Public comment period opens on a cleanup plan for contaminated site on the Gowanus Canal

September 28, 2016 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The President Street Properties site is bound by President, Bond and Carroll streets and the Gowanus Canal. Imagery and map data © Google

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The state Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is inviting the public to comment on a proposed plan to investigate contamination at a site in Gowanus.

Dubbed the President Street Properties site and bound by President, Bond and Carroll streets and the Gowanus Canal, the 1.24-acre site has a long history of housing businesses like auto salvage dismantling operations, which entailed draining gas, oil, power steering fluid, antifreeze and transmission fluid into barrels.

Records regarding salvage operations and waste product removals were lost in 1989-1990 when the property and its contents were seized by the federal government. The property was subsequently returned, but the records were not.

The property is currently occupied by a bus service, maintenance and parking facility; a parking lot; a former section of President Street; and a two-story commercial storage building. It is owned by Daniel Tinneny of Staten Island under the name 426 President Street LLC.

According to NYSDEC, the intended use of the site will be commercial (its current use is described as commercial and industrial), but no further details were available at press time regarding what the final commercial use will entail.

The NYSDEC’s investigation and comments are limited to the remediation plan. Land use issues — if any — would be addressed down the road.

The draft investigation work plan was submitted to NYSDEC under New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. The investigation will be performed by 426 President Street LLC, with oversight by NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

NYSDEC is accepting public comments through Oct. 26, 2016. The fact sheet on the project can be found at www.dec.ny.gov/data/der/factsheet/c224221riwp.pdf