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Yaphank residents frustrated with plan to bring new waste transfer station to the area

The company Winter Brothers Waste Systems wants to build a waste transfer station across the street from the Brookhaven Town Landfill.

News 12 Staff

Oct 13, 2022, 2:35 AM

Updated 770 days ago

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Property owners in the Yaphank area say they are done being Suffolk County's dumping ground.
The company Winter Brothers Waste Systems wants to build a waste transfer station across the street from the Brookhaven Town Landfill.
The landfill is set to close in 2024 when it reaches capacity, but there are plans to build a new garbage facility across the street.
The new facility, called Winters Rail Terminal, would cart trash off of Long Island by train.
Winter Bros. says this is the most environmentally friendly way to proceed, and it would get 175 trucks off Long Island roads every day.
Those who would living near the dump, however, are not happy about what it would mean for their neighborhood.
"It's either you keep piling more garbage on top of garbage and now across the street you're doing the same exact thing," says Cheryl Richuitti, of Bellport "It's not fair to us."
Brookhaven NAACP President Georgette Grier-Key says the company is avoiding the Brookhaven Town's zoning regulations by going through the federal Surface Transportation Board because it wants to operate a railroad.
"This is a purposeful plan by design to put it in our neighborhood because nobody else wants it and nobody else will take it," Grier-Key says. "And that's why they're trying to sneak it by us because we don't want to take it either."
Winter Bros. Senior Vice President Will Flower says the company is working closely with regulators, the town and local communities.
The Town of Brookhaven is not commenting because they say no official applications have been submitted.