Metal piece from waste transfer station construction nearly strikes two

A six-foot long section of metal blew off the proposed Southwest Brooklyn Marine Transfer Station in Gravesend Bay following a storm on Monday, July 18, nearly hitting two parked cars and two people on the property adjacent to the station.

The site of the waste transfer station, located off Shore Parkway at 400 Bay 41st Street, has long been thought of as a toxic eyesore by area residents, who cite evidence of the incinerator that preceded it contaminating the surrounding soil with mercury, lead and other metals.

Strangely enough, the heavy piece of metal mysteriously disappeared from the place where it landed on the Marina property, according to Assemblymember William Colton’s Anti-Waste Task Force.

“We are now demanding the city investigate this case of disappearing metal, while work continues as if nothing happened. With a private construction job, the Buildings Department would immediately dispatch an emergency response unit to respond to an incident such as a piece of a roof under construction flying off onto a neighboring property,” said Anti-Waste Task Force Co-Chair Charles Ragusa. “We believe that the disappearance of the metal shows a cover-up that also must be thoroughly investigated. We demand the city inspector general, as well as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, look into this matter.”

In response to the incident, the city’s Department of Sanitation says the New York Department of Design & Construction conducted an investigation, determining that Stonebridge Inc. (the contractor responsible for the station’s roof construction) secured the construction materials in preparation for high wind conditions on Monday evening, but the conditions caused a sheet of roof deck to blow off.

“The piece of roof decking had been screwed down with fasteners as required by construction protocol. The piece of roof decking scheduled to be welded to the facility structure fell into an adjacent property without injuring anyone,” said Kathy Dawkins, a DSNY spokesperson. “Construction site personnel met with the property owner after the incident. As a precaution, DDC has required that Stonebridge Inc. secure and tie down all roof decking that has not been permanently installed with additional straps and screws.”

The battle against the proposed transfer station has been ongoing for about a decade now, with local politicians and Bensonhurst residents alike claiming that the station is violating the Clean Water Act. Last summer, this paper reported that local pols had brought the issue to the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter.

“The city’s concealing of necessary facts and information, is the very argument I made to the Appellate Division as to why the permit [for the construction of the facility] should be vacated,” said Colton, a leader in the fight against the station. “Now, here once again, the city continues to cover any information that might stop or slow down its construction. We need to stop this dangerous garbage station once and for all before we have another Flint, Michigan-like disaster.”

Colton is referring to the lead contamination afflicting the Flint River, which has left tens of thousands of Flint residents exposed to lead.

Among the concerns with the transfer station is an increase in truck traffic, with backups caused by trucks having to access the facility through the eastbound Belt Parkway service road, as well as the varied health issues that truck exhaust can bring. Residents also fear exposure to toxins from the site left over from the now-defunct Bensonhurst incinerator, as well as unexploded World War II munitions lying on the floor of Gravesend Bay that might be disturbed by necessary dredging.

According to DSNY, the station’s construction is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2017; it will become operational by spring, 2018.