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GREENPOINT — A recently-opened concrete batch plant in Greenpoint has been blanketing the neighborhood in dangerous concrete dust and possibly causing cracks in adjacent buildings, neighbors told the Brooklyn Paper. Air quality readings around the new DKN Ready Mix plant on Green Street regularly spike into the “unhealthy” range, while neighbors have measured noise in excess of 100 decibels — which can cause permanent hearing damage in as little as 15 minutes — and adjoining properties have needed repairs for cracks allegedly opened by the accompanying vibrations, according to Greenpointers.
The waterfront area is zoned for heavy industry, but locals say that the facility is causing problems that other nearby businesses haven’t. “When I first moved here, the incinerator was still there… I’ve spent over two decades living peacefully with industrial neighbors. This is something new,” neighbor Jens Rasmussen told the Brooklyn Paper. The plant has already been cited three times by the city Department of Environmental Protection for failing to contain the dust, as well as by the Department of Buildings for an improper certificate of occupancy, triggering an audit of other permits.
DKN, which told Greenpointers and the Brooklyn Paper that it was working on addressing complaints, was previously cited at its former Maspeth location for allowing concrete runoff to drain into the Newtown Creek.
