The three-story building at 1098 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint is slated to become a six-story apartment building, and before that happens the developer plans to dig out and truck away roughly 355 tons of contaminated soil. That’s according to a city Voluntary Cleanup Program fact sheet issued July 10 by the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation, the agency that supervises cleanups of low- to mid-level polluted land it calls “brownfields.”
The owner, an entity called 1098 Manhattan Avenue, LLC, has applied to enroll the property in the program, which is voluntary but includes a public comment window. That window runs through August 10, 2026, according to the fact sheet from the Office of Environmental Remediation.
An environmental investigation at the site found Volatile Organic Compounds, Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds, and metals above cleanup guidelines in the soil, the fact sheet says. Groundwater samples turned up SVOCs and metals above state quality standards. Soil vapor showed low levels of petroleum-related and chlorinated VOCs, all below the air guideline values set by the New York State Department of Health.
The cleanup plan calls for excavating most of the site to a depth of 2 to 8 feet, and 6 feet down in the rear yard, largely to build the new building’s cellar. The roughly 355 tons of soil and fill that exceed the cleanup targets would be hauled off-site to permitted disposal facilities, the fact sheet says. The developer is pursuing what the program calls Unrestricted Use, or Track 4, cleanup objectives, the strictest tier. The plan also includes a Community Air Monitoring Plan for particulates and VOCs during the work.
The site today is a 2,500-square-foot, three-story mixed-use residential and commercial building with a full cellar, sitting on Block 2488, Lot 3. The proposed project would enlarge it into a six-story residential building with a penthouse and a full cellar, according to the fact sheet.
The fact sheet says asbestos abatement is already finished. Geotechnical borings were set for later that month, and demolition is expected to begin in about two months, followed by the remediation work.
The Remedial Investigation Report and draft Remedial Action Work Plan are posted in the city’s online document repository, and can also be reviewed at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Greenpoint branch at 107 Norman Avenue. The Office of Environmental Remediation says it will review the draft plan and consider public comments before approving a final version, and will issue a second fact sheet before remedial work starts.
Comments can be sent to Shaminder Chawla, director of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, and questions about the project go to project manager Kestana Anokye, whose contact information is listed on the fact sheet. Residents can also call 311 and say they are calling about a property managed by the Voluntary Cleanup Program.
Featured image: Bushwick Daily image
