New signs that construction on a $240 million garbage depot on East 91st Street will soon be underway have alarmed neighborhood residents concerned of health hazards, DNAinfo reported.
Skansa, the project’s primary contractor, was slated to begin construction at the beginning of January, but a large sign announcing intent to build has recently appeared at the site. The sign states that “the existing East 91st Marine Transfer Station will be replaced with a new and modern facility for transferring solid waste from collection vehicles into sealed leak-proof containers in an enclosed indoor space.
The project received federal approval in July. Its opponents are saying the city has kept them in the dark about the development and are saying there could be potentially damaging health effects, especially since since the ramp leading to the facility lies next to the Asphalt Green ball fields. “Whenever there is activity by the ramp [leading to the site], residents are really concerned and contact us right away,” Asbjorn Finsnes, executive director of station opposition group Residents for Sane Trash Solutions, told DNAinfo. “The recent development certainly fired up the community. We have had an outpouring of reactions. Residents are volunteering their services on unprecedented levels.”
For its part, the city told DNAinfo hat public notification about the project “has been extensive and is being handled no differently than any other City public building project.” [DNAinfo] – Hiten Samtani