Trash and Concrete Problems in Red Hook

The Courier touched on two issues this week that are affecting Red Hook's quality of life: trash and concrete

In an article about State and City procedures for keeping the new Red Hook concrete plant on a "short leash," the Courier's Gary Buiso writes:

State and city officials are vowing to keep a close watch on a concrete plant once it opens in Red Hook — but those hoping for an environmental assessment before that day should expect to be disappointed.

Critics of the arrival of United States Concrete’s facility to 640 Columbia Street are urging the city and the state to conduct air quality testing to determine if the plant’s arrival is even suitable for the site, which stands near neighborhood ballfields and an organic farm.....

According to the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the plant will require an industrial process permit for each type of processing equipment, such as ventilation or exhaust machines, that will be employed. The equipment that has a permit is inspected when it is ready to go into use and then it is inspected every 3 years in order to renew the permit. The company also has to ensure that the piles of sand and dirt on site are sufficiently covered or sprayed with water.

Then, in another article, Buiso writes about a trash problem on Halleck St:

Forget about traffic, a Red Hook roadway has a problem of a different sort: trash.

Halleck Street between Court and Clintonhas been transformed into a veritable dumping ground, and Community Board 6 is urging the city to either turn the messy parcel into a park, clean it up, or both.

While the tract of land is under the jurisdiction of the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT), the agency never built it as an actual street, leaving it fertile territory for the accumulation of all manner of trash. And that’s exactly what happened several years back when a contractor dumped enormous mountains of fill material there, creating a mountain of dirt that seemingly encouraged similar activity, according to Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman. “The DOT is unwilling to remove the dirt, claiming they are not responsible for putting it there and they don’t have the resources......”

Read the rest of the concrete article here and the trash article here