Trendy NYC area unplugs nose as asphalt plant shutters, killing Greenpoint Stink

Locals were finally able to unplug their noses this weekend after a Greenpoint asphalt recycling center famous for spewing noxious fumes through the trendy nabes closed off its stinky ports.Green Asphalt was forced to shut down this week after it was unable to raise its smokestacks by a state-mandated deadline.And although the closure is likely temporary, locals in north Brooklyn and across the water in Queens are breathing a sigh of relief — for now.“You notice the air — you notice the difference,” said Tom Mituzas, a member of the Blissville Civic Organization and longtime neighborhood resident.

“What we didn’t experience today is any kind of tearing of the eyes, cough in the back of the throat.”Green Asphalt had been facing a mandate to double the size of its smokestacks to 90 feet as part of an agreement made with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.The company announced last week that it would be suspending its service “as part of our efforts to be a responsible neighbor.”“That deadline was put in place to raise our stack which will help mitigate any unwanted odors in the community.Due to forces beyond our control that deadline will not be met, and we feel it is only prudent to temporarily shut down until it is complete,” a spokesperson told The Post in a statement.Air pollution in the enclave plummeted within hours of the shutdown, dropping from a concerning air quality score of 120 — which warns those with health risks to stay inside — at 2:30 a.m.

Thursday to an incredible “satisfactory” score of 13 by noon, a pollution monitor managed by the Blissville Civic Association shows.The neighborhood has largely remained in the green since, though with a few spikes reaching “acceptable” territory.Green Asphalt could not say why it was not able to meet the deadline despite going into the agreement with the DEC six months prior.

The schedule of compliance issued in June indicated that the increased height would help...