Residents in Bath Beach and Bensonhurst aren’t taking their problems lying down – they’re mobilizing.
At last week’s meeting of the Concerned Citizens of Bensonhurst, Adeline Michaels, the head of the civic organization, announced a new effort to get the state to step in and halt Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s efforts to erect a new waste transfer station on the former site of the old Southwest incinerator plant off Shore Parkway.
The plan would require the dredging of Gravesend Bay to accommodate the container barges the city wants to load up with trash and have shipped out.
Opponents of the plan like Michaels, however, fear that dredging would let loose a toxic stew of contaminants collecting underwater for decades.
“It’s like black mayonnaise,” Michaels said. “Nothing can grow there. All these years of contamination has caused a lot of deaths in this area and we don’t want it back. This is our biggest project now.”
According to Michaels, two packages complete with detailed photos documenting the noxious mix present around the old Southwest incinerator plant have been sent to both Governor David Paterson and the Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Concerned Citizens of Benshurst is hoping to join an Article 78 lawsuit intended to block the new waste transfer station coming to Shore Parkway as part of the city’s Solid Waste Management Plan.
Community Board 11 has already voted in favor of the proposal. Assemblymember William Colton is among those who oppose it.
There’s a different kind of mess, meanwhile, going on at the Bath Avenue Postal Station located at 1865 Benson Avenue, according to critics.
Michaels is urging residents to sign a petition aimed at correcting a laundry list of problems that has reportedly already caused significant customer dissatisfaction and frustration.
The complaints include an inadequate number of personnel to process passport applications, bulk mail and large packages.
Residents unhappy with service at the postal station also say that the building is not sufficiently stocked with stamps and that clerks are unable to fully help customers.
