{"id":536,"date":"2025-01-20T19:17:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/?p=536"},"modified":"2025-02-05T19:20:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T00:20:49","slug":"columbia-street-waterfront-residents-demand-city-shut-down-concrete-recycling-facility-over-dust-health-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/2025\/01\/20\/columbia-street-waterfront-residents-demand-city-shut-down-concrete-recycling-facility-over-dust-health-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Columbia Street Waterfront residents demand city shut down concrete recycling facility over dust, health concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn Paper<\/a> | By\u00a0Kirstyn Brendlen<\/a> — Posted on\u00a0January 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Columbia Street Waterfront District residents and politicians are demanding the immediate shutdown of a city-owned concrete recycling facility they say is filling the air with hazardous dust.<\/p>\n

Dozens of locals picketed outside the Columbia Street plant on Wednesday, waving signs that read \u201cShut it down\u201d and \u201cProtect our health!! Protect our community!!\u201d<\/p>\n

For nearly a year, the Department of Transportation-run facility has plagued the nabe with noise and concrete dust, picketers said, and the city hasn\u2019t done enough to help, despite repeated requests from locals and elected officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that right off the bat was toxic and right off the bat wasn\u2019t working,\u201d said Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon. \u201cEverything that they have tried to alleviate the problem isn\u2019t working \u2026 So when nothing is working to fix it, you have to shut it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility reprocesses old concrete to be used in new projects, an environmentally-friendly endeavor that reduces construction waste. It was temporarily moved from the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the Columbia Waterfront District last year to make way for the construction of offshore wind infrastructure at the terminal, according to the DOT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While concrete recycling is eco-friendly, it\u2019s also loud and dusty, and the facility sits directly across the street from a residential neighborhood. Since it opened last February, residents said they have watched concrete dust blow across the street and into their homes, especially on windy days. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had grey dust in my home daily since February 2024,\u201d said resident Geraldine Pope, in a statement. \u201cI needed to install air purifiers in every room. I wake up in the morning with a dusty cough. I cannot open my windows anymore because the air is now toxic to me. How could our city betray the safety of our homes?\u201d <\/p>\n

Over the last 30 days, average air quality in the area has been \u201cmoderate\u201d by Environmental Protection Agency standards<\/a>, according to PurpleAir<\/a>, presenting some risk to those sensitive to air pollution. <\/p>\n

However, sensors pick up regular spikes. On the afternoon of Jan. 17, two sensors were registering air that was \u201cunhealthy to sensitive groups,\u201d including children, seniors, and those with health conditions.<\/p>\n

Local elected officials have been in conversation<\/a> with DOT and the mayor\u2019s office about the plant since last year, said Council Member Shahana Hanif, and the department had responded to their concerns and implemented some extra measures to keep dust contained.<\/p>\n

But the situation didn\u2019t improve, and in November, pols for the first time urged the city to close the facility entirely.<\/p>\n

In a Dec. 12 letter shared with Brooklyn Paper, DOT commissioner Ydanis Rodrigurez called the facility \u201ccritical,\u201d and said while DOT is actively searching for a new location for it, they had yet to find one. <\/p>\n

The department uses sprinklers and water trucks to keep piles of concrete aggregate wet to keep dust down, he said was working to do more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOperations at this facility will cease for the season once the temperature is consistently in the 30-degree range,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhen operations resume in March, the agency will have secured a new system to enhance wetting of the piles, which reduces dust.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facility was still active in early January, Hanif said, when a constituent sent an \u201cegregious\u201d video of dust in the air on a windy day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t say, \u2018No, this is not dust,\u2019\u201d Hanif said. \u201cThis is happening, and whatever mechanism you have in place is not efficient.\u201d <\/p>\n

Short-term exposure to concrete dust can result in eye and respiratory irritation, according to OSHA<\/a>. Longer-term, it can cause lung injuries and disease, and local residents \u2014 and parents of children at P.S. 29 on Henry Street, a few blocks from the facility \u2014 are worried about their health, Hanif said.<\/p>\n

Despite repeated letters from pols and complaints from residents, DOT and the mayor\u2019s office have shown a \u201clack of interest\u201d in the issue, Hanif said, and a lack of transparency about why the facility has to stay on Columbia Street and how it might be impacting the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one \u2014 not anyone affiliated with the DOT, not any of our local elected officials, nor anyone in the neighborhood \u2014 can make a valid argument for why this concrete plant should be located where it is,\u201d said local Molly Pearson, in a statement. \u201cNo one has dared to vouch for its safety, and no one disputes that it endangers our collective health and quality of life. The city, our officials, and the DOT need to shut this plant down immediately. It is inexcusable to have it in the middle of a residential neighborhood.\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\u00a0January 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Columbia Street Waterfront District residents and politicians are demanding the immediate shutdown of a city-owned concrete recycling facility they say is filling the air with hazardous dust.<\/p>\n

Dozens of locals picketed outside the Columbia Street plant on Wednesday, waving signs that read \u201cShut it down\u201d and \u201cProtect our health!!<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

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