By Alex Robinson
The city said a College Point trucking company, which residents have complained has kept them up at night and spewed pollution into their neighborhood for years, must close its doors at a secondary site by the end of October.
The city has given the owner of the property till Oct. 31 to shut down the TNP Trucking facility at 14-29 130th St. and bring the property into code and zoning compliance or risk having the property padlocked.
The site is zoned for residential space, but TNP Trucking has operated part of its business there for years, much to the chagrin of its neighbors.
Residents have complained the trucks have rattled in and out of the site for years, keeping them up at all hours and releaseing pollutants into their streets.
“I’m hoping we’ll be done with this problem,” said Turan Ates, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1996. “It will give us a nice quiet night to sleep in and clean air to breath.”
After hearing complaints from residents about the trucks that rumble through their neighborhood, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) took their concerns to a number of state and city agencies, including the city Department of Buildings, the city Department of Health and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which sent inspectors to the site.
A number of the city agencies issued warnings to TNP Trucking for infractions on the property, but did not issue violations at that time.
A 2013 inspection by the DOB, prompted by a letter from Avella’s office, revealed TNP had commercial vehicles at the site, which is zoned as R4A, a residential designation. The site was then referred to the agency’s Padlock Unit, which conducted its own investigation and found the business was illegally operating.
The property’s owner, who could not be reached for comment, then faced a hearing, where they agreed to close the property by Oct. 31, DOB said.
“After almost a decade of inaction, I am heartened to see that the Department of Buildings is beginning to address the problem,” Avella said in a statement. “As long as the property owner responds accordingly, this is a step in the right direction.”
Robert Defilippis is listed as the owner of the property in city records, but TNP Trucking staff said Defilippis died a few years ago. His death could not be independently verified.
The location set to be closed down is TNP’s secondary site as its main location is at the corner of 130th Street and 15th Avenue, up the block from the lot in question.
In addition to noise problems, residents claim TNP Trucking, which denied requests for comment, has been dumping oil and anti-freeze into the sewer and creating rust stains on the public sidewalk.
“They should have been out of this place a long time ago,” Ates said. “They should have not been breaking rules and regulations for 13 years and should be out of there as soon as possible.”
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
