by Kim M 
Since last Thursday’s meeting, many of you have written me personally expressing concerns about Nuhart’s status and what it means for the hood when a Superfund cleans up its act and turns into an “affordable luxury condo building”. Sadly, what is happening at Nuhart is not an April Fool’s joke.
Well, I have good and bad news to report about our darling little Superfund. I suggest we bust out our hazmat suits and…
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I feel bad it took so long for me to read this post. I’m pleasantly surprised it’s well written and informative. It’s too bad people who have enough money to pay for huge pieces of land — and to grease politicians’ hands — don’t have enough cash to clean it up. Don’t feel guilty with the schadenfreude once health problems arise twenty years from now.
Thanks for reading everyone! The more eyeballs on Nuhart the better. And Sherry, as for being pleasantly surprised the post was well written and informative–I like to think all my posts written are that way!
I didn’t mean it as an insult: You stressed the right points, got the science right (thanks for the links), and made it accessible to anyone without a degree in plastics. I just finished working on a book that explains how man-mande materials mess up the environment; now I know how they mess up the human body.
Besides, it’s hard to tell whether I’m clicking on a “dick punch” or not.
Not a problem, Sherry. This issue is complicated and sometimes it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around it all. I’m just trying to get all the facts right myself! Glad you read it and got some info out of it. That’s all I could ask for.
As for dick punches, I leave that to the fellas and their body parts–unless they’ve had one too many Manhattans;P
THANK YOU KIM!!!!!
Hi Neighbors,
I tried to call the number for the woman at the DEC and it is a non working number now- I found this online, and think it is the more updated one….
DEC Region 2
(Counties: Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond)
Jane O’Connell / Vadim Brevdo
(718) 482-4599 / 4928
THANK YOU for this blog post and all your research Kim. It is really appreciated.
Bottom line, will these buildings going up do anything to make the toxic mess any worse? Are the toxins from the Phthalate plume currently hurting the air quality? Is there a chance it will actually be addressed instead of sitting there doing nothing with the new development? Will disturbing the soil release toxins into the air or make the plum move at a faster rate? These are serious questions, not at all rhetorical. If anyone knows that answers, I’d love to know.
As someone who has looked in the ‘point for about a decade now, I’m both concerned about these new buildings ruining Greenpoint and hopeful that they might help make the neighborhood a nicer more upscale place.
Hi Christy,
Let me see if I can answer your questions:
Will these buildings going up do anything to make the toxic mess any worse?
–Possibly, if you mean by buildings Greenpoint Landing. Any kind of pile driving can certainly make things move.
Are the toxins from the Phthalate plume currently hurting the air quality?
–At this point, I don’t think so. Officially, the DEC says no
Is there a chance it will actually be addressed instead of sitting there doing nothing with the new development?
–It is being addressed right now through a thorough investigation of the site, which has been going on for several months now.
Will disturbing the soil release toxins into the air or make the plum move at a faster rate?
–Yes, if the soil is churned up it can release toxins into the air, especially if they are vapor-based like the TCE plume. The Phalate plume I’m not sure, although I’d bet breathing that stuff in is probably not a good idea. The public comment period is crucial b/c we get to tell the DEC et al how we want the site cleaned. A remediation work plan is drawn up, we get to look at it, make comments. I’ll be making an announcement whenever the comment period begins.
Hope this helps!