Dive Brief:
- An Upper East Side community organization in New York City proposed a plan of their own for the impending transfer station set to be built in the neighborhood: Make it pretty.
- The groups hired an engineering firm to redesign the facility. The "improved" renderings show a welcoming greenspace that includes a rooftop park; not just a "garbage dump."
- Neighborhood activists attempted to block the structure, but were unsuccessful. The transfer station has been in the works since 2006, when super-green former mayor Michael Bloomberg brought the initial idea to the table as a solution for his plan to have each borough responsible for the waste it produces.
Dive Insight:
After stepping into his role as mayor of New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has moved forward with Bloomberg’s plans. He has been met with fierce opposition in the form of lawsuits, wielded by angry community groups who are vehemently against an operational transfer station in the vicinity. The cost of converting the structure into a landscaped facility was not disclosed.
