Saturday, September 13, 2008

DEC agrees that Queens West stinks

Bowing to a flurry of community complaints about a strong gasoline smell coming from the white tent a block away from a just-opened ballfield at 47th Avenue and 5th Street, the DEC agreed last week to run the filtration system 24/7, to close the air vents and to better insulate the trucks carrying out the toxic debris.

DEC calls strong odors nuisance, not dangerous

But calls for long-term health testing at the site went unanswered by both the DEC and the state Department of Health. “The discomfort from fumes is not just a minor annoyance, it is a health concern leaving residents fearful of unknown long-term negative health effects,” said Joseph Conley, chairman of Community Board 2.

To date, the DEC has not installed any of its own air quality monitors at the Queens West site.

Lorence Long, who lives a block away from the site on 46th Road, disputed the state’s clean bill of health for the site. “With people complaining about nausea and breathing problems, the real question is what it’s doing to our lungs long term,” he said.

Since the contractor took steps to keep fumes from leaving the site’s circus-like tent last Tuesday, Long reported less of the sickening odor in his neighborhood.

“It’s much better now,” he said. “But I don’t know why they could not do it before.”

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey 'affordable housing' advocates, or should we say working class massive development spin hacks for the rich developers, try to dodge this charge"

'brownfields for brownskins.'

you jerks.

Anonymous said...

Local LIC politics stinks worse!

Anonymous said...

Check your history.

The western bank of the East River (Sutton Place not excluded)
was built over 19th century brown fields...slaughterhouses and tanneries (using mercury), etc.

The river was a wasteland waterway!

Anonymous said...

CB2 the community board from hell.