More than 400 community members were surveyed. They describe dust from pulverized concrete and asphalt that floats into apartments and onto people’s faces and clothes.
Residents in Far Rockaway packed the basement of a small church Friday to learn more about the severe health hazards that local groups say stem from a construction debris processing facility currently operating without the necessary permits required by state law.
The meeting was convened ahead of the release of a 25-page report, including input from hundreds of residents about the potential impacts of the dust from pulverized concrete and asphalt that is carried from the Inwood Material Terminal (IMT) into apartments and onto people’s faces and clothes.
“If you get up in the morning and just put your hand on the dining room table that’s by the window you can feel the grit on your hand,” said Kimberly Comes, President of the Redfern Houses Residents Association, in an interview with the Indypendent. “I can’t just get in the tub barefoot without rinsing it down, including the walls, because the dirt flies in and you can actually see the dirt going down with the water down the drain,” she added.
The report, an advanced copy of which was provided to the Indypendent, was produced by the group Rockaway Neighbors Helping Neighbors (RNHN) and TakeRoot Justice, surveyed more than 400 community members, mostly from the Redfern Houses, the public housing complex directly across the street from the facility.
Ninety percent of those surveyed report having experienced one or more medical conditions commonly linked to and exacerbated by environmental pollutants, including respiratory illnesses like COPD and asthma.
The findings come amid years of intractable environmental hazards across the city’s sprawling public housing complexes, home to over half a million people, including dangerous proximity to federally and state recognized toxic chemical waste sites like those found at the Jacob Riis Houses in the Lower East Side and the Cooper Park Houses in Greenpoint.
Ninety percent of those surveyed report having experienced one or more medical conditions commonly linked to and exacerbated by environmental pollutants, including respiratory illnesses like COPD and asthma.
Alongside the health hazards of long-term exposure to particulate matter, the report also outlines the extent to which environmental pollution permeates the daily lives of Redfern Houses residents, who say they refrain from using outdoor spaces in the neighborhood, have to make frequent doctors’ visits and miss work as a result.
Amira Beatty, Education Chairperson for the NAACP Far Rockaway branch, voiced particular concern at the community forum. She said she regularly encounters young children born in Redfern who have asthma and eczema in her work in early childhood intervention programs for the area.
“From the time they’re being born they’re being affected,” she said.
Beatty said she is working with administrators at P.S. 197, where a majority of the children in the Redfern Houses are enrolled, to collect data about the relationship between student illness and attendance rates. Beatty expressed the intention to release a future report elaborating on this information.
The public outcry comes in the midst of prosecution in criminal court against the Haugland Group, who owns IMT, alleging that they violated local zoning ordinance that regulates permitted uses in business districts.
While directly across the street from the Redfern Houses, a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) property, IMT itself is located within the boundaries of Hempstead, a town in Nassau County.
According to the Town of Hempstead Building Zone Ordinance, the storage or crushing of building materials is not listed as a permitted use in a business district. A zoning variance – a special form of permit – would be required for any business operations outside those specified in the zoning ordinance.
Last year, organizers from RNHN urged the Hempstead Department of Buildings to conduct an investigation into the IMT’s compliance with local zoning. After multiple visits from an inspector, the Haugland Group was issued a summons, according to public documents obtained by The Indypendent. In January, a prosecutor in Hempstead brought the case to criminal court.
“They only have two options, they can move their dirt piles because they’re the problem, or they can apply for zoning variance,” said Paula Segal, Attorney at TakeRoot Justice and legal representation for RNHN at the forum on Friday.
In an official statement, IMT says various steps have been taken to mitigate the impact of their facility on the local community, including providing car wash vouchers, air filters for residents who have requested, and an increase in street sweeping.
“Our goal is to continue identifying solutions that support regional infrastructure needs while meeting the expectations of the surrounding community,” said Rosalie Drago, Vice President of External Affairs and Strategic Engagement for IMT.
When asked, the company didn’t specify the status of a zoning variance for IMT.
Months after the Haugland Group’s arraignment, and just days before the court hearing, piles of dust still sat feet from the houses.
The conditions discussed in the meeting were accompanied by clear calls to action. Community members and local organizers have demanded the closure of the waste processing facility, and the conversion of the site into a public waterfront park.
While the Redfern Houses are situated on the lush marshlands of Jamaica Bay, IMT presents a physical barrier to open space easily enjoyed by their neighbors. “You’ve got parks on one side in New York City, you’ve got parks on the other side in Hempstead, and then you’ve got this giant polluter just bringing open barges full of industrial waste through the middle,” illustrated Segal.
“Imagine the best,” urged Vernell Robinson, co-founder of RNHN and longtime Far Rockaway resident, at the forum on Friday. She pointed to features that exist in neighboring parks like canoes, fishing, and ample places to sit, and said “there’s no place around here like that.”
In the meantime, activists are also insisting that all materials currently housed at IMT be relocated, and requests that the Department of Environmental Conservation halts their continued operation while permit applications are under review.
“We’re going to galvanize public housing residents,” said Robinson. “We’re going to wake up the sleeping giants and keep them engaged and involved.”
This isn’t the first time the Haugland Group has faced legal action for violating regulations.
NY/NJ Baykeeper, a non-profit that works to protect the ecology of the New York and New Jersey Harbor Estuary, sued IMT in 2021, alleging that the facility was discharging polluted stormwater into Jamaica Bay. The non-profit agreed to an undisclosed settlement with IMT, which required the facility to enter a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, court documents show. The settlement didn’t include an admission of guilt from IMT.
The Haugland Group is required to return to criminal court in Hempstead on March 17. If it cannot be demonstrated that the IMT facility is in compliance with Hempstead’s Building Zone Ordinance, it will face daily fines until it does so.
The report from Rockaway Neighbors Helping Neighbors and TakeRoot Justice will be released in full on the TakeRoot Justice website ahead of the March 17 court hearing.