By Rosemary Misdary, Gothamist
A concrete recycling facility on the Brooklyn waterfront that produced dust so thick it blanketed nearby residents’ cars and windows will cease operations next month, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
The Department of Transportation facility had been the subject of complaints since it opened in February of last year. Workers operated heavy-duty machinery that smashed blocks of concrete, filtered the rubble, and then repurposed it for sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, and more. But that process produced a lot of dust stored on the windy waterfront. Residents said the chalky material made it difficult to breathe and burned their eyes.
A petition to close the recycling center garnered more than 1,500 signatures. About 50 residents blocked the entrance to the facility during a tense demonstration earlier this year.
“With the closure of the concrete recycling facility at the Columbia Street Waterfront District, we are taking an important step toward realizing a greener, safer, and more vibrant Brooklyn Marine Terminal for the residents of this community,” Adams said.
The mayor said the closure would help allow major redevelopment plans for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to advance. That 122-acre project, which includes the site of the current concrete facility, would build 5,000 market-rate apartments, along with 2,700 more affordably priced units. Adams said the concrete recycling yard would be fully closed by the end of the year. The facility’s previous location at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park was closed to make space for the construction of offshore wind turbines.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it, try it free for a full month
