Tenants and elected officials alike are frustrated by local landlords’ slow response to test their properties within the Meeker Avenue Plume.
The agency designated the plume as a Superfund site in 2022 and started efforts to conduct indoor air testing at residential properties in November 2023. Though the EPA has already tested several local buildings (such as PS 110, found to be uncontaminated), they need approval from building owners to enter residential properties.
Not many have been willing to grant access. Gothamist recently reported that “officials have gained access to only 200 out of roughly 1,000 properties in the 45-block stretch of Brooklyn,” home to chlorinated volatile organic compounds, or CVOCs, including PCE and TCE. These compounds can cause deleterious health effects, such as cancer, birth defects, and liver and kidney damage. Years of heavy industry and manufacturing contributed to the toxic stew of pollutants (dry cleaners in particular are historically major contributors to the presence of PCE and TCE).
“Too many property owners have decided to keep their head in the sand,” Council Member Lincoln Restler told Gothamist. “Anyone doing their homework before purchasing a new home or a property in the Meeker Avenue Plume area is going to know about the risks and they’d rather have data that shows the plume is a problem at this site or not a problem at this site.”
The testing is free, and the results are private. And solutions currently exist to mitigate the plume’s effects, if your property contains contaminants of concern, which the EPA will provide at no cost (such as ventilation systems).
And time is of the essence—the EPA can gather the most accurate readings during the winter, so the testing season is starting to come to a close.
A local environmental group, Meeker Avenue CAG, has long worked to make neighbors aware of the issue and encourage them to take action. The group’s next meeting will take place at St. Nick’s Alliance (2 Kingsland Ave.) on April 9, 6-8 pm.
Interested in getting the testing? Reach out to the EPA’s site contacts listed here.
What about also testing PEOPLE in the areq …. testing both owners and renters, testing both past, present and future residents, testing both adults and children? This, so that any present or future medical costs & treatments related to this toxic plume are fully compensated (as with the World Trade Center). Cancers take years to develop. We must monitor and care for the victims of these irresponsible corporations, even if those corporations are long defunct. In addition, the toxic chemicals used in many present-day dry cleaners & laundries must be investigated, tested and replaced with safer alternatives where found harmful. This for the health and safety of not only employees and users but also for residents – who often live about or near these establishments.
I wonder if everyone knows about this as far as the landlords are concerned, especially those who are non-native speakers, such as the Polish and Spanish community. Do those landlords truly understand what is going on?