By Victor Ross
Detailed plans for a proposed $85 million Sanitation Department (DSNY) North Shore Marine Transfer station (MTS) in College Point will be unveiled by Community Board 7 next Tuesday, December 14, The Queens Courier has learned.
Despite promises of a more efficient and containerized collection system, local elected officials and civics have already expressed misgivings about the stations potential negative impact on the local highway transportation system, Flushing Bays ecology and the communitys quality of life.
At the Community Board meeting at Union Plaza Care Center next week, DSNY engineers and executives are expected to outline how hundreds of trucks per day will quickly and efficiently feed the barges moored in a huge, newly rebuilt half-million square foot garbage collection facility.
An estimated 4.4 million pounds of trash collected daily from homes in eastern Queens community boards seven through 14 an area roughly twice the size of Manhattan will be hauled into waiting barges at the facility for export to out-of-state landfills.
The new waste disposal plant will also be required to accept an additional two million pounds of commercial waste collected by private companies during nighttime hours (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.), giving the facility an around-the clock operation status.
The rebuilt DSNY station will also contain a number of state-of-the-art features:
City trucks will deposit their waste into leak-proof, watertight containers that are designed for rail or barge shipment. After the containers are fully packed, they will be moved by crane off or onto a deck barge designed to carry them away.
During an average hour, 36 garbage trucks will unload 440,000 pounds of trash.
The pier will feature a newly-designed ventilation and odor-control system that removes up to 99 percent of noxious aromas.
However, say community activists, there are some real downsides to this rosy outlook.
The new waterfront garbage depot came at the same time that Congressman Joe Crowley had announced a $538,000 federal appropriation for clean-up crews to dredge both the Flushing Bay and Creek. Crowleys project is also designed to facilitate construction of a park promenade and recreational area in downtown Flushing. During the past four years, the government has already spent more than $7 million to complete a feasibility study of this waterfront clean-up project.
"We must make sure that all efforts are taken to keep the environmental standards of Flushing Bay and Creek at a high level, and not compromise on the important work that has already been done," said a concerned Crowley.
Armed with a report from her transportation committee, CB 7s district manager Marilyn Bitterman is concerned about the high impact that the new DSNY truck routes will have on traffic in the adjacent Linden Hill and downtown Flushing areas.
One disturbing problem would be hundreds of large sanitation trucks compelled to cross under the Whitestone Expressway at Linden Place on their way to the marine transfer station, which could cause daily delays because of the narrow expressway underpass. Also, city and private trucks using the already heavily-utilized College Point Boulevard as an alternate route could impact the City Planning and Transportation Departments planned westward expansion and reconfiguration of downtown Flushing.
No matter which route trucks take to the facility, the only road in or out is 31st Avenue, which could lead to backups on that artery. The DSNY plans, however, state "no off-site queuing is expected."
Councilmember John Liu has praised the plan, aimed at helping to alleviate truck traffic by hauling waste away on barges, while still holding reservations about the implementation of such a system.
"It could bring back the garbage truck traffic through Flushing and College Point," warned Liu.
Equally important is the presence of a large number of borough-wide sanitation services completely contained within CB 7. One example is a DSNY garage in Willets Point for garbage trucks that service CB 11s Bayside, Little Neck and Douglaston communities. In addition, a private waste transfer station is also located in CB7.
This raises the latent threat of a legal action, claiming that the Sanitation Department is in direct violation of the City Charters Section 69, which regulates the fair share and co-terminality of city services. Ten years ago, a DSNY project in Manhattan was scrapped as a result of such a lawsuit. Lawyers say that a detailed lawsuit highlighting the DSNYs many facilities in CB 7, could create significant delays.
The City Council is expected to conduct hearings concerning the waterfront transfer stations in January.
Victor Ross is a freelance writer.
