The NAACP and a Long Island environmental group are concerned that a bill proposed in New York could lead to worse conditions for residents of North Bellport and the environment.
The conflict stems from the eventual closure of the Brookhaven Landfill — and the logistics of transferring and disposing trash from most of Long Island. The Town of Brookhaven, which owns the Yaphank-based facility, has supported the opening of additional waste transfer stations that would be used to haul waste off of Long Island via freight rail.
One of four proposals in different stages of approval and development on Long Island would be run by waste company Winter Brothers in Yaphank, in the industrial area north of the landfill.
But the problem for residents comes from proposed warehouses that are planned to be built next to the Brookhaven Rail Terminal. The local chapter of the NAACP, as well as the Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG), which advocates for the immediate closure of the facility, have raised concerns about what the warehouses could be used for.
“The Town Board continues to demonstrate it is ready to abandon communities of color, and all town residents generally, by supporting Winters Bros. false claims that this project must be approved by the federal government,” the NAACP said in a statement. “That is a choice, not a requirement.”
The federal Surface Transportation Board has been weighing approval of a rail spur extension to support the Brookhaven Rail Terminal, which is backed by Winter Brothers.
A letter from BLARG to town council members echoed these sentiments, and added that there needs to be a clear plan for waste management moving forward.
“We ask the town to stop facilitating new waste infrastructure without meaningful engagement with the community towards developing an equitable, sustainable, transparent regional waste plan,” the letter read.
Last week, the Town Board asked the state Legislature to pass a law that would allow them to swap protected land with developer Winter Brothers to give the property access to freight rail. According to the resolution, the bill would allow Brookhaven to alienate 6-acres of protected parkland. The land swap would allow Winter Brothers to give their 280-acre industrial property south of the railway and their planned warehouses. In exchange, the developer would return twice the green space for preservation.
Ahead of the approved resolution on Thursday, April 4, Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich pressed Town Attorney Annete Eaderesto. She argued that there was no way any of the facilities built would be used for the purpose of waste management — under current zoning.
“No matter how many times they say it, it doesn’t make it so. Whether it’s Winter [Brothers] saying it, or the public,” Eaderesto said.
She said the developer intends to use the industrial property and warehouses to support incoming rail services, taking trucks from New York City and beyond off the road.
Community members are concerned about an increase of trucks, which would be receiving packages from the warehouses, driving through their residential communities. They are also worried that Winter Brothers would seek a change after the warehouses are built that would make any of these facilities eligible to store waste — which would pose a threat to the surrounding communities of color.
“Instead of defending an overburdened community from usurping local zoning, this legislation facilitates Winter Brothers plans to bypass local processes,” said John McNamara of BLARG.
Last year, the Town of Brookhaven concluded that the proposed warehouses would have “no significant impact” on the environment or the nearby community. Despite this, the NAACP and another local environmental group, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, filed a legal challenge.
The litigation was rejected by a New York State Supreme judge in January. In a statement issued at the time, town officials said that they were pleased with the court’s decision.
"Rejecting the challenge that the town’s environmental oversight was in any respect inadequate, the court’s decision recognized the comprehensive and extensive town environmental review of the project in a voluminous Environmental Impact Statement, supplemental environmental and engineering reports, and further review by the town’s principal environmental analyst," a town spokesperson told Patch.
However, the groups say they plan to appeal the decision.
The NAACP is also expressing concern that the planned developments would not happen in communities that are not made up mostly by people of color.
“We have no doubt that if Winters tried to import raw garbage into a predominantly white community like Stony Brook or Port Jefferson, the Town Board would not be so ready to turn over zoning control to the [state or federal] government,” the statement read.
