It's a Superfund site: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0...

Fun fact: right behind that garage is Nowadays. Local lore has it that EPA layed down metal plates and dirt over that and kids party over that.

https://twitter.com/nowadaysnyc

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The Wolff-Alport Chemical Company Superfund site is located 1125 to 1139 Irving Avenue and 1514 Cooper Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, which borders Bushwick, Brooklyn New York. The adjacent streets, sidewalks, sewers, and commercial and residential properties where radiological contaminants have migrated or have the potential to migrate in the future are also included as part of this site. This nearly triangular area covers approximately 0.75 acres and is bound by Irving Avenue to the southwest, Cooper Avenue to the northwest, and a former cabinet manufacturing facility to the east. At present, the property is covered, primarily, with connecting structures, except for a former rail spur along its edge, which is an unpaved area where tracks are no longer present and is currently used for automobile storage. The on-site buildings contain a delicatessen/grocery, office space, residential apartments, several auto-repair shops, and warehousing space.

The Wolff-Alport Chemical Company operated at the site from the early 1920s until 1954, importing monazite sand from the then so-called Belgian Congo and extracting rare earth metals from the material. Monazite contains approximately 6-8% thorium. Until 1947, the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company disposed of the thorium waste from monazite sand processing in the sewer and possibly by burying the waste on the property. Recent EPA investigations have confirmed that residual contamination still exists on-site and in or around the sewer lines downstream of the facility.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) first notified the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the potential for radiological contamination at the site in September 1987. EPA and NYC DOHMH conducted a preliminary radiological survey in February 1988, which confirmed the presence of radiological contamination, but concluded that the levels were below the regulatory limits at the time and, therefore, did not pose a risk to human health.

The New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYC DDC) conducted a multi-phased investigation of the site between July 2009 and March 2010, using funds from EPA’s Brownfields program. This investigation confirmed the presence of radiological contamination both on-site and in the sewer system adjacent to the site. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) completed a health consultation in February 2012 and concluded there were potential health risks to on-site workers and pedestrians who frequently use the sidewalks of Irving Avenue near the site due to the radiological contamination.

EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in May 2014.

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What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?

EPA completed gamma radiation surveys, conducted a shielding pilot study, and, as a temporary protective measure, installed concrete, lead, and steel shielding inside three of the on-site businesses and over the adjacent Irving Avenue sidewalk between October 2012 and April 2014. A layer of crushed rock was also placed as shielding over the former railroad spur portion of the site. EPA also installed a radon mitigation system, which is used to reduce radon in buildings, within one of the on-site businesses where radon concentrations exceeded EPA’s standard.

Through a gamma radiation survey of the area surrounding the site within a one-half mile radius, EPA, New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH), and NYCDOHMH found that there was no exposure to the surrounding community from radiation located on-site.

After listing the site on the NPL, EPA investigated the site to determine the nature and extent of contamination and identify and evaluate cleanup alternatives. EPA collected soil samples, conducted gamma radiation surveys, installed groundwater monitoring wells, investigated a sewer system, sampled sediment from Newtown Creek, and tested for radon at a nearby school and daycare center.

EPA repaired the damaged steel shielding on the sidewalk along Irving Avenue in November 2021 to prevent the risk of a slip and fall and limit radiation exposure.

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What Is the Current Site Status?

EPA finalized a cleanup plan, documented in a Record of Decision (ROD) in September 2017. The plan calls for relocating all tenants on the site, demolishing all buildings, digging up and removing contaminated soil and sewer sediment, jet cleaning, and disposing all contaminated soil, sediment, and building materials at an off-site facility. EPA completed the engineering design for the building demolition in September 2018 and is currently working on tenant relocation and building demolition activities.

Although EPA took immediate actions at the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company Superfund site to protect commercial and residential tenants in the short term, based upon the results of a risk assessment, the only viable way to protect people in the long term is to vacate certain buildings permanently. This is the only option that will allow EPA to proceed with the demolition of the radiologically-contaminated buildings and the cleanup of the radiologically-contaminated soil underlying the buildings as called for in EPA’s Record of Decision from September 2017.

Since 2017, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), who will be relocating the tenants on behalf of EPA, have, on many occasions, engaged with property owners and tenants at the site. EPA and USACE have encouraged tenants to complete the forms necessary to determine their eligibility for relocation assistance benefits. Additionally, EPA has requested that property owners keep their space vacant following tenant relocations and grant EPA access to begin building demolition work.

The engineering design for the soil removal portion of the cleanup is currently underway. A pre-design investigation (PDI) to further identify the extent of soil contamination is anticipated to begin in summer 2022.

New York City, which owns the sewers, streets, and sidewalks, agreed to perform the engineering design for the soil removal beneath the streets and sidewalks and the cleanup of the impacted portions of the sewer system. It is anticipated that a PDI will begin in summer 2022.