The Slate Property Group, the purchasers of the building that houses sound-and-lighting equipment company See Factor, have submitted a Brownfield Cleanup Program application with the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and are looking for public comment.
The developer purchased the site at 37-11 30th Street from the estate of Bob See in May 2018 for $33.27 million. Now the real estate group is using the BCP to clean up possible contamination from the property and facilitate its redevelopment.
The historical use of the site that is suspected to have contributed to the contamination includes a garage and plastics manufacturer, in addition to the aforementioned See Factor. But based on the findings of an investigation on the property, the process is not cause for alarm for neighborhood residents. The NYSDEC has determined that the site does not pose a significant threat to public health or environment.
The draft of the remedial action work plan for the site consists of the excavation and offsite dumping of historic soil, excavation of hazardous waste, removal of underground storage tanks, analysis of soil samples and backfilling the affected areas.
NYSDEC will accept written comments about the proposed plan until June 29 and revise the cleanup plan as necessary. The plan is publicly available at the Queens Library at Long Island City, 37-44 21st Street, and the Queens Community Board 1 office at 45-02 Ditmars Blvd.
The public should send their comments to Hasan Ahmed, the DEC project manager, at 47-40 21st St., Long Island City, NY 11101; to hasan.ahmed@dec.ny.gov; or call 718-482-6505.
