GREENPOINT — Ecological activist Irene Klementowicz passed away on Jan. 20 at the age of 94, after a lifetime spent fighting to improve environmental conditions in her neighborhood, reports the Brooklyn Paper, which interviewed local residents in a tribute to Klementowicz’s work. Among the victories she contributed to are the cleanup of Newtown Creek and the shuttering of the Greenpoint Incinerator; her impact was recognized in 2001 by the federal EPA, which awarded her the New York State Environmental Quality Award.
“Every single time you breathe in Greenpoint, you say ‘Thank you’ to Irene,” her friend Scott Frasier told the Brooklyn Paper.
