For the first time in 125 years, Greenpoint is getting a new school, but the planned location is giving some residents pause, as it sits close to a state Superfund site.
The School Construction Authority (SCA) announced last month that a 450-seat elementary school will be located at 257 Franklin St. This school, to be part of District 14, looks to meet the enrollment demands along the Greenpoint waterfront, which has added several high rise residential buildings in recent years. The three other elementary schools, P.S. 34, P.S. 110 and P.S. 31 are all at full capacity.
Despite the big news, there have been some concerns about the location. Right across the street from the site is what used to be NuHart Plastic Manufacturing, a vinyl and plastics maker, where the land was classified by the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation as a Class 2 State Superfund site in 2010. A Class 2 Superfund site is defined as a "significant threat to the public health or environment" according to the DEC's website.
The site has been gradually cleaned up over the past 15 years, and "the property owner is conducting the cleanup under strict DEC oversight in accordance with the approved cleanup plan to ensure full protection of public health and the environment," a spokesperson for the DEC said in a statement.
Kevin Ortiz, a SCA spokesperson, said multiple studies, including a recent study conducted in 2023, confirm that contaminants from the NuHart site have not reached the school property.
"A hydraulic barrier, installed last year, extends 25 feet below ground, twice as deep as the area’s groundwater, which prevents the underground chemical plume from migrating," Oritz explained.
He added that the school will be built without a basement or cellar to further reduce risk and the school's environmental plan will be part of the city’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, to ensure continued transparency and community input.
Some community groups, like North Brooklyn Neighbors, have advocated for the school to be built somewhere else, as members believe the continued remediation process will likely harm children.
Despite the concerns, many community leaders embraced the school and its location due to area schools being overcrowded. Community Board 1 unanimously passed a resolution supporting the plan in February, while City Councilman Lincoln Restler said in a statement, "We urgently need a new elementary school in Northern Greenpoint. Our office pushed for consideration of alternative locations and convened our community to solicit feedback from neighbors and young families. Fortunately, there has been significant progress to remediate the NuHart Superfund site and no findings of contaminants at the school location."
Robin Kim, an area resident and mother, said she is glad more schools are being built because there are more families moving to Greenpoint.
However, Vincent Rose, a Greenpoint parent, thinks the area is too congested, with limited parking.
"The school buses will stop the traffic," he said.
Kim acknowledged there may be risks for building a school near a former plastics plant. But then again, she said, the whole city is toxic.
"In the grand scheme of things, you can't avoid hazards," she said. "We'd have to move to Finland to avoid them. There's pros and cons."
The school is expected to be five or six stories with full air conditioning, ADA accessibility, along with an all-electric design to enhance sustainability, according to the SCA. The school's design process will begin soon and then a construction timeline will be released.
