As The Courier went to press on Tuesday, July 15, the MTA promised to “take corrective action” regarding the creosote still dripping from the elevated J line in Richmond Hill and Woodhaven, but no one showed by end of day. (PHOTO COURTESY THE RHBA) Nearly a year to the day after The Courier ran an article on the “sticky mess from above” - the creosote dripping from the elevated J line in Richmond Hill and Woodhaven - the problem is still not fixed, despite efforts by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
“It’s a problem, and I know the MTA is trying to address it,” said Wendy Bowne, Second Vice President of the Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA).
According to the web site for FELA, or the Federal Employers Liability Act, “Creosote is the name used for numerous substances that are produced using high temperature treatment of coal, certain woods, or resin from the creosote bush.
Widely used and unregulated for almost two centuries, creosote can be found in thousands of miles of railroad tracks and rail yards across the country. However, recent research has linked creosote to a number of health hazards, including convulsions, liver disease, cancer, and even death.”
In August of 2007, then-Governor Eliot Spitzer partially banned the manufacture, sale and use of creosote in New York State, but it did not pertain to the J line.
In the past year, Bowne said, the MTA has tried putting a plastic covering over the railroad ties — from which the creosote drips — but “it wasn’t working. It was still seeping through.”
Now, she said, they are trying cloth tarping, “but these are worse.”
And this past spring, with the urging of Senator Serphin Maltese, the MTA actually replaced the ties in an effort to curtail the problem, but Bowne said, “As soon as the weather gets warm it starts dripping.”
She said it was particularly bad during the spring heat wave. Areas worst affected, she said, were between 111th and 110th Streets and by the old Le Cordon Bleu caterers.
“I went on vacation [for one week],” she said, “and when I came back I saw the damage.”
Shaaker Bhuiyan, Maltese’s Deputy Chief of Staff, knows first hand what kind of damage creosote leaves behind.
The chemical dripped onto the hood of his mocha-colored Nissan Altima and “Ate the paint. Now there’s just black spots,” he said, noting that he has yet to get an estimate for repairs.
“Those ties are just not working,” Bhuiyan said. “Plastic ties can only absorb so much creosote. It’s like we’re just putting a Band-Aid on it.”
On Tuesday, July 15, a spokesperson for the MTA told The Courier as it went to press that they would send representatives to the area that day “and take corrective action.”
“We’re glad you brought this to our attention, and we’ll definitely take care of it,” he continued. By 4:30 p.m., no one had shown up.
