Decades back, few — if any — would oppose a plan to open a concrete plant in industrial Red Hook. But today, it's a different story. Residents of the quickly gentrifying neighborhood have petitioned and picketed in attempts to stop U.S. Concrete from opening a factory this month that they fear will scatter airborne particles "to the yellow-and-blue Ikea next door, heavily used baseball fields across the street, and a 2.75-acre farm nearby on a former playground," according to the Times. Community activist John McGettrick laid it out for the paper of record: “There’s a certain irony that we have a mayor talking about no smoking in parks, but he has no problem allowing the construction of a concrete plant that would shower cement dust on children in the park,” he said.

Prosecutors are poised to slap New York's top concrete testing company with some serious racketeering and fraud charges. After a nine month investigation, the DA is urging a grand jury to vote for charges against at least a dozen employees of 
