A massive oil spill said to surpass the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska. New York City’s largest wastewater treatment plant. One of the top polluted waterways—What other neighborhood can boast such an impressive track record and history?

On the northern end of Brooklyn lies Greenpoint, a mainly Polish neighborhood that has also begun to feel the effects of gentrification as young “hipsters” spill over from Williamsburg. However, underneath the quiet neighborhood and chic shops lies a legacy of industrial activity and operations that has left the area a string of health and environmental problems.

Greenpoint is home to Newtown Creek, one of the most polluted waterways in the Northeast. Once a green and luscious 4 mile stunner is now stagnant water accumulating gallons of rainwater runoff, domestic sewage and industrial garbage.

Driving over the JJ Byrne Memorial Bridge, the modernized digester “eggs” of the Newtown Creek are unmistakable as well as the mired creek it overlooks. Its surroundings are nothing but a scrap iron yard, construction sites and lots.

The plant processes millions of gallons of residential and commercial waste from East Manhattan, Northern Brooklyn and parts of Western Queens. In 2003, the plant upgraded to the 8 aesthetically pleasing “eggs” that are engineered to process up to 1.5 million gallons of sludge everyday yet have a capacity of about 3 million gallons in the event of flooding. Even with the reputation of this infamous structure, it is quite a vision at night when its professionally designed blue light display illuminates the plant.

Now, imagine living in the neighborhood that overlooks these majestic (and ironic) waste treatment structures. In such a heavily populated city, you’re looking most of the city’s waste just a few skips away from home.

“I’m only around here in the morning and at night but, every once in a while, you catch a whiff of something”, said Hector Melenedz, who works at the Department of Health and Department of Transportation building across the street from the plant.

While the obvious problem that comes up when you have a wastewater plant anywhere is foul odors, let’s look at what other issues arise.

In November 2008, the state Department of Environmental Conservation settled for $27.5 million in fines that were brought against the Newtown Creek sewage treatment plat for a history of violations of federal environmental standards.

For example, the city’s combined sewage overflow system (CSO) is a major contributor to the creek’s pollution as well. The CSO generally collects wastewater from storm runoff and buildings. however when it rains, the system gets overloaded and all this excess sewage spills over into the Creek.

Now, upgrades and expansion plans are in tow to bring everything in compliance with the new law as well as to amend for past mistakes.“There’s a lot of trucks coming in and out…construction for expanding the plant. But we’re talking about a lot more air pollution with all the construction and garbage trucks that are already going to the storage facility”, said Hector Melenedz, who works at the Department of Health and Department of Transportation building across the street from the plant.

Double score….wastewater and waste.

Even though the new plants were supposed to put an end to the awful stenches, courtesy of the sewage system, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Long time Greenpoint resident and Newtown Creek Wastewater Plant neighbor, John Shareiko, said in an interview, “The odors are definitely there but what’re you going to do about it? Those things aren’t going anywhere.”

Greenpoint residents aren’t the only ones feeling the effect of the sewage plants as Williamsburg locals recently filed complaints on sewers emitting foul odors.

In the September 12th issue of the Brooklyn Eagle, it was reported that these unmistakable smells were wafting out from the sewers along Graham Ave. The residents’ complaints were never directly addressed until the DEP took cosmetic measures and placed deodorizers to cover the smell.

Yet, how long will these temporary solutions last?

With the biggest facility and largest processing capacity of the 14 wastewater treatment plants in NYC comes great responsibility. Not only is the Newtown Creek plant the source of gag-worthy smells, its also one of Brooklyn’s biggest air polluters, according to the Habitatmap.org data.

The plant releases thousands of pounds of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides and more. Carbon monoxide poisoning in either low or high levels are toxic if exposed to. Nitrogen oxides, when combined with volatile organic compounds, can potentially cause lung damage while sulfur dioxide can be attributed to respiratory symptoms.

Not surprisingly, asthma, emphysema and bronchitis are 25% higher in this part of Brooklyn than the rest of the city, as reported by Congresswoman Nydia M. Velasquez in a statement to the House of Representatives.

When someone in the Big Apple flushes the toilet, it ends up here. When the lights and glamour of Times Square lights up, the generators here get working.

When garbage is tossed out, trucks carry them to the Department of Sanitation storage right next to the plant.

The allure of the big city doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon as thousands of tourists still flock to the city every year. However, what does this mean for the overburdened neighborhood that houses a polluted waterway and a massive sewage dome? The community has had its fair share of disasters and risks.  The city owes it to this neighborhood to make amends with the issues at hand and find long term solutions. It’s certainly a favor and duty long overdue.