A project in Queens is now underway to help alleviate a stinky situation, while also making things a little prettier for those visiting the waterfront along Flushing Bay.
Residents who live along Flushing Bay have had to deal with the smell of rotten eggs coming from the waterway, and now the issue is perhaps not on its way to being resolved but at least handled.
The dredging project started Wednesday. It is happening around the clock now on about 17.5 acres near an abandoned pier off the Flushing Bay Promenade
Multiple long-reach excavators on floating barges will dredge 91,000 cubic yards of sediment underwater. The sediment removed will be processed and transported to a disposal site to be recycled.
The city's Department of Environmental Protection says the smell is coming from the ground below the water.
"It'll become anaerobic and you'll get a hydrogen sulfite smell from it, and that's what happens: the sediments have been sitting there a very long time and that's been causing some odors in the area," said Pam Elardo, the Deputy Commissioner for Waste Water Management.
And this isn't just an odor that residents are dealing with — local businesses are wrinkling their noses too.
The World's Fair Marina boasts great views of planes taking off from LaGuardia airport, but the Flushing Bay Promenade is also there, so part of this work will not only reduce the problem of the smell but will also include the removal of deteriorated timber piles, an abandoned pier, and non-native trees to improve views of the bay.
The project is projected to cost $34 million. It is also expected to improve the city's waste water system.
Wetland expansion and planting are expected to continue over the next several years, including the maintenance and expansion of three-acres of wetland habitat, which will naturally filter the water in the bay, including mudflats, intertidal marsh, and high marsh.
Dredging is projected to finish up later this year.