by Cris Italia
"In addition to violating environmental laws, the company created a nuisance and an eyesore for residents of the community," Spitzer said. "My office will work with the DEC to prosecute those who violate environmental laws as a matter of convenience."
After alleged improper handling and storage of solid waste, the DEC issued several warnings that were ignored by Gator management. Then, on Oct. 23, in Nassau County State Supreme Court, Justice Robert Roberto signed a temporary restraining order prohibiting Gator from bringing any additional waste to its site until at least Nov. 3. At that time attorneys for the state and the company are scheduled to appear before Roberto for a hearing on the matter.
"[This] can severely diminish the quality of life in neighborhoods and damage the health of surrounding natural resources," said DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty in a release. "This company has displayed a blatant disregard for environmental regulations and the well-being of the community."
The lawsuit named Oceanside residents and former Gator owners Brian Levine and Nathan Serota. The suit claims that the DEC entered six separate consent orders from 1990 to 2000, in which Gator was assessed civil penalties for violating the solid-waste laws and in which Gator agreed to come into compliance, but the company either failed to do so or did so for a short time.
"Gator is a company that is supposed to take in construction and demolition waste," said Judith Enck, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. "They were bringing in a lot more general waste."
In August 2002, 200 firefighters were needed to put out a blaze at the site. Then Oceanside Fire Department Chief Kris Andoos said it wasn't the first fire at Gator. "The garbage just builds up for a long time," Andoos said at the scene. "It happens, but there isn't anything we can say to [the company] to prevent this fire from happening."
The lawsuit also claims that Gator operated without a valid permit from 1990 to 1999. The company was granted a permit from the DEC in 1999, but immediately violated its conditions by stockpiling excessive volumes of waste at the site.
Inspections conducted by the DEC between August 2002 and August 2003 indicated that the company had made little, if any, effort to address the violations documented in the 2002 consent order. The DEC also found that the company had piled up 10,700 cubic yards of waste, more than 10 times the allowable maximum of 1,000 cubic yards.
Gator Recycling, previously known as the B&A Carting Company and Tri-L Recycling Corp., housed trash piles approximately 25 feet high and nearly 500 feet in circumference. All this on a four-acre parcel of land near residential neighborhoods. The piles, still visible, contain wood, plastic, furniture, drywall, insulation, mattresses, roofing shingles, broken sinks, toilets, bathtubs and other debris.
Calls to current Gator management went unreturned, but an unidentified employee at the site said the company has every intentions of meeting the DEC demands. "We are going to try and get this all out of here in a couple of weeks," the man said. After several attempts to reach Brian Levine, there was no response on his behalf from his family or attorneys.
