Queens electeds look to stop eviction of composting site
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Queens pols push against eviction of composting site from Queensbridge park. Photo by Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit
By Ryan Schwach
A group of Western Queens elected officials are fighting against a Parks Department plan to evict a popular composting site in their community.
On Friday, councilmembers rallied alongside Big Reuse, a composting site in Queensbridge, that has been told to leave so the space can be used to create a parking lot for Parks Department equipment, the officials say.
But lawmakers say the composting site is a necessity for their constituents – many of whom live in neighborhoods with high rates of pollution – and the city’s environmental efforts as a whole.
"Big Reuse deserves a dedicated space in our district to create the compost that sustains our street trees, educate the public, and create opportunities for volunteers as they have for the past decade,” said Councilmember Julie Won. “We demand that NYC Parks allow Big Reuse to remain at their Queensbridge Composting Site to put the needs of people over creating a parking lot for city vehicles. Without the vital work Big Reuse has done at their site, we would not be able to address sustainability, food insecurity, and environmentalism in our city.”
According to NYC Parks, capital improvements require them to move a small maintenance parking lot, which currently occupies the future location of Queensbridge Baby Park, to Big Reuse’s location. But officials say that Big Reuse’s composting site falls outside of the project footprint for Queensbridge Baby Park, and preservation of the site has garnered widespread support from the community.
“Big Reuse's community composting brings neighbors together in the fight for a more sustainable New York City," said Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, the chair of the Committee on Parks and Recreation. "The organization deserves a stable home, as soon as possible so they can continue their service to Queens. NYC Parks, Sanitation – let’s do the right thing and figure this out.”
Big Reuse recently launched a letter-writing campaign to push against the plan, submitting over 2,500 signatures to Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue.
Community boards and other environmental groups have joined in supporting Big Reuse.
“With the overwhelming support of residents, elected officials, and community organizations it makes no sense to evict our composting site to create an unnecessary parking lot for 3 storage containers and a couple vehicles,” said Justin Green the executive director of Big Reuse. “Big Reuse has composted Parks waste under the Queensboro Bridge for over a decade - making compost to improve the degraded soils in Parks, community gardens, and street gardens. Our composting site should be considered an essential part of Parks and the City’s sustainability efforts. Climate change is accelerating - we need to prioritize sustainability over parking.”
The compositing site has been open since 2014, and composts the Parks Department’s leaf and yard waste, as well as residential food scraps. Annually, it produces 700 yards of compost for Queens’ parks.
