Greenpoint development to be built on top of toxic soil too deep to remove

Published Apr 21, 2024

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Published Apr 21, 2024

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A new apartment complex is rising atop one of Brooklyn’s most polluted sites after its developers and state environmental regulators abandoned their plan to fully remove the deeply contaminated soil underground.

Crews earlier this month began pouring the foundation for an eight-story complex called NuHart West, named after the former NuHart Plastic Manufacturing site on Dupont Street in Greenpoint, which produced, stored, and shipped plastic and vinyl products for more than 50 years.

NuHart polluted the ground so much that the Department of Environmental Conservation deemed the area a state Superfund site in 2010. The soil and groundwater is filled with hormone-disrupting phthalates, which are typically added to plastics to make them more pliable, and trichloroethylene, or TCE, a human carcinogen. The chemicals leaked from a number of underground storage tanks that were left behind in 2004 by the factory's original operators, according to a state assessment of the site.

Four years ago, a contractor hired by the developer and approved by the state DEC began to remove the contaminated soil ahead of construction. But that plan changed in January when regulators and the site’s developer, Madison Realty Capital, discovered the toxic soil was deeper than was originally estimated. They decided that continuing to dig could cause structural damage to the building, according to legal documents about the site's cleanup and comments at several recent public meetings.

The developer and state regulators settled on a solution: mixing the remaining contaminated soil with concrete to create blocks 20 to 25 feet below the building’s foundation. Similar plans are common at other polluted sites around the city, such as Gowanus. The foundation is now scheduled to be finished in May, and the whole structure is estimated to be completed in 2025.

But the decision to leave chemicals in the ground alarmed some locals, who only learned about the change after it had been completed.

“It's disappointing that the cleanup isn't going to be to the same level that it was originally proposed, but, hopefully, this new method is protective of public health,” said Lael Goodman, a program manager with North Brooklyn Neighbors, who will be working with NYU’s Division of Environmental Medicine to study health and environmental effects of the NuHart site.

While it's common for the public to be notified of a change in remediation plans before its actually implemented, it’s not required.

Madison Realty Capital officials say they’re on track to meet a June 15, 2026 deadline for a 421-a developer tax break tied to units of affordable housing that will be part of the 400,000-square-foot project. The DEC said there is a slight possibility the site’s remediation plan may change again after the public comment period has ended if new information comes to light. That would likely result in more remediation at the site and delay construction.

Zach Kadden, Madison Realty Capital’s managing director of development, said during a February public meeting that he sees “a light at the end of the tunnel to clean up NuHart, which is a long time coming.”

While the state and developer have already proceeded with the plan to leave some of the contamination underground, environmental officials are still seeking public comment until April 24.

The irony of seeking comment on a plan that’s already complete was not lost on some concerned residents.

“They did what they did in spite of what concerns that were put out there,” said Steve Chesler, a longtime Greenpoint resident.

Over the past decade, the NuHart site has changed hands numerous times and has been mired in legal battles. In November 2022, Madison Realty Capital took over the site – and responsibility for cleaning up the site’s contamination – after its previous owner went bankrupt.

Jane O’Connell, DEC’s remediation manager for the site, said the agency is “watching [Madison Realty Capital] very carefully” to ensure the site’s cleaned up properly.

“If they didn't do it right, they've got to go back and do it again,” O’Connell said.

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