2012 CPEO Brownfields List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2012 18:54:48 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-brownfields
Subject: Re: [CPEO-BIF] 2340 (really 2350) Fifth Avenue, Harlem, New York
 
There seems to be a problem with transparency in New York City.

At Info Tech High School in Long Island City (Queens), parents, students, and staff were unaware that their building was a former factory with toxic releases. Fortunately, there seemed to be no unacceptable exposures. See http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/InfoTech.pdf

However, at the Bronx New School, for the life of the Jerome Ave. campus students and staff were exposed to unacceptable levels of TCE, and even when the Department of Education recognized the problem it said nothing until after closing the school. See http://www.cpeo.org/ pubs/PS51xVaporIntrusion.pdf

And now, in a former school that was closed because of toxic air in 1997, the state says it was not obligated to tell current tenants about their exposures.

Who will be next?

Lenny


On Jul 10, 2012, at 6:44 PM, Lenny Siegel wrote:

State Senator Wants Hearings on Toxic Rental

DEC says Harlem tenants treated fairly, but will change notification policy

By Chris Glorioso and Tom Burke
NBC TV-4 News (New York City)
July 10, 2012

A New York state senator is calling for hearings after an NBC 4 I- Team investigation revealed that tenants of a Harlem building were never told of the site’s toxic history before they signed rental agreements.

"It was a shocking thing," said State Sen. Bill Perkins of Harlem. "It was a disturbing thing."

Perkins said he wants to force the Department of Environmental Conservation to be more active in notifying renters about Superfund sites, even if landlords don't. "I'm angry that they have to be forced," said Perkins. "I mean, come on, Department of Environmental Conservation. This should not have to be brought up in an investigation. This should be the number one concern."

...

For the entire follow-up story, see
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/I-Team-State-Senator-Wants- Hearings-on-Toxic-Rental-161956615.html

On Jul 10, 2012, at 12:26 AM, Lenny Siegel wrote:

Harlem Building's Toxic History Not Revealed To Tenants
Some tenants say they have been using the building for years, spending eight and ten hours a day inside

By Chris Glorioso and Tom Burke
|NBC 4-TV News (New York)
July 9, 2012

Dozens of artists, entrepreneurs and non-profits are renting space in a Harlem building with a toxic past, and they were never told before signing rental agreements, NBC 4 New York's I-Team has learned.

In fact, some tenants say they have been using the building for years, spending eight and ten hours a day inside.

Syn Martinez, who runs a fitness boot camp in the building, said he would not have rented space there if he knew it was a Superfund site.

Martinez is among dozens of small business owners and artists renting space in the building. All said they were never told the building contained potentially hazardous vapors or toxic material.

The building at 2350 Fifth Ave. was listed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation as a "Class 2 Superfund site" in 1998.

...

For the entire story, see
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/I-Team-Harlem-Buildings- Toxic-History-Not-Revealed-To-Tenants-161831725.html

For background, see
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/2350Fifth.pdf and
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/2350FifthROD.pdf

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Brownfields mailing list
Brownfields@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/brownfields-cpeo.org

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