Neighbors Report Return of Noxious Odor and Pollution from Green Asphalt

Around summer 2023, Greenpoint residents noticed a strong, burning smell (which says something, considering a smell has to break through a panoply of counterparts to attract attention in a polluted neighborhood like ours). 

The source of the smell remained a mystery for months, before the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation eventually traced it to a Long Island City company called Green Asphalt (thanks in part to how many neighbors submitted complaints). The DEC issued the business a violation last year. Assembly Member Emily Gallagher and City Council Member Lincoln Restler met with the company, who committed to work on a new air dispersion model, but complaints about the fumes linger. 

Gallagher recently shared on Instagram that she and other local electeds officials would meet with Green Asphalt and the DEC this upcoming week. 

Green Asphalt touts itself as the country’s first 100% recycled asphalt plant. While we welcome a business model ostensibly dedicated to making heavy industry more environmentally sound, it should also strike a balance with the community’s needs (especially considering the irony of its mission in contrast to the pollution it produces—greenwashing is a thing, y’all!).

We’ll keep you updated about results from the meeting, but in the meantime, if you notice something, report it directly to the DEC at [email protected].