CSX Pickup Station To Move Away from Residential Homes
Residents and local legislators agreed on Tuesday night accept a proposal from CSX and New York and Atlantic Rail to move their pickup station, currently located between 69th Place and 69th Lane, approximately 400 feet towards 69th Street and All Faiths Cemetery.
The move is expected to provide relief for nearby residents from early morning disturbances, but there are still many concerns about other rail issues.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), state Senator Joe Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and state Assemblymen Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) and Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) held a town hall meeting at P.S. 128 to discuss the proposal and other rail issues.
The current pickup location used by the rail companies is directly behind La Bella Cucina Restaurant, adjacent to the backyards of many Middle Village residents. As the trains, many which carry garbage and municipal waste, compress their breaks, they emit loud noises and fumes.
“We hear idling during all hours of the day. It’s getting unbearable,” area resident Anthony Pedalino told The Forum in May.
Longtime residents understand they live by an active rail line, but they said the problem has been getting worse, especially since rail companies have set up pickup locations in the neighborhood. “This is a train track, not a rail yard,” business and civic leader Tony Nunziato said. “They’re trying to create a rail yard in people’s backyards.”
Lydon Sleeper, chief of staff for Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), explained that in 2005, the city instituted the Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP), which created new guidelines for the removal of garbage. Under the plan, CSX and Waste Management started moving trash by freight rail through the Otto Road rail yard in Glendale—leading to a dramatic increase of “trash trains” travelling through Ridgewood, Glendale and Middle Village.
In late April, rail officials suggested moving the pickup location towards 69th Street and Juniper Boulevard South, but local legislators and homeowners rejected the plan, citing the location’s proximity to P.S. 128.
At Tuesday’s meeting, legislators said CSX is insisting on including the pickup location near the school. However, the elected officials said they reached a compromise when CSX included a separate pickup location closer to All Faiths Cemetery, which CSX claimed they would use as much as possible.
“This is not a perfect plan,” Crowley said. “But it is a plan that will help alleviate the stress of homeowners.”
One major issue with a pickup location near P.S. 128 was concerns from parents and residents that idling trains would negatively impact the school’s air quality. However, the city Department of Education (DOE) conducted an air quality survey in July, which showed there would not be a negative effect.
Michael Donovan, senior project manager for ATC Associates Inc., a private company contracted by the DOE to conduct the study, said the air quality study showed that any harmful effects from the trains would dissipate by the time students entered the building.
The study first tested the air quality on July 13, when no trains were running on the tracks. Researchers found that carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide and particulate dust matter were all within safe environmental levels.
The study was repeated a week later with CSX simulating standard pickup procedures. Baseline measures conducted before the train arrived showed carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide levels were at acceptable levels, but particulate dust matter was well above established safety guidelines. When the train was at the pickup location, there was a further spike in dust matter, but it quickly dissipated within a few hours to baseline levels.
Hevesi said CSX has assured him that the pickup time will consistently be at 5:30 A.M. Since the study showed a considerable decrease in harmful particulate matter by the time children would be arriving, Hevesi said the study looked promising.
But some residents weren’t convinced.
After some grilling from residents, it was revealed the study was only conducted inside the school and with the windows closed. “These are the types of studies that cost millions of dollars?” Bob Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, derisively said. (Earlier in the meeting, Hevesi said an air quality study for homeowners on 69th Lane was delayed because it would cost millions of dollars to complete.)
Mary Parisen, co-chair of Civics United for Railroad Environmental Solutions (CURES), questioned the study’s methodology. “I talked to a scientist from a university, and he said this report is not worth the paper its printed on,” she said.
Donovan agreed that there were some limitations to the study, but the company did plan to conduct a more comprehensive 24-hour study in the coming weeks.
Bernard Worland, the director of the DOE’s Environmental Health and Safety department, assured parents that he was doing everything he could to properly conduct an air quality study. After a request from the school, Worland agreed to hire another company to conduct the 24-hour study independently from ATC as quality assurance. He also noted that the final results would be given to the city Health Department for a comprehensive review.
As residents continued to argue over the study’s merits, Pedalino had heard enough.
“It’s ridiculous we’re arguing over these small semantics while we residents around the locomotives continue to suffer,” he said. “And if the air quality is determined to be hazardous, then what about the residents? What can be done [for them]?”
Hevesi agreed that something must be done quickly for the suffering homeowners. “Look, you have a study that says you get clear dissipation while families are constantly breathing particulate matter,” he said, defending the study and the proposed pickup location.
Parisen also questioned how often the different pickup locations would be utilized. “I think [CSX] is just playing with logistics. They’re giving us [the cemetery location] but they know it’s really going to be [the school] location most of the time.”
Hevesi countered that CSX has told him that the best effort would be made to use the cemetery location.
After nearly an hour of debate, Hevesi said it was time for something to be done. “There has to come a point where we have to say yes or no.”
A hand vote was taken, and the vast majority of the nearly 50 people at the meeting approved the plan.
“The Juniper Park Civic Association supports [the two pickups],” Holden said. “Especially pickup two [located in the cemetery.]”
The next steps will now take several months to complete. The elected officials must make a formal request to CSX and work with them to move the compressor station to the proposed locations. Part of this move involves lighting the rail line’s underpass to make the location safe for CSX workers, which involves partnering with ConEdison and the city Department of Transportation.
Even with the move, which should provide some relief for homeowners on 69th Place, there are still several longstanding issues with rail use in the community. Trash trains still emit noxious odors from garbage, and recently, CSX has begun treating its lines using a chemical called creosote, which has given off a strong tar-like odor.
“The stench is so bad it can choke a horse,” local resident Ed Cataldo said about the creosote.
Legislators said they are working on the numerous issues rail traffic causes the neighborhoods, but they focused in on moving the pickup location.
“This issue is long from over. Most of these other plans [and issues] are long term and cost more. This can be implemented immediately,” Addabbo told residents.
by Eric Yun
