Manhattan Grit Chamber
110th Street (at the FDR Drive on the East River)
This building handles sewage from much of Upper Manhattan (about 1/3 of the city's total), removing solid materials from the sewage before the liquid flows to a water treatment plant on Wards Island and, ultimately, into the East River. This facility opened in 1937 along with the Wards Island plant and the city's other grit chamber in the Bronx, which also empties into the Wards Island plant. The "screenings" are collected into 10-cubic-yard garbage containers and driven to Wards Island before ultimately being shipped to landfills out of state.
The NY Times had an excellent article in 2006 (available HERE) with a description of the operation of the facility, including an internal photo and an enumeration of some of the terrifying things that come flowing in from the city's sewers on a daily basis.
Manhattan Grit Chamber
Manhattan Grit Chamber