Cleanup proposed for contaminated Avenue D site, future home of affordable housing

Cleanup plans are advancing for the long-contaminated property at 181 Avenue D between 12th Street nd 13th Street under New York's Brownfield program.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, along with the Department of Health, is reviewing a plan to remove polluted soil from the former site of the St. Emeric church and school, located adjacent to the Con Ed power plant. Officials say the site "does not currently pose a significant risk to public health or the environment." 

Officials are accepting public comments on the proposed cleanup through July 26. See this PDF for details. 

Community Board 3 will hear more about the remediation work tonight during the Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation & Environment Committee meeting. 

The roughly 1.4-acre property has been in the spotlight since June 2024, when developers Spatial Equity and Community Access reportedly signed a contract with the Archdiocese of New York to buy the site for $58 million to $68 million. They plan to build two fully affordable housing buildings totaling about 570 apartments. 

City Council will need to approve a Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application for the lot, as the space is not currently zoned for residential use.

The property was once part of the East 11th Street Works, a remnant of the area's industrial past. (The nearby Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village were built on the former Gas House District.) 

According to a 2007 report prepared for Con Ed, the operations began some time between 1859 and 1868 and were shut down in 1933. Per the report: "Over its operational period, the Works consisted of 17 gas holders ranging in capacity from approximately 50,000 cubic feet to 5,000,000 cubic feet. Several of the gas holders were converted from gas storage to liquid storage of naphtha, tar or gas oil." 

Similar remediation work was completed in 2023 on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Avenue C — now home to the soon-to-open 24-story residential building called The East.

The now-deconsecrated St. Ermeric church merged with St. Brigid on Avenue B in early 2013. Here's some history of the parish via Wikipedia: 

The parish was established in 1949. The Rev. V. J. Brosman had a brick church built in 1949 to designs by Voorhees, Walker, Foley & Smith ... for $300,000. The cornerstone was laid in 1950. The church is now covered in ivy. A two-story school building was erected in 1952 to designs by the same architects for $240,000. 

The Brownfield Cleanup Program "works with private developers to encourage the voluntary cleanup of contaminated properties known as 'brownfields' so that they can be reused and developed. These uses include recreation, housing, and business." 

The hybrid CB3 committee meeting this evening begins at 6:30 at the CB3 office, located at 59 E. Fourth St., between Second Avenue and the Bowery. You can also take part via Zoom.