New York Construction Report staff writer
The city of New York has cleaned 165 acres of contaminated land over the past three years and redeveloped it into new uses including 28,000 units of housing — 12,000 of which are affordable — as well as 16 new schools, 2.9 million square feet of community space, and 6.1 million square feet of commercial space.
“New York City’s most valuable resource is our land — and our Office of Environmental Remediation does incredible work to make sure we can use every square foot safely and in a healthy manner,” said Mayor Adams. “The 165 acres we’ve cleaned up have allowed us to house tens of thousands of our neighbors, put thousands of students in school seats, and build new plazas, parks, and open spaces across the city..”
Established in 2008 as part of New York City’s PlaNYC sustainability plan, Office of Environmental Remediation designs and operates municipal programs to promote cleanup and redevelopment of vacant contaminated land. Nearly 70 percent of OER’s projects are in environmental justice areas. After the cleanups are completed, projects are eligible for a Green Property Plaque, indicating that the site’s successful cleanup protects public health and the environment, and the building is safe to work and/or live in.
Projects recently completed include:
Hope Walton Apartments at 1761 Walton Avenue in the Bronx
- vacant property was redeveloped into a new 14-story building with 103 affordable units, 15 percent of which were set aside for formerly homeless households. The new building also includes a 9,900 square-foot community gymnasium with a regulation-size basketball court and fitness center. To make the building safe for occupants, the development team implemented an OER-approved remedy that included excavation and removal of contaminated soil.
Rheingold Affordable Senior Residences at 11–23 Montieth Street in Williamsburg
- worked with OER to address soil contamination before constructing a new eight-story, 93-unit supportive housing development for seniors. The new building includes supportive services, food pantry, and a rooftop garden. Given the property’s history of manufacturing and automotive uses, the developer worked with OER to excavate and remove contaminated soil and install a vapor barrier and engineered system to ensure the site remains protected.
111-10 Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst
- developed into the Tommy L. Agee Educational Campus, a 646-seat school that serves students from grades six through eight. The development team worked with OER to remove contaminated soil and install a depressurization system to protect students, teachers, and staff from any residual contaminants.
1169 River Avenue in the Bronx
- one of the city’s largest supportive housing developments, with 245 affordable units for formerly homeless individuals and families. The project includes 148 total supportive units, and the rest are set aside for low-income families. The building also hosts a specialized District 75 school. OER oversaw the developer’s excavation and removal of contaminated soil, as well as community air monitoring.
“Remediating our polluted land is critical for a sustainable future and opens a wealth of opportunities for developing vital housing and infrastructure,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “Today, we celebrate a historic milestone of over 1,000 cleanups remediating 165 acres — the equivalent of over 120 football fields. This has freed up space for us to build 12,000 much-needed affordable housing units, 16 schools for our children, and 2.9 million square feet for community space.”
