I just received an email from a resident who lives near that intersection. He writes:
"The smell has been on and off during the winter months with the most likely culprit being the Bayside Oil depot and possibly as a result of their tanks being filled from a barge. Regardless, when that oil/petroleum smell is in the air it is overwhelming and strong enough to smell inside if you don't shut and lock all windows for those of us who live nearby."
Apparently, the smell is just one of the issues. Noise and dust from other nearby businesses are also making things tough for those living close to the corner of 9th and Smith Street.
Worried about health concerns, a small group of residents has now organized to shed light on this quality of life issue. Hoping to gather supporting data, the group is circulating a survey on Surveymonkey.
If you live nearby, you may want to take a few minutes to answer some quick questions. You can access the "Smith Street Stank, Dust And Noise Survey" here.
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6 comments:
So let me get this right...people move next to the Gowanus freaking Canal, a stinking, festering sewer for a century, down the block from an oil depot and downwind from an Expressway, and as SHOCKED, SHOCKED to discover the air might not quite be up to snuff?
Ditto what 3:10 PM said.
NIMBY how dare they continue to keep their business open after we have gentrified that section of the neighborhood!
These people should either accept the fact that they moved next to an active oil depot, a scrap metal yard, and the canal - or move. These people are idiots
May I remind everyone that one side of Smith Street near 9th Street is residential (with a commercial overlay) while the opposite side nearer the Canal is zoned industrial. When I first posted about the odor, residents on Dennett Place and as far as Court Street were complaining.
And many people from as far as Henry Street take the subway at 9th Street
So, yes, there has always been industry there, but obviously something has happened over the last two years to make the situation a bit worse.
It is all about businesses co-existing with residents and vice versa. That's all. No need to insult.
I've lived on lower court for 15 years, taking the subway at Smith & 9 every day. This smell is new – it's been about a year of it. You can smell it even on the weekends, even when Bayside Oil is not operating (I don't believe). To me it has less of a petroleum smell and more of a solvent smell. It has been very bad recently. I have smelled it as far away as Court & 3rd Place. It does seem to be coming from somewhere south of 9th St. But hard to tell where.
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