. Hoosick Falls also served as

4410-414: Is terminated with sulfate ester groups, which can be hydrolyzed to give OH end-groups . Granular PTFE is produced via suspension polymerization, where PTFE is suspended in an aqueous medium primarily via agitation and sometimes with the use of a surfactant. PTFE is also synthesized via emulsion polymerization, where a surfactant is the primary means of keeping PTFE in an aqueous medium. Surfactants in

4536-425: Is then voted upon by the qualified voters living in the proposed village only. Some villages have fewer than 500 residents, having incorporated before the present population requirement or fallen below the old 500-resident threshold after incorporation. A village may also be dissolved, returning all government control to the town level. The process of dissolution can be initiated by the village board itself, or upon

4662-571: Is unlikely that these products would be generated in amounts significant to health at temperatures below 250 °C (482 °F). Above those temperatures the degradation by-products can be lethal to birds , and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans ( polymer fume fever ), although in humans those symptoms disappear within a day or two of being moved to fresh air. Most cases of polymer fume fever in humans occur due to smoking PTFE-contaminated tobacco, although cases have occurred in people who have welded near PTFE components. PTFE-coated cookware

4788-434: Is unlikely to reach dangerous temperatures with normal use, as meat is usually fried between 204 and 232 °C (399 and 450 °F), and most cooking oils (except refined safflower and avocado oils) start to smoke before a temperature of 260 °C (500 °F) is reached. A 1973 study by DuPont's Haskell Laboratory found that a 4-hour exposure to the fumes emitted by PTFE cookware heated to 280 °C (536 °F)

4914-451: Is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is non-reactive, partly because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds , so it is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals. Where used as a lubricant , PTFE reduces friction, wear, and energy consumption of machinery. It is used as a graft material in surgery and as a coating on catheters . PTFE and chemicals used in its production are some of

5040-500: Is usually measured against polished steel. PTFE's coefficient of friction is 0.05 to 0.10, which is the third-lowest of any known solid material ( aluminium magnesium boride (BAM) being the lowest, with a coefficient of friction of 0.02; diamond-like carbon being second-lowest at 0.05). PTFE's resistance to van der Waals forces means that it is the only known surface to which a gecko cannot stick. In addition, PTFE can be used to prevent insects from climbing up surfaces painted with

5166-406: Is water. The town of Webb ( Herkimer County ) has the greatest land area, at 451 sq mi (1,170 km ). The smallest town, Green Island ( Albany County ), covers 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km ). The town of Hempstead ( Nassau County ) has about 760,000 people (2010 census), making it more populous than any city in the state except New York City . Red House ( Cattaraugus County ),

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5292-537: The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York . Articles VIII (titled "Local Finances") and IX (titled "Local Government", but commonly referred to as the "Home Rule" article) of the state constitution establish the rights and responsibilities of the municipal governments. The New York State Constitution provides for democratically elected legislative bodies for counties, cities, towns and villages. These legislative bodies are granted

5418-732: The National Register of Historic Places . Hoosick Falls and the region has long been a landing place for artists of various interests. Grandma Moses, the American folk artists who rose to fame after her work was discovered in Thorpe's Pharmacy in downtown Hoosick Falls by a passing New York City art dealer, was born close by and is buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery. Jose De Creeft, the Spanish-born artist and sculptor best known for his sculpture of Alice in Wonderland in New York's Central Park kept

5544-508: The United States Census Bureau as "a statistical entity defined for each decennial census according to Census Bureau guidelines, comprising a densely settled concentration of population" that is not part of a city or a village "but is locally identified by a name." CDPs may cross town and county borders. CDPs are defined collaboratively by state and local officials and the Census Bureau. They are defined for each census, and it

5670-505: The census of 2000, there were 3,436 people, 1,382 households, and 880 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,998.8 persons per square mile (771.3/km). There were 1,553 housing units at an average density of 903.4 per square mile (348.8/km). The racial makeup of the village was 97.58% White, 0.55% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.99% of

5796-460: The electrostatic analogues of permanent magnets . PTFE film is also widely used in the production of carbon fiber composites as well as fiberglass composites, notably in the aerospace industry. PTFE film is used as a barrier between the carbon or fiberglass part being built and, in breather and bagging materials, is used to incapsulate the bondment when debulking (vacuum removal of air from between layers of laid-up plies of material) and when curing

5922-429: The 1990s, PTFE was not known to crosslink like an elastomer , due to its chemical inertness. Therefore, it has no "memory" and is subject to creep . Because of the propensity to creep, the long-term performance of such seals is worse than for elastomers that exhibit zero, or near-zero, levels of creep. In critical applications, Belleville washers are often used to apply continuous force to PTFE gaskets, thereby ensuring

6048-652: The Colasta Corporation from the mid 1920s until the late 1950s. This company manufactured radio parts. Later, parts of this site were used as a lumber yard/hardware store. A rash of arson fires in the mid and late 1970s consumed the entire complex. The only buildings still in use today are outside of the main complex, the Interface Solutions Plant (formerly the Wood-Flong Paper Mill), which was Walter A Wood's steel foundry. The original Office Building

6174-524: The EPA guideline was updated to 70 ppt following updated studies of the effects on animals and exposed human populations, the amounts in Hoosick exceeded this by 671%. As of June 2022, the EPA lowered the advised levels for PFOA to .004 ppt. The levels of PFOA present in Hoosick Falls’ water in 2014 exceeded this level by almost 135,000%. The Village Board, which had allegedly denied requests from Hickey to test

6300-470: The French engineer Marc Grégoire, to try the material he had been using on fishing tackle on her cooking pans. He subsequently created the first PTFE-coated, non-stick pans under the brand name Tefal (combining "Tef" from "Teflon" and "al" from aluminium). In the United States, Marion A. Trozzolo , who had been using the substance on scientific utensils, marketed the first US-made PTFE-coated pan, "The Happy Pan", in 1961. Non-stick cookware has since become

6426-663: The Grandma Moses painting, "Wagon Repair Shop". The second is by regional artist Katie May Erskine, depicting an owl, reflecting the indigenous people's name for the location of the village: The Valley of the Owl. A local company, Dodge Fibers Corporation, started producing Teflon -based products in 1955. This business was quite successful and later sold to larger companies. However, the industry generated chemical pollution, especially PFOA . Concern developed locally in 2014, and in December 2015,

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6552-542: The U.S. Census Bureau as minor civil divisions . Like New Jersey and southern New England , all of New York is incorporated; all residents who do not live in a city or on an Indian reservation live in a town. Towns provide or arrange for the primary functions of local government. While some provide most municipal services for all town residents and selected services for residents of villages, some provide little more than road maintenance. There were 933 towns in New York. As of 2000 , 45.8% of state residents were living in

6678-452: The Village advised residents to use bottled water provided for free by Saint-Gobain , the current owner of the plastics facilities. In 2017, the Village constructed a reverse-osmosis carbon filtration water treatment system, and has since provided PFOA-free water to all residents, The NYSDEC unveiled a proposal on December 3, 2021, to construct two new water wells for the town at an estimated cost of $ 9.7 million. These wells will be located to

6804-645: The aggregate effect of carbon-fluorine bonds , as do all fluorocarbons. The only chemicals known to affect these carbon-fluorine bonds are highly reactive metals like the alkali metals , at higher temperatures such metals as aluminium and magnesium, and fluorinating agents such as xenon difluoride and cobalt(III) fluoride . At temperatures above 650–700 °C (1,200–1,290 °F) PTFE undergoes depolymerization. However, it begins to decompose at about 260 °C (500 °F) through 350 °C (662 °F), and pyrolysis occurs at temperatures above 400 °C (752 °F). The coefficient of friction of plastics

6930-617: The area beginning in 1976 with the production of Nafion, and that PFAS including GenX had been released as a byproduct of the production of Vinyl Ethers since 1980, exposing the Cape Fear Basin for decades. A small nonprofit called Cape Fear River Watch sued NC DEQ for not taking swifter and stronger action, and sued the polluter, Chemours, for violations of the Clean Water Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. The result

7056-451: The area in the 1890s in an effort to consolidate. Other cities, villages, and towns were annexed to become the " City of Greater New York ", (an unofficial term, the new city retained the name of New York), a process basically completed in 1898. At the time of consolidation, Queens County was split. Its western towns joined the city, leaving three towns that were never part of the consolidation plan as part of Queens County but not part of

7182-495: The area of the proposed village must have at least 1,500 inhabitants and not be part of an existing city or village. Additionally, the proposed village can be no more than 5 square miles (13 km ) in area unless its boundaries are to be coterminous with a school, fire, improvement or other district, or the entire town. The process of incorporation begins with a petition by either 20% of residents or owners of 50% of assessed real property. If deemed legally sufficient, incorporation

7308-407: The average family size was 3.05. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males. The median income for a household in the village

7434-534: The best-known and widely applied PFAS , which are persistent organic pollutants . PTFE occupies more than half of all fluoropolymer production, followed by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF) . For decades, DuPont used perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) during production of PTFE, later discontinuing its use due to legal actions over ecotoxicological and the health effects of exposure to PFOA . Dupont's spin-off Chemours today manufactures PTFE using an alternative chemical it calls GenX , another PFAS. Although GenX

7560-440: The blood did not constitute physical injury” and that “in the absence of physical damage, 532 Madison, 96 N.Y.2d 280, 727 9 N.Y.S.2d 49, precludes recovery in tort for harm that is exclusively economic, and that because ‘groundwater is not private property,’ plaintiffs could not base property damage claims on ‘alleged injury to groundwater’. Defendants also urged dismissal of all property claims of plaintiffs who rented their homes, on

7686-461: The blood of people who work in or live near factories where the chemical is used, and in people regularly exposed to PFOA-containing products such as some ski waxes and stain-resistant fabric coatings, but non-stick cookware was not found to be a major source of exposure, as the PFOA is burned off during the manufacturing process and not present in the finished product. Non-stick coated cookware has not been manufactured using PFOA since 2013, and PFOA

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7812-627: The chemical it was meant to replace. The chemicals are manufactured by Chemours , a corporate spin-off of DuPont, in Fayetteville, North Carolina . Fayetteville Works was the site where DuPont began manufacture of PFOA after the lawsuit in Parkersburg WV halted their production there. When EPA asked companies to voluntarily phase out PFOA production, it was replaced by GenX in Fayetteville Works. In June of 2017, The Wilmington Star-News broke

7938-427: The cities of New York and Albany city charters, which were recognized by the first State Constitution in 1777. All other cities have been established by act of the state legislature and have been granted a charter. Cities have been granted the power to revise their charters or adopt new ones. There are no minimum population or area requirements in order to become a city. While there is no defined process for how and when

8064-529: The city of Sherrill , which for some purposes is treated as if it were a village of the town of Vernon . Some cities are completely surrounded by a town, typically of the same name. There are sixty-two cities in the state. As of 2000 , 54.1% of state residents were living in a city; 42.2% were living in New York City; 11.9% were living in one of the other 61 cities. In 1686, the English colonial governor granted

8190-510: The communities in which we operate are important to us, and we take that responsibility very seriously." According to the United States Census Bureau , the village has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km), all land. The village is divided by the Hoosic River . Hoosick Falls is bisected by NY Route 22 . Public transportation to and from the village is provided between Albany and Bennington, Vermont by Yankee Trails World Travel's weekday-running Albany-Bennington Shuttle bus. As of

8316-424: The composite, usually in an autoclave. The PTFE, used here as a film, prevents the non-production materials from sticking to the part being built, which is sticky due to the carbon-graphite or fiberglass plies being pre-pregnated with bismaleimide resin. Non-production materials such as Teflon, Airweave Breather, and the bag itself would be considered F.O.D. (foreign object debris/damage) if left in layup. Gore-Tex

8442-601: The consolidated city. Each borough individually elects a borough president and used to elect two at-large city council members, in addition to those elected based on each borough's population. The borough presidents once wielded considerable power as members of the New York City Board of Estimate , but the position is now largely ceremonial and advisory. Boroughs function as counties for certain purposes, but have no county government. The five New York City district attorneys , however, are still elected by county (for example,

8568-614: The county also publish maps that conflict both in the number of hamlets and their boundaries. Nevertheless, all land not within a village is administered by the town. Most of the rest of New York's hamlets, however, have less well-defined boundaries, and most towns have areas that are not considered to be a part of any hamlet. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) puts hamlet names on rectangular green signs with white lettering at roadside locations of its choosing. The NYSDOT and local governments also provide community identification signs on some scenic byways to be placed at

8694-587: The county boundaries—each have a Borough Board made up of the Borough President, the borough's district council members, and the chairpersons of the borough's community boards. A mayor serves as the city's chief executive officer. The most populous and largest city in the state is New York City , with a population of over 8.5 million inhabitants and comprising just over 300 sq mi (777.00 km ) of land (468.87 sq mi (1,214.368 km ) total area, which includes water). The least populous city

8820-517: The district attorney for Brooklyn is called the Kings County District Attorney). Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene ( PTFE ) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene , and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert . The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours , a spin-off from DuPont , which originally discovered the compound in 1938. Polytetrafluoroethylene

8946-480: The effects of the chemicals used in local manufacturing plants. Over the years, several manufacturing plants in the area released waste containing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the surrounding environment. PFOA, which belongs to a group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) used to make household and commercial products, has been shown to cause reproductive, developmental, liver, kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Much of

9072-600: The end of the production and phase out of PFOA and PFOS in the US. The general population has been exposed to PFOA through massive dumping of C8 waste into the ocean and near the Ohio River Valley. PFOA has been detected in industrial waste, stain-resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids, house dust , microwave popcorn bags , water, food and PTFE cookware. As a result of a class-action lawsuit and community settlement with DuPont , three epidemiologists conducted studies on

9198-690: The executive branch. All town justices were originally part of a town's board. Today, justices belong to a separate judicial branch known as Town Court or Justice Court, part of New York's Justice Court system. A town may contain one or more villages. Many towns have no villages. Five towns are coterminous with their single village and share the same name: Green Island in Albany County ; East Rochester in Monroe County ; and Scarsdale , Harrison , and Mount Kisco in Westchester County . A sixth,

9324-494: The focus of investigation and litigation has been on the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics facility, which is located next to the village water treatment plant and began manufacturing with PFOA in 1999. Hickey tested water samples from his kitchen sink and businesses in the village, and discovered a PFOA level of 540 parts per trillion, exceeding the existing EPA guideline at the time of 400 ppt by 35%. In 2016,

9450-730: The form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature. Each type of local government is granted specific home rule powers by the New York State Constitution. There are still occasional changes as a village becomes a city, or a village dissolves (stops existing), each of which requires legislative action. New York also has various corporate entities that provide local services and have their own administrative structures (governments), such as school and fire districts. These are not found in all counties. Almost every piece of land in

9576-418: The general US population in the low and sub- parts per billion range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. PFOA and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have been estimated to be in every American person's blood stream in the parts per billion range, though those concentrations have decreased by 70% for PFOA and 84% for PFOS between 1999 and 2014, which coincides with

9702-535: The general provisions of the County Law. Although all counties have a certain latitude to govern themselves, "charter counties" are afforded greater home rule powers. The charter counties are Albany , Broome , Chautauqua , Chemung , Dutchess , Erie , Herkimer , Monroe , Nassau , Oneida , Onondaga , Orange , Putnam , Rensselaer , Rockland , Schenectady , Suffolk , Tompkins , Ulster , and Westchester . Sixteen counties are governed through an assembly with

9828-438: The interim remedial measures addressed the immediate concerns of contaminated water, the corporations were also required to perform a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) at the site in order to determine the nature and extent of the contamination and identify and evaluate cleanup alternatives. The NYSDEC reviewed a study submitted by the companies, which proposed five potential long-term water supplies, and opened up

9954-458: The least populous, has 38 permanent residents (2010 census). The use of "town" in a community's name is irrespective of municipal status. Elizabethtown , Germantown and Stephentown are towns. Cooperstown , home of the Baseball Hall of Fame , is a village, Jamestown and Middletown are cities, and Levittown is an unincorporated hamlet. A census-designated place (CDP) is defined by

10080-572: The limits. Based on the ZIP Code, the United States Postal Service (USPS) identifies the correct location for mail delivery. The New York State Gazetteer , published by the New York State Department of Health in 1995, includes a list of hamlets in the state. The criteria used for inclusion in the Gazetteer are not stated. The Adirondack Park Agency also uses the term "hamlet", though as

10206-513: The local fire department or elementary school. Businesses may also use the name of a hamlet as part of their name. The United States Census Bureau will, with consideration from the town, designate a census-designated place (CDP) that may use the name of one or more hamlets, though boundaries may differ from what is used by the ZIP code, local fire department, etc. Towns in New York may be further subdivided into wards, although as of 2017 , only fifteen of

10332-514: The material of choice as a high-performance substitute for the weaker, higher dispersion and lower-melting-point polyethylene commonly used in low-cost applications. In industrial applications, owing to its low friction, PTFE is used for plain bearings , gears , slide plates , seals, gaskets, bushings, and more applications with sliding action of parts, where it outperforms acetal and nylon . Its extremely high bulk resistivity makes it an ideal material for fabricating long-life electrets ,

10458-411: The material. For example, PTFE is used to prevent ants from climbing out of formicaria . There are surface treatments for PTFE that alter the surface to allow adhesion to other materials. Because of its chemical and thermal properties, PTFE is often used as a gasket material within industries that require resistance to aggressive chemicals such as pharmaceuticals or chemical processing. However, until

10584-473: The mayor include enforcing laws and supervising employees. A village may also have a full-time village manager who performs these administrative duties instead of the mayor. In 2007, sixty-seven villages had such a manager. Some villages have their own village justice, while others utilize the justice of the town or towns in which they are located. While most villages are subject to a uniform statewide Village Law, twelve villages operate under charters issued by

10710-611: The mid-19th century; the New York City Council is currently elected from special districts, which are allowed to cross borough lines. New York City has a unique system of divisions, some of which possess governmental power, see Divisions unique to New York City . In New York, a town is a municipal corporation, and is the major division of each county (excluding the five boroughs that comprise New York City ), very similar to townships in other states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Towns in New York are classified by

10836-448: The new Borough of Queens. (A small portion of the Town of Hempstead was itself annexed, also.) The next year (1899), the three eastern towns of Queens County separated to become Nassau County . The city today consists of the entire area of five counties (named New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx, and Richmond). While these counties have no county government, boroughs—with boundaries coterminous with

10962-416: The only body that can create governmental units is the state. All of them have their own governments, sometimes with no paid employees, that provide local services. Centers of population that are not incorporated and have no government or local services are designated hamlets . Whether a municipality is defined as a borough, city, town, or village is determined not by population or land area, but rather on

11088-424: The otherwise perfectly linear PTFE chain to become branched, reducing its crystallinity. Some PTFE parts are made by cold-moulding, a form of compression molding . Here, fine powdered PTFE is forced into a mould under high pressure (10–100 MPa). After a settling period, lasting from minutes to days, the mould is heated at 360 to 380 °C (680 to 716 °F), allowing the fine particles to fuse ( sinter ) into

11214-661: The past have included toxic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). More recently, Perfluoro 3,6 dioxaoctanoic acid (PFO2OA) and FRD-903 (GenX) are being used as alternative surfactants. PTFE is a thermoplastic polymer , which is a white solid at room temperature, with a density of about 2200 kg/m and a melting point of 600 K (327 °C; 620 °F). It maintains high strength, toughness and self-lubrication at low temperatures down to 5 K (−268.2 °C; −450.7 °F), and good flexibility at temperatures above 194 K (−79.15 °C; −110.5 °F). PTFE gains its properties from

11340-461: The pollution mitigation. In February 2016 New York State added the Saint-Gobain facility to their Registry of Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites as a Class 2 site. In July 2017, the EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), which lists priority sites in the United States in need of long-term cleanup efforts. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)

11466-500: The population of Parkersburg, WV surrounding the (former DuPont) Chemours Washington Works chemical plant that was exposed to PFOA at levels greater than in the general population. The studies concluded that there was an association between PFOA exposure and six health outcomes: kidney cancer , testicular cancer , ulcerative colitis , thyroid disease , hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), and gestational hypertension (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure). Overall, PTFE cookware

11592-407: The population. There were 1,382 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.3% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and

11718-432: The power and fiscal capacity to provide an array of local government services. Such services generally include law enforcement and public safety, social and health services (such as Medicaid ), and education (special needs and community colleges). Every county outside of New York City has a county seat , which is the location of county government. Nineteen counties operate under county charters, while 38 operate under

11844-480: The power of a board of supervisors , composed of the supervisors of its constituent towns and cities. In most of these counties, each supervisor's vote is weighted in accordance with the town's population in order to abide by the U.S. Supreme Court mandate of " one person, one vote ". Other counties have legislative districts of equal population, which may cross municipal borders; these counties may also have an elected County Executive. Most counties in New York do not use

11970-493: The power to enact local laws as needed in order to provide services to their citizens and fulfill their various obligations. The county is the primary administrative division of New York. There are sixty-two counties in the state. Five of the counties are boroughs of the City of New York and do not have functioning county governments. While originally created as subdivisions of the state meant to carry out state functions, counties are now considered municipal corporations with

12096-410: The proposal to public comment in the fall of 2019 through email, letters, and two public meetings. On December 3, 2021, the NYSDEC published their decision regarding the long-term water replacement, with two new groundwater supply wells to be developed and existing test wells south of Hoosick Falls to be converted to production wells at an estimated cost of $ 9.7 million. In addition to the consent order,

12222-431: The public water supply wells to treat the water in 2016. In 2019, they built a groundwater interceptor trench at the McCaffrey Street site to prevent contaminated groundwater from reaching public water wells. In order to address the contamination to over 800 private wells, the state installed point-of-entry treatment systems (POET), which treat the water entering the building, reducing contaminants for safe drinking. While

12348-522: The purposes of municipal representation. Each ward elects one member to the city's legislative body, and the wards are redistricted roughly every ten years. These divisions can go by other names by city; in Buffalo they are known as districts . These divisions can either be numbered or named. New York City was divided into wards at various times in its history between 1683 and 1938, although they were gradually replaced by Assembly and Senate districts starting in

12474-728: The roadside boundaries of hamlets, as decided by the sign provider. Many towns have special zoning or planning districts and planning strategies for their hamlets, and many places welcome signs at the gateways to the hamlets. Some hamlets are former villages that have dissolved their incorporation ( Old Forge in Herkimer County ; Rosendale , in Ulster County ; and Andes in Delaware County , for example). Notwithstanding hamlets are not cities or towns, many of them are called out in formal addresses for those residents residing within

12600-427: The roots and seeds of wetland plant species, but has not been observed to have an adverse impact on plant health or germination success. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) has been used as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of PTFE, although several manufacturers have entirely discontinued its use. PFOA persists indefinitely in the environment. PFOA has been detected in the blood of many individuals of

12726-450: The same legal powers as were once available only to suburban towns. Even so, towns of different classifications continue to have organizational differences and certain conditions that must be met before a town's classification changes. The town board serves as the legislative branch. The board is composed of one elected town supervisor (or chief executive officer in suburban towns) and a specific number of elected council persons; towns of

12852-575: The second class generally have two but may have four council persons, whereas towns of the first class generally have four but can have two or six. The supervisor presides over the board, voting on all matters but not possessing veto or tie-breaking power. Certain towns operate under a town manager form of government, creating an executive branch in the town government, as permitted by legislation enacted in 1976. As such, some supervisors have additional authority or executive powers, whereas some towns have town managers or chief executive officers who serve as

12978-517: The settlement, Lia T. LoBello, as spokesperson for the company, submitted the following statement: "Saint-Gobain is pleased to have reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in the New York class action lawsuit. Since first learning about the issue of PFAS in Hoosick Falls, the company took a leadership position on this issue and we believe this agreement is indicative of that commitment. The health, safety and wellbeing of both our employees and

13104-433: The south of the town and connected to the existing water treatment plant. The contamination of Hoosick Falls’ water was originally discovered by resident Michael Hickey following the death of his father from an aggressive kidney cancer, which was diagnosed after his retirement from the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant. Hickey noted the elevated rate of cancer diagnoses and deaths in their village, and began looking into

13230-456: The state has more than 3,400 active local governments and more than 4,200 taxing jurisdictions. Counties and incorporated municipal governments (also known as "general purpose units of local government"; i.e., cities, towns and villages) in the State of New York have been granted broad home rule powers enabling them to provide services to their residents and to regulate the quality of life within their jurisdictions. They do so while adhering to

13356-404: The state is part of a city or town, which is part of one county. The exceptions are the city of Geneva ; New York City ; and ten Indian reservations . As of 2009 , New York has 62 counties (including New York City's five boroughs ), which are subdivided into 933 towns and 61 cities (including Geneva in both Ontario and Seneca counties, but excluding New York City and Sherrill ). In total,

13482-635: The state legislature prior to 1874. Before a revision to the State Constitution in that year, villages were formed by the state legislature through granting of charters. Many villages reincorporated, dumping their charters in favor of the Village Law. The villages that retain their charters are Alexander , Carthage , Catskill , Cooperstown , Deposit , Fredonia , Ilion , Mohawk , Ossining , Owego , Port Chester , and Waterford . These villages must still comply with those aspects of Village Law that are not inconsistent with their charters. To be incorporated,

13608-580: The state use the term hamlet to refer to a community within a town that is not incorporated as a village but is identified by a name, i.e. an unincorporated community . A hamlet often has a name corresponding to the name of a local school district , post office , or fire district. Because a hamlet has no government of its own, it depends upon the town or towns that contain it for municipal services and government. Because they do not have governments, hamlets have no clear boundaries . Suffolk County publishes maps that give hamlet boundaries, but towns within

13734-423: The state's 932 towns used this system. In towns operating under the ward system, citizens vote for councilmen who represent a specific area (ward) of the town, as opposed to the at-large councilmen elected in the majority of the state's towns. Towns vary in size and population. The largest town by area is Brookhaven ( Suffolk County ), which covers 531.5 sq mi (1,377 km ), but more than half of that

13860-478: The state. Each of the five boroughs of the city is coextensive with a county of the state of New York. Under New York State's General Municipal Law , a borough results when the towns, villages and cities in a county merge with the county itself. This occurred in 1898 when New York City merged with surrounding counties, cities and towns to form its present configuration. The five boroughs are: The boroughs were originally intended to retain some local governance in

13986-586: The story that GenX was found in the Cape Fear River – the drinking water supply for 500,000 people. The source of the pollution was determined to be the Fayetteville Works site, which had been run by DuPont since its founding in 1971 and then managed by DuPont spinoff, The Chemours Company, since 2015. The water utility confirmed they had no ability to filter these chemicals from the drinking water. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) records indicate that DuPont started release PFAS into

14112-753: The strongest and most durable materials used in tensile structures . Some notable structures featuring PTFE-tensioned membranes include The O2 Arena in London, Moses Mabhida Stadium in South Africa, Metropolitano Stadium in Spain and the Sydney Football Stadium Roof in Australia. PTFE is often found in musical instrument lubrication products, most commonly valve oil. PTFE is used in some aerosol lubricant sprays, including in micronized and polarized form. It

14238-508: The submission of a proper petition to the board. The village board must produce a "dissolution plan" that settles specific matters, such as the village's debts, its employees and property, and the financial impact dissolution would have on village and non-village town residents. This plan is voted upon by village voters only. About 15% of villages cross other municipal boundaries. More than 70 villages are located in two or more towns. Seven villages are in two counties. The village of Saranac Lake

14364-405: The term "Board of Supervisors." 34 counties have a County Legislature, six counties have a Board of Legislators, and one county has a Board of Representatives. The five counties, or boroughs, of New York City are governed by a 51-member City Council. In non-charter counties, the legislative body exercises executive power as well. Although the legislature can delegate certain functions and duties to

14490-414: The theory that they lacked ownership interest, and dismissal of all claims of nuisance, on the theory that private nuisance is by definition a tort that threatens one or a few persons, not one that impacts the whole community”. These motions were denied by U.S. District Senior Judge Lawrence E. Kahn, when the defendants appealed, the denials were upheld by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Following

14616-496: The town of Palm Tree in Orange County was incorporated in 2019 and is coterminous with the village of Kiryas Joel , having acquired land from the town of Monroe . When such an entity is formed, officials from either unit of government may serve in both village and town governments simultaneously. A referendum is held to decide whether residents prefer a village-style or town-style government, which will then function primarily as

14742-419: The town or towns in which they are located. Village residents pay both town and village taxes, and vote in town and village elections. Those services not provided by the village are provided by the town or towns containing the village. As of the 2000 census, 9.9% of the state's population was living in one of the 556 villages in New York. The legislature of a village is the board of trustees, composed of

14868-558: The various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York . The state is divided into boroughs , counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the five boroughs of New York City, have the same boundaries as their respective counties.) They are municipal corporations , chartered (created) by the New York State Legislature , as under the New York State Constitution

14994-458: The water, did not issue a warning to the citizens of Hoosick Falls about the water until 16 months after Hickey’s findings. The EPA issued an advisory against drinking or cooking with the public water supply in November 2015. In December 2015, the Village advised residents to use bottled water provided for free by Saint-Gobain , the current owner of the plastics facilities and the party responsible for

15120-482: Was $ 36,731, and the median income for a family was $ 45,829. Males had a median income of $ 33,750 versus $ 23,313 for females. The per capita income for the village was $ 18,062. About 5.1% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over. Administrative divisions of New York#Village See also: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The administrative divisions of New York are

15246-465: Was a Consent Order, signed February 25, 2019 by Cape Fear River Watch, NC DEQ, and Chemours. The order has required Chemours to stop wastewater discharge, air emissions, groundwater discharge, sampling and filtration options to well users, and required sampling that proved there were upwards of 300 distinct PFAS compounds being released from Fayetteville Works. The Teflon trade name is also used for other polymers with similar compositions: These retain

15372-570: Was designed to be less persistent in the environment compared to PFOA, it has proven to be a “regrettable substitute.” Its effects may be equally harmful or even more detrimental than those of the chemical it was meant to replace. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was accidentally discovered in 1938 by Roy J. Plunkett while he was working in Chemours Chambers Works plant in New Jersey for DuPont . A team of Dupont chemists attempted to make

15498-525: Was incorporated as a village in 1827. In 1852, a blacksmith named Walter A. Wood began manufacturing a reaper in Hoosick Falls. By the 1890s, the Walter A. Wood Mowing & Reaping Company was the largest farm machinery manufacturer in the world, taking up 85 acres (340,000 m2) on the west bank of the river. The Wood Company closed in 1924, mainly due to the introduction of John Deere's revolutionary self propelled farm equipment. Most of these facilities were used by

15624-423: Was lethal for parakeets , although that was a higher temperature than the 260 °C (500 °F) required for fumes from pyrolyzed butter to be lethal to the birds. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a chemical formerly used in the manufacture of PTFE products such as non-stick coated cookware, can be carcinogenic for people who are exposed to it (see Ecotoxicity ). Concerning levels of PFOA have been found in

15750-566: Was producing over 910,000 kilograms (2,000,000 lb) of Teflon-brand polytetrafluoroethylene per year in Parkersburg, West Virginia . An early use was in the Manhattan Project as a material to coat valves and seals in the pipes holding highly reactive uranium hexafluoride at the vast K-25 uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee . In 1954, Colette Grégoire urged her husband,

15876-420: Was significant because, for many years, irradiation at ambient conditions has been used to break down PTFE for recycling. This radiation-induced chain scission allows it to be more easily reground and reused. Corona discharge treatment of the surface to increase the energy and improve adhesion has been reported. PTFE is produced by free-radical polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene . The net equation

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