There was no shortage of fireworks at a public meeting on Wednesday to discuss the cleanup process of a highly contaminated site in Gowanus, as irate residents continued to express frustration with the proposed remediation process.
Representatives from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation alongside representatives from the New York State Department of Health, presented updates on the proposed cleanup of the former Manufactured Gas Plant site, on the corner of Smith and 5th Streets. The plant left the soil heavily polluted with cool tar waste, which necessitates remediation before it can be repurposed as a mixed-used development. Known as Gowanus Green, the development would include approximately 955 units of 100% affordable housing, a new school, retail and community space, and a 1.5-acre public park.
Many residents have voiced support for the entire site to be included in the state Superfund, as opposed to cutting it into parcels and allowing parts to be remediated under the Brownfield Cleanup program, which allows volunteers from the private sector to clean the contaminated areas.
Katia Kelly, member of the advocacy group Voice of Gowanus, did not hold back.
“It’s all already decided, and this just is a big show, and it doesn’t feel good,” Kelly said to a round of applause. “It feels as though you’re on the side of the developer, and that our health and the health of future residents is just not taken into consideration here.”
Lisa Gordon, an environmental engineer at the DEC’s Division of Environmental Remediation, said the agreement under the BCP would facilitate a cleanup that is “faster and more effective,” adding that the DEC can’t terminate the agreement with BCP without due cause.
“We have more tools in this toolbox to work with than we would have in any other program,” Gordon said. “This process allows us to phase and focus our work, in concert with the interested parties that are investing in the remediation of these sites. They’re under an agreement with the DEC as a volunteer to come in and work with National Grid, who is a participant in the program.”
Gordon added that remediating in segments “is much more efficient to move it forward in these phases, ensuring the continuity of the remedy across the entire parcel.”
Aaron Fischer, project manager and environmental engineer at DEC, stated that “the remedy at play is extremely robust. We’re going about 50 ft below grade. We’re solidifying that mass. The leachability is going to be tremendously mitigated.”
National Grid has been overseeing that decontamination effort, but the cleanup process was halted when the Environmental Protection Agency changed its guidelines in 2024 to focus on containing contaminated groundwater.
In-situ solidification, a remediation process where concrete is injected into the soil to keep contaminated areas from moving, is the proposed method to contain the groundwater and trap volatile organic compounds. But some residents are apprehensive about the safety of this technique, instead looking for the total removal of the contaminated soil.
Quarterly measurements of groundwater samplings will be tested unless trends suggest a need for more testing, as well as a yearly sampling of the building once it’s established, according to Fischer.
The meeting was replete with interjections, outbursts and walkouts.
Jack Riccobono, a Voice of Gowanus member, demanded that DEC “show us the money” regarding how much money National Grid has spent so far on the clean-up.
He also said the DEC has yet to respond to the written comments submitted in December, and asked the DEC to release a plan for the total site.
“You are pushing this plan through and you have not even responded to these comments that we spent time and energy putting together for you during the comment period, and you ignore us.”
Gordon said the DEC has been responding to community concerns and elected officials, adding that the DEC is continuing to solicit public input.
The site is adjacent to the Gowanus Canal, which the EPA has designated as “one of the nation's most seriously contaminated water bodies,” because the canal's sediment contains high levels of a dozen contaminants.
Joan Salome-Rodriguez said the meeting was more of the same.
“They’re locked in,” Salome-Rodriguez said. “They made these agreements.”
