NYC Officials Look to Remove Recycler from Site

Flushing legislators called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to terminate a recycling company's lease on 13 acres of land near Shea Stadium in Queens, NY.

"We are calling on the MTA to terminate the lease of Evergreen Recycling of Corona, which operates this recycling site," said Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik, as he and state Sen. Toby Stavisky, Councilman John Liu and Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn stood on the Roosevelt Ave. Bridge overlooking the recycling yard.

Evergreen runs a 24/7 operation and "sits on approximately one-quarter of what is informally known as the iron triangle in Willets Point, which we all hope to redevelop into something much better than the current state of affairs that it is in now," the assemblyman said.

"We realize that the MTA has to make money from the lands it owns, and that is one way it holds down the bus and subway fares. But, as is often the case with the MTA, they find the most odious uses that are totally incompatible with the communities that they serve," Grodenchik said.

The city is in the midst of evolving plans for the development of both sides of the Flushing River -- downtown Flushing and the iron triangle area.

The city's Economic Development Corp. is scheduled to announce a "request for ideas" for the 55-acre iron triangle area -- bordered roughly by 126th St., Northern Blvd. and the Flushing River -- in the coming weeks, said Stavisky.

Meanwhile, developers are poised to move ahead on a number of residential and mixed-use projects on the Flushing River in downtown Flushing, said Liu, "but what are people going to see? They are simply going to see a heap of trash across the Flushing River, and that makes no sense whatsoever."

Grodenchik said there is no fight with the recycling company that has held the lease for at least five years.

"Evergreen does what they do. Our disagreement is with the MTA. They could have rented this property to anybody. They are supposed to be looking out for the best interest of the people of the State of New York. This is hardly the best use for this property," he said.

"We realize that it would probably not be shut down tomorrow, but we certainly want the MTA to shut it down in the near term," the assemblyman said.

A spokesman for the MTA, Tom Kelly, said a letter from the legislators was received by MTA chairman Peter Kalikow and that the authority was "looking into it." New York Daily News