Serious Concerns About Proposed East 25th Street Sanitation Garage

I recently testified at a New York City Department of Sanitation’s scoping hearing regarding its proposed East 25th Street Sanitation Garage, which would house refuse and recycling collection trucks, salt spreaders and snow plows in the middle of a largely residential community and next to a state-designated Regional Trauma Center. I expressed a number of significant concerns including the impacts trucks coming and going from the facility would have on traffic and noise levels; how the garage would affect Waterside Plaza residents, whose only pedestrian egress is onto 25th Street; and the risks associated with storing hundreds of gallons of fuel in the heart of our hospital corridor and adjacent to the FDR Drive. I also reiterated key questions other officials and I had previously raised, notably whether any other sites within the Community Districts that would be served were studied as part of the site selection. As the proposal moves forward, I will continue to seek answers and work with other local elected officials on our community’s behalf. Please see my testimony below.