Queens residents say they're choking on fumes as a foul stench blankets their community.

In the industrial sliver of Long Island City known as Blissville, neighbors say the Green Asphalt facility has yet to clean up its act.

"You're constantly on edge"

"It smells like burning oil, burning tires," Blissville Civic Association member Tom Mituzas said. 

The asphalt recycling plant touts its eco-friendly processing of reclaimed pavement, but neighbors along Newtown Creek say the acrid smog it regularly pumps out looks anything but clean.

"When the smoke goes off, you just know it. You're constantly on edge," longtime Blissville resident Kim Dossin said.

Local volunteers planted trees donated by the Parks Department across the street from the facility as part of a Climate Week initiative, hoping the beautification project might also send a clean-air message to Green Asphalt.

Experts say exposure to asphalt fumes can cause a host of health issues including headaches, skin rash, lung disease and even skin cancer. Green Asphalt declined to address possible health concerns.

"We are now hiding in our apartments. It's disgusting," Dossin said.

Green Asphalt ordered to raise smokestack height

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it has executed an order on consent with Green Asphalt, which comes with a fine of $25,000 for record-keeping and nuisance violations. It has ordered the facility to monitor air quality and double the height of its smokestack by December to avoid an additional $99,500 fine.

Green Asphalt told CBS News New York in a statement: "Green Asphalt is working to complete the steps required by NYS DEC's Consent Order." The company declined to disclose what contaminants are contained in its fumes.

Meanwhile, the Department of Buildings told CBS News New York that Green Asphalt has not filed for a permit to raise the smokestack.

For some, pushing fumes higher into the air is an imperfect but urgent solution. 

"The smog, the pollution is street level. You can't walk out of your house without it getting in your face," Mituzas said.

Senator calls facility's response to complaints "unacceptable"

Sen. Kristen Gonzalez is calling for transparency as she fields air-quality complaints from across the water in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 

"It's not just about a single community and a single location. I think it's about sending a broader message and standard for the rest of the city," she said.

Gonzalez says more than 100 people attended a recent town hall on the matter, where she says Green Asphalt dodged accountability. 

"Their response has been unacceptable up until this point," she said. 

The DEC told CBS News New York it is authorized to issue more fines should violations continue, adding that it can seek a shutdown of a facility as part of a hearing before an administrative law judge.

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