Glass King Recyclers, better known as Alliance, is a noisy place where hundreds of scrap collectors who comb the streets from Berkeley to Lake Merritt bring cans and bottles to redeem for cash.

Although its owners cut a deal with the city of Oakland a year ago in which they agreed to close shop in August, they are not going quietly.

Co-owner Joe Zadik said he agreed to close when the cost of continuing to operate through a rash of fines and legal fees spent fighting them became overwhelming.

There have been two rallies outside City Hall, most recently on Tuesday, as West Oakland residents and observers ponder the impending closure’s impact on the community.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union weighed in with a letter from senior counsel Alan Schlosser to the City Council, urging it to allow Glass King to continue operating until an alternative site can be found.

“We understand that there are people in the neighborhood who have had complaints about some of the recyclers, but a solution that will have such harsh consequences for all of them seems itself harsh” Schlosser wrote.

“Closing a facility that is relied upon by so many vulnerable community members — without providing any alternative resources — will only serve to increase homelessness, panhandling, hunger, and desperation,” he added.

Glass King met with Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney on July 13 to discuss the situation, but McElhaney left after 10 minutes, co-owner Lance Finkel said.

McElhaney’s office has not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Neighbors have complained about the recycling center for more than a decade, calling it a magnet for thieves and the homeless and near-homeless who leave trash and waste. The complaints have grown louder as more people have moved into the neighborhood.

At the recycling center site on Peralta Street on Tuesday, a ragtag crew of people bringing bottles and cans queried Glass King workers who were rolling up the doors hours ahead of the usual 4:30 p.m. closing time.

“When this place closes down, crime in West Oakland is gonna rise like it ain’t never rose before,” said Roslin Sanders, one of the people with items to sell.

“People are gonna do what they gotta do to survive,” said another person who goes by the name Sleepy. “They’re gonna wish they never closed it. Leave it alone.”

“We are concerned about the disparate impact the recycling center’s closure will have on the hundreds of Oakland residents who rely on this facility for their income — a group that is disproportionately made up of the poor, people of color and people with disabilities,” the letter from the ACLU’s Schlosser continued.

Contact Mark Hedin at mhedin@bayareanewsgroup.com