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Read the press release here.

UES Waste Station Opponents to Hand Out Surgical Masks to Protest Trash

By  Trevor Kapp and Ben Fractenberg | August 21, 2013 8:40am 

 Volunteers from Pledge 2 Protect plan to pass out masks to highlight health issues posed by the station.
Volunteers from Pledge 2 Protect plan to pass out masks to highlight health issues posed by the station.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

UPPER EAST SIDE — Locals opposing a plan for a waste station in their neighborhood planned to hand out surgical masks Wednesday night as part of a dramatic demonstration to raise awareness about alleged health hazards posed by the East 91st Street Marine Transfer Station.

Volunteers from Pledge 2 Protect — a coalition of residents and businesses against the controversial facility on the East River — will gather on Lexington Avenue at the 86th and 96th street subway stations during rush hour Wednesday to pass out the masks in an effort to bring to light issues like pollution and vermin related to the station.

"If you can close Central Park to traffic, why would you build a waste transfer station next to a recreation field?" said Upper East Side resident Andrea Jeromos, 55, who was handing out fliers at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue station Tuesday to rally opponents.

The group also aims to inform straphangers about politicians’ stances on the waste facility before the upcoming elections.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has maintained that the East 91st Street station fosters equity across the boroughs in waste disposal, a notion hundreds of Upper East Siders have shunned.

Volunteers will be at the subway stations between 5 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013.