Queens officials are causing a stink over a year-old argument that has yet to go stale.
The train tracks leading to the Fresh Pond Road Terminal in Middle Village and Glendale have become the familiar home to state-owned freight trains hauling waste that residents from the region said omit terrible odor and pollution. Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) renewed his push to cap the smell this week when he and numerous colleagues urged Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to consider a solution in the form of a $3 million budget request.
In the letter, Hevesi detailed specific health effects caused by freight train pollution like respiratory and circulatory damage.
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi sent a request from himself, and more than 80 of his colleagues, to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asking for a $3 million budget request to overhaul polluting state-owned freight locomotives that run through Queens. File photo
“These effects can be avoided with the updates funded through this initiative,” he said. “Residents of Queens deserve to live in a place that provides safe, quiet and productive neighborhoods, and your attention and consideration on this matter will help to ensure this goal can be met.”
Hevesi said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grade Tier 0 engines used by the freight locomotives produced toxic emissions found more commonly in the 1970s, when environmental standards and technology were inferior to those of today. He said the current fleet was exempted from the Clean Air Act of 1970 and has been fighting to upgrade those engines – owned and leased out by the Long Island Rail Road – to EPA grade Tier 4 compliance for cleaner trains and cleaner air.
The Assemblyman also touted support from several other state, city and federal elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village).
In a statement, Meng applauded the state’s work in reducing the amount of truck traffic on New York’s streets, but acknowledged there was more work needed to address the unintended consequence of this unwelcome train traffic.
“These engines have high particulate emissions, which has been linked to aggravated asthma, decreased lung function and premature death in people with heart of lung disease,” Meng said. “As a cofounder of the Kids Safety Caucus in Congress, I want to make sure the children who live near these rail lines are not put at higher risk of asthma, and those who have asthma do not see it aggravated.”
Community Board 5 and concerned western Queens residents came together late
last year in opposition to a permit submitted by Lindenhurst’s One World Recycling to the state Environmental Conservation department looking to triple production from 370 tons to 1,100 tons per day along the busy railway. It was temporarily delayed in October to residents’ delight, but still put a scare into them over what could exacerbate the problem.
“How can NYSDEC control for dust, odors and vectors for the health of workers inside the trash transfer facility and then expose people outside the facility to those same health risks?” said Mary Parisen, chairwoman of Civic United for Railroad Environmental Solutions advocacy group. “Communities need to be protected too.”
By Phil Corso
