State Senator Adriano Espaillat rallied with Harlem residents Wednesday to protest the recent sewage spill into the Hudson River, saying the city could have done more to prevent the neighborhood wastewater treatment plant's dump.

Espaillat said the city and the Department of Environmental Protection should have some kind of warning sytem.

"We want to work with DEP and the city and the state in drafting a code of notification that's effective, responsible and transparent that will guaruntee the safeties of our neighborhoods and families," said Espaillat.

"It's affecting so many things. They try to appease the community and they haven't come up to the plant the way it was. And it was very dangerous last week, we had all the children in the park and they had to be evacuated," said a resident.

A fire at the plant last week initially forced the city to release the water into the Hudson River, but the DEP commissioner said all wastewater dumps from the plant have stopped.

Some city beaches are still closed as a result.