A proposal for a new elementary school in Greenpoint has sat on the back burner for years, but the School Construction Authority (SCA) recently announced their intention to revive the plan as remediation wraps up for the adjacent NuHart Plastics Superfund site.
The SCA plans to situate the new school at 257 Franklin Street, on the corner of Dupont. Next to Greenpoint Landing, a rapidly developing waterfront area with an influx of new residents over the past decade, a new school could benefit local families whose closest option is a 20-minute walk away. However, Greenpoint residents pushed back on the location when it was last discussed in 2019, citing concerns with the school’s location next to the then-unremediated NuHart site (remediation is now in its final stages).Â
In partnership with the NYC Department of Education and local elected officials, the SCA presented their plans in a meeting last night, meant to give locals a snapshot of the progress made on the NuHart site (and the progress still to come). When completed, the 257 Franklin Street school will offer 450 seats. The SCA shared that the school will be a 5-6 story building on 20,000 square feet. It will be air-conditioned and fully ADA accessible. A hydraulic barrier was installed under the corner of Franklin and Dupont streets in 2023, which the SCA says prevents the migration of future contaminants from the NuHart site (minimal due to remediation).
They chose the specific site for several reasons, especially its location outside of a flood zone and two readily available street frontages for pick up and drop off (Greenpoint’s litany of environmental issues also presents a challenge in finding a suitable site). According to DOE data, Greenpoint’s three public elementary schools are overutilized.Â
Lingering concerns over the NuHart Plastics site were at the forefront of many parents’ minds last night. NuHart gained the Superfund designation in 2010, due to two underground plumes consisting of toxic phthalates and trichloroethylene (TCE). The site started the remediation process in 2022, but some have expressed trepidation that the process did not go far enough. Plans hit a snag in January 2024 when workers uncovered toxic soil below the anticipated excavation depth, The site’s developer, Madison Realty Capital, and the state’s DEC feared that completely removing the soil could disturb the building’s foundation. The project then shifted to in-situ solidification, in which the toxic soil is mixed in with cement and creates a block. The decision to leave the soil in the ground caused unease among some environmental advocates.
Environmental authorities still need to complete NAPL recovery. Some groundwater, 12 to 14 feet beneath the surface, extends past the geographical boundaries of the site (the NAPL process removes that contaminated groundwater from extending out into those areas, such as underneath public streets). The SCA said that since DEC started monitoring the plume in 2012, it has remained the same dimensions, never reaching the school site. However, out of caution, the groundwater means that the school will not have a basement. The SCA plans to install a gas vapor barrier and a sub-slab depressurization system. They also plan to enter the project into the city’s Office of Environmental Remediation’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, providing an extra layer of oversight.Â
The project is still in the early stages. The design process will take another 1-2 years, with construction likely completed 2-3 years after that. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as this story progresses. In the meantime, click on the link here to view all the SCA documents related to the project.
The community has been COMPLETELY clear about not wanting a school at this toxic site.
At the meeting, we finally heard from the School Construction Authority the REAL reason for pushing this site: they currently have a practically free 99 year lease on the site. Now we know. Of course it just comes down to finances. It’s cheap and easy for them to build here, it’s already vacant, and they don’t want to find a new site.
They don’t care that the pollution isn’t fully remediated in this area and never will be, or that the parents don’t want this as the school site, or that the community has always been against this and still is, they just care that it’s available and convenient.
Our kids are worth the cost of a safe site.
I couldn’t attend last night’s meeting at P 31, because the meeting was held on an upper floor. After putting up a fight, the School Construction Authority and our elected officials provided an online option. We were told in writing that we would be able to participate in a meeting equally to the other attendees. They lied. We only had access to the webinar and chat, which was disabled after I complained via chat. The only option left was typed question and answer section. I was not able to type fast enough to be able to adequately ask questions and provide context information. I’m sure I was deliberately prevented from participating in this meeting because I have plenty of concerns. I don’t have small children that will attend the school, but all of my adult children, and possibly some of my grandchildren suffer the autoimmune diseases that come with living in and being pregnant in an Environmental legacy neighborhood. I intend to make a formal complaint about the ADA accessibility and preventing me from participating. I finally gave up and signed out. I did text our council member who told me to ask my questions in writing which was still treating me and other seniors and disabled people differently than the attendees. I will put my concerns in a certified letter.
No surprise they also held it on the second to last day of school before the holiday break, hoping it would get lost in the shuffle. The meeting was barely publicized for in person attendance, let alone online attendance. It felt like they actively hid the meeting to shut the community up and try to get their disgusting plan through. Very shady.
I totally agree with what Emily said above. It was stated that based on the environmental issues in Greenpoint, this is the best site. However, how much did they really look if they already have a site for which they pay $1.00 a year for the next 99 years? Also, what happens after the 99 years are up, I wonder.
Besides the serious issue of NuHart, people in the US, NYC and Greenpoint are not getting married and not having kids at record rates never before seen in modern history.
I can see building a small school in that area because they are many new high risers, but knock down one or more of the other 3+ schools in the general area.