Astoria residents have long been chronicling the disgusting aroma coming out of the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant on Berrian Boulevard. Luckily, those days may soon be over.
Councilman Costa Constantinides announced on Monday that a $3 million odor mitigation project would finally eliminate most of the putrid smells. The project includes the installation of aluminum covers and odor control units on each of the four sludge tanks. The covers capture the odors, and a carbon filtration process finally eliminates them.
Since at least 2008, residents have used an online forum with the title “Smell of Human Feces in Astoria!” to voice their concerns about the smell.
“I frequently bike up towards Astoria Park and can almost always smell the sewage treatment plant,” user newell the jewell said in 2008. “There’s no masking that scent. It’s sometimes stronger in the early hours.”
In 2010, another user proclaimed that they were moving out of Astoria and urged residents to reach out to elected officials to voice their complaints.
“It is so disgusting I can’t take it anymore,” user LeavingSoon wrote. “I am finally moving out of Astoria because of it. I am tired of keeping my windows closed. This is NYC…not a third world nation. Our neighborhood deserves clean smelling air.”
The Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant began operating in 1939. It is designed to treat 150 million gallons of wastewater a day, and the four tanks can hold up to 550,000 cubic feet of sludge. According to Constantinides, the City College of New York will work with the Department of Environmental Protection to document the performance of the carbon filters.
“As lifetime residents of the neighborhood, my family and I have too much experience with the odor from the Bowery Bay Plant,” Constantinides said in a statement. “The new aluminum tank covers and odor control units will help improve the quality of life for all families in the area. Eliminating most of the odor that comes from the plant is a major benefit for our community.”
The work for the project began in 2015 and was completed by Memorial Day.
“Thank you!!” Astoria resident Kelly Martin wrote in response to Constantinides’ June 6 Facebook post. “Can’t like this enough!!”
