Trash stops in Brooklyn run afoul of communities

New York

WHEN Diamond Torres was growing up in north Brooklyn four decades ago, drug dealers and prostitutes walked the streets at night and crime was endemic.

But at least she could open her window.

However bad the situation was years ago, she said, it was better than what exists now: a neighbourhood ruled by the rhythms of a trash transfer station and the rumble of trucks cruising through the streets day and night.

"They spill waste all over," she said. "The rats are unavoidable. They are in our trash 24/7, night and day - they just look at you and are like, 'What up, homie?'"

It is so bad, Ms Torres said, that residents cannot even open their windows because of the dirt and dust whipped up by the constant traffic at the Brooklyn…