Queens Tribune
 
....June 11, 2:57 PM
 
Hearings Set For Waste Transfer Station

By Michael Lanza

Waste Management of New York will hold public hearings on plans to construct a rail-based waste transfer station in Long Island City, where solid waste would be loaded into sealed containers, trucked to the Maspeth Railyard and eventually hauled out of the City by train.

The plan would take 51 to 58 tractor trailers off the City’s roads every day, the company said.

The first public hearing will be held on Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Sunnyside Community Services, located at 43-31 39th St. Another hearing is scheduled on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth.

The new facility will replace a truck-based transfer station located at 38-22 Review Ave and would operate six days per week. The plan also includes a request to increase capacity at the site to handle 2,100 tons of waste per day, up from 958. Trucks would be barred from idling outside or in the facility, where they will be required to tip their loads after entering and then leave. The facility will be designed to process 35 incoming and six outgoing garbage trucks per hour.

Outgoing trucks will access the Maspeth rails via Maspeth Avenue, where operations are limited to two eight-hour shifts per day.

Each train will hold 15 to 17 containers to be hauled to disposal sites outside the City.

The plan comes as the City works to shift its waste-transportation network from truck-based operations to railroads and barges in an effort to reduce vehicle emissions and ease congestion.

The proposed facility will receive waste from throughout Western Queens. The public hearings will include a presentation of the plan followed by a question and answer session with attendees.