Mystery "Summer Snow" Seen in Bushwick and Williamsburg
A mysterious Styrofoam-like substance has been spotted in yards in Bushwick and Williamsburg. “What is this stuff?” asked a Bushwick resident on Facebook. “It’s all over my back yard and the yard at the [cat] adoption event, several miles away [in Williamsburg]. It seems like tiny bits of Styrofoam.” “Summer snow,” joked a commenter. It’s…
A mysterious Styrofoam-like substance has been spotted in yards in Bushwick and Williamsburg.
“What is this stuff?” asked a Bushwick resident on Facebook. “It’s all over my back yard and the yard at the [cat] adoption event, several miles away [in Williamsburg]. It seems like tiny bits of Styrofoam.”
“Summer snow,” joked a commenter. It’s an ingredient in cladding for buildings under construction in the area, theorized other posters. “The fake stucco that’s going up in the neighborhood,” said one. “First the house is covered with Styrofaom squares that are cut into shape (hence the foam bits).” Another Bushwick commenter called it “Hasidic stucco,” saying, “Yeah, it’s the shit they’re cladding all the new building in. Was weeding today and a ton of it was all over everything.”
Feral cats in a Bushwick backyard were covered in the white bits. Thanks to a tipster for the photo.
Anyone else seen this in their neck of the woods or know more about it?
It’s prevalent around many new construction sites. Boerum Hill has its share. Sate Street got inundated one day several months ago.
It’s EIFS (Exterior Insulation & Finish Systems). It’s the ABSOLUTELY cheapest way to finish a building. It’s actually quite energy efficient but it’s uglier than sin and it blankets the whole neighborhood (and eventually aquifers) in styrofoam when they grind it down to shape it.
For your garden, probably no effect (other than being there for over 500 years) since it is used sometimes in potting soil to lighten up and aerate the mix. For marine life, it’s probably really bad if it makes its way into the sewer and is not intercepted by filters before it hits the open water.