No Refuge From Refuse

Ronald Lay cant decide whats more despicable: that used condoms, hypodermic needles, lighters and beer cans routinely wash up onto his property or that the State of New York has fined him upwards of $700,000 for trying to stem the foul tide of refuse.
"Im just trying to protect myself and my family. Its a health hazard," said Lay, 61, a retired mechanic who gets a disability pension and suffers from diabetes, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. "Theres construction all over Rockaway Blvd. along the wetlands and theyre picking on me. Thats ridiculous! Im just trying to survive."
Lay lives with his wife in one of the most remote nooks of southeast Queens. His cheery, little house, which abuts the wetlands of Jamaica Bay surrounding J.F.K. Airport, sits in what was once known as Warnerville, a forgotten inlet in Rosedale, too tiny to appear on most maps. Lays block could be mistaken for rural Maryland or Massachusetts, were it not for the frequent roar of jets from overhead and the floods of garbage.
Come high tide each day, the putrescent water, littered with medicine bottles and plasticware of all sorts, which stagnates along the edge of Lays backyard, rises, saturating his property and clogging the reeds that encircle it with trash. The problem is even worse when there is a new or full moon not to mention heavy rain when Lays entire street floods for hours, and his own backyard takes on the look of the Fresh Kills landfill.
"Usually I wear boots or heavy shoes so I dont step on any needles," said Lay. "Its disgusting. I dont even want to pick it up."
Fearful that his two grandchildren, ages 2 and 4, might pick up some of this hazardous waste when they played in his backyard, Lay erected a meager barrier along his property line of nearly a dozen 2 x 8 inch, 8-foot long wooden boards and an equal number of cinderblocks to cut down on the flow of filth.
Though the makeshift blockade is constantly breached by untold pounds of garbage, Lay says that it provides at least some line of defense against the incessant onslaught.
For laying down these few boards, however, Lay has already been summoned to criminal court twice both times he was sent home without a hearing and has a third date set for March 19. The New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) claims that Lays boards constitute an obstruction to the environment. "They told me, Youre breaking the flow of water," said Lay.
More specifically, the DEC has found Lay in violation of the Environmental Conservation Laws Article 25 of the Tidal Wetlands Act. The violation reads that Lay created an "illegal shoreline stabilization structure." Violation of Article 25 is punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 per violation per day. Since Lay received the notice on Jan. 3, 2002, his tally of fines already totals a staggering $690,000. And counting.
Though it is unlikely that Lay would be assessed the harshest possible penalty, even a fraction of the amount would be an enormous expense for a man getting by on a paltry pension.
He believes any fine in unjust.
"They act like I filled up a lot of land. All I did was put up a few boards, and I did it for a good reason. How could they say it was not necessary? It had to be done."
Though he admits to having built the barrier on his own accord, Lay did not act without first trying to consult the authorities. Last October, before putting the boards in place, Lay applied to the DEC for a permit. After months spent waiting for a response and digging mountains of City garbage off his own property, Lay erected his short dam. In February, following an inspection of Lays property when he was not home, which resulted in the issuing of the violation, the DEC sent Lay a letter stating that the permit application was objectionable because it threatened tidal wetlands, and that "it has not been demonstrated that the proposal is reasonable and necessary, taking into account reasonable alternatives."
No "reasonable alternatives" were suggested by the document.
After he was assessed the hefty fine, Lay claims that he tried repeatedly to contact the DEC to resolve the matter, but received no clarification as to how to settle the conflict other than to remove the wall. The DEC also did not respond to repeated telephone calls from The Queens Courier seeking comment.
Lay has since taken his dispute, a battle that he sees as essential to win in order to ensure the welfare of his grandchildren, to Community Board 13, Councilman James Sanders, and anyone else who will listen. To him, even if his penalty is dramatically decreased, there will be no negotiation.
"I told them Im not taking down those boards. They can fine me. For the safety of my family, Im not doing to do it."