Stench Covers Astoria

Vallone said he met with DEP officials last week after getting a flood of complaints and Gianaris wrote to DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd to voice his concerns

A s s e m b l y m e m b e r Michael Gianaris says the odor emanating from the Berrian Boulevard sewage treatment plant in Astoria is more potent than ever and City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. says, "To put it simply, Astoria really stinks."

That should be enough to get some action from city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials to make the atrocious smell go away.

A DEP spokesman said the stench resulted from a fire at the Berrian Boulevard plant last November that damaged one of the boilers, which has to be repaired. The

necessary parts have been delivered to the plant, but the repair job isn't expected to be completed until next month.

Vallone said he met with DEP officials last week after getting a flood of complaints and Gianaris wrote to DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd to voice his concerns.

Gianaris told Lloyd, "The smell is too much to bear for Western Queens residents, who already suffer from the many industrial facilities located in our neighborhood. The pollution emitted from local power plants already makes breathing difficult. The last thing we need is this rotten stench."

The lawmaker pleaded with Lloyd to "make every attempt to remedy this situation as soon as possible."

Vallone complained that it was unacceptable that his constituents should have to endure the noxious odor. He said he would be watching to make sure the DEP makes every effort and employs every means to correct the situation as quickly as possible.

Gianaris also complained: "While I understand that the odors are caused by the destruction of odorreducing equipment in a Nov. 29, 2005 fire, there has been no contingency plan initiated to deal with the odor-emitting sewage. Now the odor is more potent than ever and is threatening the quality of life in our Western Queens community."

-John Toscano