Greenpoint Residents Say Green Asphalt Emissions Remain a Health Concern, as Compliance Deadlines Loom 

For the past couple of years, Greenpoint residents have expressed concerns about the frequent emissions from the Green Asphalt plant in Long Island City.

​In response, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has mandated that Green Asphalt comply with state guidelines by the end of 2025, but residents doubt that Green Asphalt is doing enough to resolve the issue.

​In June, the DEC ordered Green Asphalt to double the size of its emission stack by December 11. The agency also required measures to submit asphalt for elemental analysis and control fugitive dust. The first deadline is September 5.

​So far, it hasn’t appeared to have yielded any major changes. Neighbors continue to report fumes, dust, and a burning rubber smell. Some neighbors also say that emissions have caused health problems, including trouble with breathing, burning eyes and throat, dizziness, and chest pain. The emissions are most noticeable in the eastern area of Greenpoint. They can also be felt in Blissville, depending on which direction the wind moves. 

​Joseph Cascio, a longtime Greenpoint resident, moved into an apartment on Kingsland Avenue just a month ago and immediately noticed the fumes, especially with his asthma. He says the situation has left him and his neighbors feeling jaded about Green Asphalt’s capacity for change.

“It feels like they’re ramping up production. It feels like they see the deadline approaching, and they’re just gonna try to get away with as much as they can for the next month or so, and once the deadline comes, do the least amount possible to fix it,” he told Greenpointers.

Cascio is not the only neighbor who voiced frustration over the lack of resolution. Nati Rabinowitz, who lives near McGolrick Park, says he’s been trying to get answers since he first noticed the smell in 2023.

“I don’t understand how this is not a 911 emergency for eastern Greenpoint,” said Rabinowitz, who also shared that the emissions were recently intense enough to wake him out of bed.

Sandwiched between Superfund sites, oil spills, and industrial business zones, the eastern area of Greenpoint sees more than its fair share of environmental issues. The balance between manufacturing and residential areas remains a perennial concern (last year, we reported a similar story about a concrete manufacturer on Green Street).

“It’s an industrially zoned area, their asphalt plant is allowed to operate, but the stack is so low to the ground, it’s almost comical. I don’t know how the people who work there are able to function,” said Cascio. ​

Residents of Greenpoint and Blissville started noticing the strong fumes around 2023. The source remained a mystery for the next year, before responses from a neighborhood survey helped trace it to Green Asphalt, a recycled asphalt plant, in 2024. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation issued Green Asphalt a violation last year. The manufacturer apparently told local elected officials that it would clean up its act and implement a new air dispersion model by mid-2025. 

With the year’s halfway point over and seemingly no change, Greenpoint and Blissville’s elected officials have called on the DEC to take more forceful action against Green Asphalt, asking the agency to shut down the plant until it can meet the requirements.

A DEC spokesperson shared that the agency is “currently engaged in a pending enforcement process to establish formal compliance deadlines.”

Green Asphalt told Greenpointers that it expects to meet the DEC’s deadlines.

“In June, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation approved our remediation plan. We are happy to report that Green Asphalt is currently on track to meet all the required goals including tank vents and fugitive dust shrouds this week, as well as the raising of our stack in December. As always, we are engaging with regulators, elected leaders and residents to ensure that we are responsive to the community’s concerns.”

Statement from Green Asphalt

Assemblymember Emily Gallagher announced that her office would be hosting a town hall alongside DEC representatives and Green Asphalt, scheduled for Tuesday, September 16.