Chapter 2
Fresh Kills
You Can't Fill a Bottomless Pit
Situated on the western shore of Staten Island, [view map] the Fresh Kills Landfill covers 2,100 acres, and is so large it can be seen with the naked eye from space. Its highest mound is only slightly shorter than the Washington Monument. First opened as a "temporary" facility in 1947, today Fresh Kills is the largest landfill in the world. It is also of dubious legality. Operating under a series of federal consent orders, it is unlined and leaches thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals and heavy metals into nearby estuaries each day. Its odor reaches into neighborhoods on both sides of the Arthur Kill, which separates Staten Island from New Jersey. It will be a likely Superfund candidate for the next century.
As early as the 1960s, there were predictions that Fresh Kills would soon run out of room. Federal and State estimates predicted it would be full by 2005. Technical changes required by the consent orders managed to extend its life a few years, and there are a some DOS engineers who privately believe they could find ways to keep it open forever. But DOS eventually conceded Fresh Kills would have to close by 2017, and began planning how to cover and cap the entire landfill after it closes. However, no thought was given to how the city would adapt its waste management infrastructure once Fresh Kills was no longer an option.
The consent orders and several federal lawsuits filed by local citizens groups and the Staten Island Borough President also made Fresh Kills' future uncertain. Development following the opening of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in the 1960s had transformed the once sparsely populated Staten Island into a middle-class residential borough. For the residents in other boroughs, Fresh Kills was in that magical land called "Away," but for Staten Islanders, the landfill's odors and environmental problems were close at hand and became a top issue. The city still failed to plan ahead.
Ultimately, local citizens were more proactive than the city. Staten Island Citizens for Clean Air (SICCA) and Borough President Guy Molinari continued to press their separate lawsuits. SICCA's Barbara Warren says that in late 1995, when their case was finally coming to trial, her group approached Molinari and the city to seek a settlement. SICCA believed they were going to win easily in court, forcing the landfill to close ahead of DOS's plans. The city agreed, but instead of settling, quiet negotiations began between Molinari, DOS and the mayor. SICCA was kept at arm's length.
Chapter 3 -- Here Comes the Trash: Waste Transfer Stations Blossom in a Few Neighborhoods
back to top
