Empowered by a waste equity law (Local Law 152 of 2018) passed in 2018 with the support of NYLPI’s coalition, the NYC Department of Sanitation has reduced the permitted waste capacity for three transfer stations in Brooklyn.  In 2017, NYLPI sued one of these stations run by GPB Waste, claiming that the facility plagued the neighborhood with noxious smells, rats, air pollution and noise.

An article in Waste Dive covered the impact of the waste equity law on the lawsuit and efforts to reform the facility, quoting NYLPI Senior Staff Attorney Melissa Iachan:

“While the lawsuit takes its time to move through the courts, the community members are thrilled that the Waste Equity Law will be the first significant effort to reduce the amount of waste handled at this facility,” said Melissa Iachan, the group’s legal counsel. “The facility still has a long uphill road of improvements to make before the many nuisances on the surrounding community are truly mitigated, but (Cleanup North Brooklyn is) hopeful that the Waste Equity Law will be a big step forward.”

Click below to read the full article in Waste Dive:

New York cuts transfer station permits as NWRA mulls legal appeal

By Cole Rosengren
Dec. 20, 2019