MANHATTAN — TriBeCa residents refusing to roll out the welcome wagon for a trashy new neighbor filed an appeal Wednesday against a judge's decision to let the city build a sanitation garage and salt shed in the neighborhood.
The planned facility at the corner of Spring and Washington streets has been a contentious issue for years, with celebrity residents ranging from James Gandolfini to Lou Reed and John Slattery fighting the Dept. of Sanitation's plans for the garage.
Following a court victory in mid-January, the city announced that they will be accepting construction bids for the massive sanitation facility, which will house at least 62 garbage trucks and is expected to cost nearly $400 million.
But residents are hopeful that Wednesday's appeal of the court's decision will be successful.
“We are confident that the appellate court will reverse the lower court’s
decision dismissing our petition to halt the planned Consolidated Three District Sanitation Garage at Spring Street," Richard Barrett, a member of the Community Sanitation Steering Committee, said in a statement.
The community is pushing an alternative two-district plan called Hudson Rise, which they say is more fair to residents and more environmentally friendly.
Community Spokesman Phillip Mouquinho said that by announcing an RFP to bid out the project's construction contract, the city had effectively rejected the community's proposal. This “turns out to be a serious case of ‘smoke and mirrors’ as the City had no intention of listening to the community” Mouquinho stated.
