A Hempstead Village gravel and trucking company is proposing to build a waste transfer station near homes in the village, and many in the community say they are going to fight it.

Representatives for New York Sand and Stone Inc. are asking the village planning board to approve a 15,000-square-foot waste transfer station on a decontaminated brownfield site at Sewell and Mirschel streets.

Residents who live near the site are concerned it will bring pollution, traffic, rats and toxic materials to their neighborhood. Tempers flared Monday night as they packed a planning board hearing at Hempstead Village Hall to voice their concerns.

Nearly 400 people showed up for the meeting, which spilled out into the hallways. The planning board eventually adjourned the meeting. There is no word on when it will be rescheduled.

Meetings over the same issue have been canceled twice before because the planning board requested that more studies be done to asses how the plan would affect traffic flow and the environment.