Board 5 Hears About Maspeth Treatment Plan
Pumping air and potentially new life into the Newtown Creek was the focus of Community Board 5′s meeting last Wednesday night, May 8, in Middle Village, as city officials outlined plans for an aeration plant to be constructed on the banks of the polluted waterway in Maspeth.
Shane Ojar of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Tony Costello of URS Corporation-the consulting firm working with the city on the project- provided an overview for the creation of the plant to be constructed at a location on 47th Street north of Grand Avenue in Maspeth’s industrial area.
On track to be completed and activated by 2018, the aeration plant would inject pressurized oxygen into the Newtown Creek, where oxygen levels have been known to be almost nonexistent by federal environmental standards. When fully operational, it is expected that the system would bring oxygen levels to 3 mg per liter (mg/l), the minimum standard which can sustain some aquatic life.
Though a tributary of the East River, the Newtown Creek does not have a natural flushing cycle by which fresh water can be circulated in and polluted water can be swept out. Costello compared the aerations system to an agitator or aerator commonly found in home aquariums and fish tanks, as the plant would circulate the water and allow pollution to dissipate, while simultaneously raising oxygen levels.
Costello added the aeration device would also reduce the buildup of hydrogen sulfate in the creek, which occurs as the result of near-zero oxygen levels and creates the foul, rotten egg odor familiar to anyone who has crossed the creek on a warm day.
Reportedly, the plant itself will only be occupied during spring and summer months when the oxygen levels in the creek are at its lowest, Costello stated. During the winter, the plant will be dormant since oxygen levels have been found to meet the minimum standard during cold weather.
Though the site itself-a former industrial site and dumping ground- measures 1.6 acres in size, Costello said, the plant itself will occupy just a fraction of the lot. The remainder of the site would be a tree-lined parking lot; trees would be planted along 47th Street and shrubs would be planted alongside the creek, he added.
The plant itself will measure 4,900 sq. ft. and will contain two air blowers, the URS consultant stated. The pipes will run underground through a bulkhead and directly into the creek; one of the blowers will be pointed northward toward the East River, and the other will be placed in a southernly direction toward the Grand Street Bridge.
Costello noted that the plant will also have the capacity for a third blower to be constructed in the future. That pump would be connected to a pipeline running through the entire length of the creek to distribute air throughout the waterway, Ojar added.
DEP officials stated the plant will be largely unmanned, though it will include facilities for regular site visits by employees. Since the plant will be constructed out of “acoustable brick,” Costello noted, noise produced from the aeration machines will not be heard from the outside.
The DEP previously constructed an aeration plant in East Williamsburg on the English Kills, which feeds into the Newtown Creek. Since the system first came online in 2008, Costello noted, oxygen levels in the waterway have “constantly reached 3 mg/l.”
In addition to the Maspeth aeration plant, the DEP plans to construct a third facility on the banks of the Dutch Kills in Long Island City, which is expected to be completed and activated by 2019.
Board member Jean Tanler questioned officials about the risk of any of the pollution from the water permeating the air as a result of the aeration plant’s operation. Ojar assured her that would not be the case since the vast amount of the pollution is contained in the creek bed, which will not be touched.
Asked by board member Manny Caruana about the impact the system would have on the entire cleanup of the creek, Ojar stated the DEP and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are still in the process of formulating a cleanup plan for the waterway, which was classified recently as a Superfund site.
Ojar noted it may take several more years before a full cleanup plan for the entire creek is developed and implemented.
Board 5 First Vice Chairperson Walter Sanchez, who presided over the meeting in place of Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri, stated the advisory body’s Zoning and Land Use Committee would examine the aeration plant further later this month and submit a formal recommendation.
Relay for Life
The organizers of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) Relay for Life at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village have set several lofty goals for the June event, according to Alex Maureau, a member of the relay’s planning committee.
The 11th Middle Village Relay for Life will take place on Saturday afternoon, June 22, and continue into early the following morning at Juniper Valley Park’s Brennan Field running track.
Last year, Maureau reported, the Middle Village relay raised over $190,000 for the American Cancer Society’s research and treatment programs. Sixty teams of participants and 138 cancer survivors also walked or ran laps around the track.
For this year’s relay, he told board members, the organizers have goals of raising $200,000 for the ACS as well as a minimum of 75 teams and 200 cancer survivors in attendance. They also hope to have 500 “likes” on the relay’s Facebook page.
Those interested in actively participating in the relay are encouraged to join an established team or form one of their own with family, friends, neighbors or co-workers, Maureau stated. Anyone who can’t participate in the relay can also contribute by purchasing luminaria bags in memory of cancer victims; there are also sponsorship opportunities for local businesses.
For more information on the Middle Village Relay for Life, visit www.relayforlife.org/middlevillageny or www.facebook.com/relayforlifemiddlevillage.
Public forum
Board 5 Secretary Peggy O’Kane called for the installation of signage along Fresh Pond Road informing truck drivers that they are forbidden from traveling onto Palmetto and Linden streets to reach businesses on Traffic Avenue.
O’Kane stated that trucks are having difficulty navigating turns from all three roadways onto Traffic Avenue, which is at a sharp angle. She claimed this causes traffic jams on the side streets, leading some drivers to travel in reverse down the one-way streets to reach Fresh Pond Road.
Craig Caruana, a Republican from Middle Village running for the 30th City Council District seat, called for the city to change its policies on water rate increases. Since 2001, he noted, the rate has increased every year by an average of seven percent.
In attending a recent public hearing by the New York City Water Board on the proposed increase, Caruana stated, he learned the hike is largely the result of a massive debt incurred by the DEP to pay for “unfunded” mandated policies and programs initiated by the state and federal governments.
Caruana stated he would, if elected, urge the DEP to release a five-year projection of water rate increases to better prepare the public for rate hikes. He also mentioned he would urge the agency to publish a list of unfunded mandates for which it is held responsible so lawmakers could work to take action against any unnecessary requirements which the DEP cannot afford.
Other news
Evelyn Cruz of Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s office announced staff members are examining the stalled project to reconstruct the length of Wyckoff Avenue. She noted Velázquez previously provided federal funds for the proposal as recently as 2005, but the money was scrapped due to “complications on the federal side.”
Speaking on behalf of Rep. Grace Meng, Don Capalbi stated the lawmaker has introduced Congressional legislation aimed at reducing the backlog of claims made to the Veterans’Administration. He noted Meng also recently met with the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation on a number of housing issues, including possibly receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
District Manager Gary Giordano reminded the public about new recycling regulations which recently took effect in the city, specifically that all rigid plastic items-including yogurt and fruit containers-must now be disposed of with other plastic recyclables. The change should save the city millions by reducing the tonnage of garbage it ships out of the five boroughs by rail and barge, he added.
Nominations
Board 5 held the first of its two rounds of nominations for Executive Committee positions that will be up for votes at the June meeting. All of the incumbent committee members were nominated for re-election. They are Chairperson Arcuri, First Vice Chairperson Sanchez, Second Vice Chairperson Dmytro Fedkowskyj, Treasurer Kathy Masi, Secretary O’Kane and at-large members Patricia Grayson, Fred Haller III, John Maier and Ted Renz.
The second nomination round will be held immediately prior to the June election.
Demolition notice
Sanchez announced that the board recently received a demolition notice for a property at 66-04 54th Ave. in Maspeth. Board members were advised to monitor activity at the site and to report any questionable issues immediately.
Liquor licenses
The board has also received the following liquor license applications for its perusal:
– New liquor licenses for 1563 Decatur Café LLC for an establishment to be determined located at 1563 Decatur St. in Ridgewood; Fresh Pond Tavern Inc., d.b.a. Fresh Pond Tavern, located at 68-69 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood (formerly Caskey’s Tavern); Drunken Fish Ren Inc., located at 52-25 Metropolitan Ave. in Maspeth; and Taquiera Kermes Inc., d.b.a. Taquiera Kermes, located at 66-36 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood (formerly Kredens Restaurant).
– Liquor license renewals for Esperanza Food Corp., d.b.a. Caribe Bar, located at 54-55 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood; Middle Village Café and Restaurant Inc., d.b.a. La Bella Cucina Restaurant, located at 69-61 Juniper Blvd. South in Middle Village; Connbro Tavern Corp., d.b.a. Connolly’s Corner, located at 71- 15/17/19 GrandAve. in Maspeth; and Hush Brother’s Inc., d.b.a. Hush, located at 70-10 Grand Ave. in Maspeth.
– Wine and/or beer license renewals for Sakura 7 Queens Inc., located at 65-54 Grand Ave. in Maspeth; Puntiel Restaurant Corp., located at 689 Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood; OFC Restaurant Corp., d.b.a. Tazzina, located at 75-01 88th St. in Glendale; and La Playita Restaurant Corp., d.b.a. La Playita Restaurant, located at 811 Seneca Ave. in Ridgewood.
Those who wish to comment on any of the above applications may do so by calling Board 5 at the number listed at the end of this article.
The next meeting of Community Board 5 is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night, June 12, at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Regional High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Ave. in Middle Village. For more information, call Board 5’s Glendale office at 1-718-366-1834.
