[CPEO-BIF] "How Contaminated Land on the Gowanus Became a Luxury Housing Development, " Brooklyn, New York

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

How Contaminated Land on the Gowanus Became a Luxury Housing Development

By Leslie Albrecht 
DNA Info
May 3, 2016

GOWANUS - The gleaming 12-story apartment building that opened to renters last month at 365 Bond St. counts a rooftop lounge, 24-hour concierge, spin studio and boat launch among its deluxe amenities.

But you won't find these waterfront tenants dipping their toes in the water or digging a vegetable garden in the soil. That's because 365 Bond St. sits along the heavily polluted Gowanus Canal on a brownfield site — land where industrial use left contaminants in the soil.

Industrial pollution is common in Gowanus, but with proximity to brownstone Brooklyn, an expanding restaurant scene and growing interest from tech companies, the neighborhood is among the borough's hottest real estate markets.

…

State environmental laws prohibit digging vegetable gardens and using the property's groundwater for drinking water. The site also has an underground system of fans and vents that sucks contaminants out of the ground and moves them away from the building. Inspectors will regularly test the air and report the results to the state.

...

For the entire article, see
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160503/gowanus/how-contaminated-land-on-gowanus-became-luxury-housing-development

--

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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