By Alexander Dworkowitz
Whitestone residents living along Little Bay will have to deal with a little less of an odor when the summer finally rolls around.
The city Department of Environmental Protection has begun its project to extend an outfall channel into the water to carry storm water and sewage away from residents.
The project, called the “Renovation of the Cryder’s Lane Outfall Diversion Channel,” centers on the construction of 175-foot tubing which extends from the end of Cryder’s Lane into Little Bay.
The work, which began in November, is expected to be completed in the spring, said Gery DePaola, president of the Robinwood Property Owners Association.
For years, residents living along Utopia Parkway in the Robinwood section of Whitestone have complained of a stink from a sewer line, which emptied into the water right across the street from a row of homes.
During high tides in the summer, residents often noticed a foul odor.
“All that little floating sewage would be lingering, and it wouldn’t look nice,” DePaola said. “No. 1 it would smell.”
The new tubing carries the storm and sewage water out toward the Throgs Neck Bridge, away from the expensive houses on its western side.
The city Department of Environmental Protection did not provide information on the project.
Residents had fought for the project for several years. Former Borough President Claire Shulman, who lives in Whitestone, pushed for the construction, and Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) has recently taken up the issue.
“It was in total disrepair for a decade,” he said.
Avella said the situation on the bay was one of the first complaints he heard when he took office last year.
“I am happy that they are finally doing the work,” he said. “The Robinwood community has been after this for a long time.”
The tubing runs along the bottom of the bay. But since the water is shallow, much of it extends above the surface, DePaola said, and residents were concerned with the overall aesthetic.
“Will it look presentable?” DePaola asked. “Are they going to put rocks around it, so it looks like a jetty? That would be pleasant.”
DePaola said he and other residents were frustrated that the project took so long to get off the ground but were pleased it had finally gotten started.
DePaola said he and other residents hoped to see a fence installed in order to prevent children from playing on the structure.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718 229-0300 Ext. 141.
