Concerned neighbors in Westchester came together Wednesday to discuss the controversial planned closure of the Indian Point power plant.

A group of about 50 concerned citizens gathered at the Greenburgh Nature Center Wednesday night for a discussion on the power plant's closure.
Representatives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office and environmental groups made up the panel. Cuomo announced in January that an agreement was in place to take the plant completely offline by 2021. On Tuesday, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced that he filed two lawsuits to block the proposed closure of the nuclear power facility without conducting an environmental review.

Officials from Entergy, the company that owns Indian Point, said they had decided to close partially due to financial reasons, and members of the panel agreed that nuclear power plants across the country are facing economic challenges associated with the low price of electricity.
People who live in communities closest to Indian Point are worried about the loss of revenue once the plant closes. They are also concerned about the loss of jobs and where their energy will come from.

However, others say the financial impact will be a lot worse if there was to be a nuclear accident.  "Of course we're concerned about these communities, you know what the worst part is? If these communities would be here closest to Indian Point, if we had an accident that led to a release of radiation, that's what would hurt these communities the most," says Riverkeeper Executive Director Paul Galley.

In response to the meeting, the pro-energy group New York Affordable Reliable Alliance released a statement that reads in part, “New York State must engage and implement a deliberate and transparent public policy process to prepare replacement power and to protect our ratepayers and communities from the critical issues at hand.”