{"id":499,"date":"2024-09-20T13:54:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T17:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/?p=499"},"modified":"2024-11-14T13:57:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-14T18:57:05","slug":"pols-call-on-dot-to-crack-down-on-dust-noise-at-columbia-street-concrete-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/2024\/09\/20\/pols-call-on-dot-to-crack-down-on-dust-noise-at-columbia-street-concrete-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"Pols call on DOT to crack down on dust, noise at Columbia Street concrete facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn Paper<\/a> — By\u00a0Kirstyn Brendlen<\/a> | Posted on\u00a0September 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

A city-owned concrete facility is producing dust and noise in the Columbia Waterfront District, and local leaders say something needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation moved its concrete recycling facility from the South Brooklyn Army Terminal to a lot near the piers on Columbia Street. The move is temporary \u2014 necessitated by the construction of offshore wind infrastructure at the terminal \u2014 but residents took notice almost immediately. <\/p>\n

Council Member Shahana Hanif, who represents the area, said constituents have been coming to her office with complaints since the facility opened in February, but things escalated as the weather got warmer. <\/p>\n

One of the first problems were the trucks driving in and out of the facility. Residents said they were loud and clogging up local streets \u2014 but that was addressed fairly quickly, Hanif said, once brought to DOT.<\/p>\n

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In the short term, concrete dust can cause irritation<\/a> to the eyes, skin and respiratory system, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Long-term exposure can cause more serious conditions, including silicosis, caused by tiny silica<\/a> particles found in concrete dust.<\/p>\n

Hanif, her counterparts in the state legislature, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and Community Board 6 on Friday penned an open letter<\/a> to DOT Brooklyn Commissioner Keith Bray, urging him to act. <\/p>\n

Since February, locals have also filed a number of 311 complaints related to dust, construction, and demolition in the vicinity of the facility \u2014 though it\u2019s unclear whether those complaints were specifically about the concrete recycling facility or another industrial business near the piers. The city\u2019s Department of Environmental Protection did not immediately respond to Brooklyn Paper\u2019s request for clarification about the complaints. <\/p>\n

The pols are asking Bray to implement new dust control measures, educate residents on the facility by creating and distributing a pamphlet, and create a public-facing, project-specific liaison residents can go to with questions and concerns. They also want DOT to commit to repaving Columbia Street and surrounding roadways to improve the damaged roads. <\/p>\n

Hanif visited the facility in July to better understand what\u2019s already being done, she said. She saw the water-spraying apparatuses in action, but said that on windy days, they aren\u2019t doing enough \u2014 and it\u2019s not clear if they operate on weekends, when no one is on the site.<\/p>\n

The council member said that since that visit, the DOT has not done \u201canything substantial\u201d to address the dust issues. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs an elected official, it is up to me and my colleagues to push the DOT, or any other agency, to be transparent,\u201d Hanif said. \u201cAnd if they\u2019re saying there\u2019s no issue, well, OK, present that in a way where residents feel less anxious, residents know what\u2019s going on and they know who to call up if there\u2019s an exacerbation of dust or noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

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[Read More<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn Paper<\/a> — By\u00a0Kirstyn Brendlen<\/a> | Posted on\u00a0September 20, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n

A city-owned concrete facility is producing dust and noise in the Columbia Waterfront District, and local leaders say something needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the Department of Transportation moved its concrete recycling facility from the South Brooklyn Army Terminal to a lot near the piers on Columbia Street.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}