September 13, 2007

Toxically Challenged? Domino Sugar Factory, Part I

This is the inaugural installment of a new feature that’ll examine environmental conditions at various sites throughout Brooklyn. The topic seems particularly pressing as developers plan more and more housing in areas that were, until very recently, home to heavy industry—and in some cases, still are. It’s well known that many of these areas—like large swaths of Gowanus, Red Hook, Williamsburg and Greenpoint, to name just a few—often have concomitant legacies of toxic contamination. What’s less known is the extent of pollution on specific sites; how one goes about identifying potential health risks; and, basically, whether moving to a shiny new condo in one of these neighborhoods sometimes amounts to moving to a toxic dump. We developed the feature along with Toxics Targeting, a company that’s mapped more than 21,000 government-reported toxic sites throughout New York City (see bottom for more info).

We decided the Domino Sugar factory, where plans to develop thousands of units of housing are picking up speed, would be a perfect place to start. Sugar refining occurred on the massive Williamsburg waterfront site from the 1850s until 2004, when American Sugar Refining pulled the plug on its operations and sold off the properties. Although the Domino factory was a hive of industrial activity for well over a century, its history—and the future of development efforts on the land—are inextricably linked to the industrial and manufacturing businesses all around it. Properties neighboring the Domino include the radioactive waste facility Radiac; ConEd and New York Power Authority plants; a brownfield; and a lot the Department of Environmental Protection has designated an “E” site, which signifies that it’s believed to be a hotbed of hazardous materials. In fact, compared to the environmental challenges at neighboring sites, the data tied to the Domino is relatively mild. This jibes with the developer's spin on the situation. At a press conference back on July 24, what Michael Lappin, CEO of the developer CPC Resources, said that there were "no major environmental issues." Of course that doesn't mean there are no issues at all...

Continue reading "Toxically Challenged? Domino Sugar Factory, Part I"

Posted by Gabby at 9:35 AM | Comments (6)
Categories: Development, Environmental