A rain storm turned to ice when temperatures plunged on Saturday. It was minimal, and no mishaps were reported… unless you include hazardous overdoses of rock salt spread everywhere.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Gold Flipped for Rock Salt
There was a time when New York City lured immigrants with tales about streets paved in gold. It wasn’t true, of course, but it was symbolic. Similarly, Roosevelt Island’s attraction was its quiet, natural beauty, its calm, peaceful streets with strict limitations on cars and trucks. These days, that’s gone too, the Island upended by cars and streets paved in dissolved rock salt.
Deicing the roads, then the hell with the aftermath
Rock salt is a type of road salt used to deice roads during winter weather. It is made up of sodium chloride, a naturally occurring mineral. When rock salt is used for deicing roads, it dissolves in the water on the road and forms a brine. The brine then lowers the freezing point of the water on the road, which prevents ice from forming.
The environmental impact of rock salt on roads depends on how it is used and disposed of. Rock salt can run off into nearby waterways, polluting the water. It also damages vegetation that comes into contact with it. If rock salt is not disposed of properly, it contaminates soil and groundwater.
How do you properly dispose of rock salt?
Proper disposal of rock salt includes using it following the manufacturer’s instructions and following local ordinances. It should be swept up and disposed of in a landfill or by incineration. If sweeping up the salt it is not possible, it can be plowed into the ground. Rock salt should not be dumped into waterways or on vegetation.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily News
- Fall Prevention for Seniors: Make Your Apartment Safer, Nov. 20Fall prevention for seniors: Sen. Krueger’s Nov. 20 virtual roundtable tours a typical NYC apartment, with tips on landlord changes and balance. RSVP on Zoom.
- Thursday’s PSD blotter: two hospital runs, a trespass summons at 888 MainRIOC’s Nov. 12 PSD blotter lists 15 incidents: six medical calls, two alarms at 546 Main Street, and a late-night trespass at 888 Main Street that ended with a summons.
- Queens Home Prices and Rents Rise in October 2026 as Long Island City Condos Draw BuyersQueens home prices and rents rose in October 2026. See StreetEasy’s housing figures and Long Island City condo contract activity at Radiant and Vesta.
- Medicare Open Enrollment Ends Dec. 7: Get Answers on 2027 ChangesMedicare open enrollment ends Dec. 7. Sen. Krueger’s Nov. 16 virtual town hall covers 2027 premium, deductible and Part D changes, with a HIICAP expert’s Q&A.
- Wednesday’s PSD blotter: two medical calls, a water leak, a custody reportRIOC’s Nov. 11 PSD blotter lists 10 incidents, all on Main Street, including two medical calls at 555 Main Street, a water leak at 560 Main and a custody or visitation report.
The WIRE: Two Futures, One Empty Chair
It is December 6, 2015, and David Stone is writing to Dr. Jack Resnick about a chair that will soon be empty. Dick Lutz is preparing to leave the Main Street WIRE, and Stone has been encouraged to ask whether he might replace him. Seven years of covering art, Cornell Tech and questionable practices inside Public Safety have taught Stone how the paper tells an Island story.
1 COMMENTS