Parcel 2 – Block 2287, Lot 1

Historic Operations:

Parcels 1, 2, 3, and 4 were historically associated with the Williamsburg Works Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP), with each parcel having a different ownership history and being used for different operations. The Williamsburg Gas Light Company was incorporated in 1850 and is the first known operator of the Williamsburg MGP. Parcel 2 was operated by the Williamsburg Gas Light Company starting in at least 1868 and by its successor, Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG), until approximately 1935. BUG was acquired by National Grid in 2007. The MGP used coal and petroleum products to create a flammable gas that was transported through surrounding neighborhoods via a pipeline network. The manufactured gas produced at the MGP was used for cooking, heating, and lighting much like natural gas is used today. By the 1890s, the MGP produced gas via the coal gas production process before converting to water gas production.

During the MGP’s operations, Parcel 2 had gas and relief holders with capacities of over 300,000 cubic feet, as well as a condenser, exhauster, meter houses, storage sheds and other buildings. Williamsburg Gas Light Company sold Parcel 2 to BUG in 1895, which operated the MGP until 1919. From 1919 to 1921, a portion of Parcel 2 was briefly owned by the U.S. War Department during which time BUG operated a toluol manufacturing plant on behalf of the federal government on Parcels 1 through 3 and possibly Parcel 4. In 1935, MGP operations at Parcel 2 ceased and all structures were demolished prior to 1941. From 1945 to 1946, BUG leased Parcel 2 to the U.S. Navy for use as a firefighting training school. In July 1946, BUG sold Parcel 2 to the Kent Industrial Corp. In 1951, a warehouse was constructed and occupied by the Ferro-Co. Corp. for sheet metal manufacturing until 1965 when Corrugated Container Corp. began operating at Parcel 2. From 1971 until 1978, Parcel 2 was owned by the American Sandfill and Marine Corp. By 1978, the New York Department of Sanitation (NYCDOS) occupied Parcel 2 and used it as a garage for vehicle storage, maintenance, and truck washing. The garage had several USTs for vehicle fueling purposes. Sometime after 1946 when BUG sold Parcel 2, fill was added above the historic industrial surface of Parcels 2, 3, and 4 to level it for later site development. In 2007, New York City (NYC) acquired Parcel 2 by condemnation and demolished the garage in 2009. Following remediation, Parcel 2 was redeveloped into a pop-up park, then later a city park in 2017. Parcel 2 then opened as an expansion of Bushwick Inlet Park in 2022, which it remains part of to this day.

Investigation / Remediation:

Environmental investigations at Parcel 2 commenced on behalf of NYCDOS in 1992. Soil samples collected for a Site Investigation found detections of heavy metals and petroleum-related contaminants. In March 1996, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) proposed that Parcel 2 be given a “potential hazardous waste site” designation and recommended that remediation activities focus on petroleum-related contaminants. In 1996, Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (NAPL), later identified as diesel fuel, was observed in a monitoring well on Parcel 2 along with other MGP and non-MGP related contaminants in groundwater samples. From 2000 to 2004, remediation and monitoring work was done at Parcel 2 on behalf of NYC, removing thousands of gallons of petroleum contaminated groundwater via vacuum truck. Continued soil and groundwater sampling on Parcel 2 showed significant concentrations of contaminants from 2004 to 2006.

In 2007, National Grid entered into an Order on Consent with the NYSDEC to evaluate the extent of the environmental contamination at multiple sites, including the former Williamsburg Works MGP site partially located on Parcel 2. In 2009, site investigations began on behalf of National Grid on Parcels 1 through 6, which continue to the present. Results from these investigations were presented in draft Remedial Investigation Reports (RIR) in 2015, 2023, and 2024. Soil, groundwater, and sediment samples were collected which indicated that NAPL, MGP, and non-MGP impacts were present at Parcel 2. Interim Remedial Measures (IRM) were deemed necessary, and by 2014, remedial construction activities began at Parcel 2 which included installing NAPL recovery wells, removal of contaminated soils, and sludge. Between 2014 and 2023, over 10,000 gallons of NAPL were recovered. In addition, six monitoring wells and multiple USTs, installed after MGP operations, were removed from the Site. In 2018, a Construction Completion Report was submitted summarizing the remedial activities on Parcel 2. In 2021, National Grid entered into a second Order on Consent with NYSDEC that applied to Parcels 1 through 4. As part of this Order, an Interim Site Management Plan (ISMP) was prepared, requiring that National Grid maintain a site access agreement with the property owner, conduct annual inspections of the soil cover system, prepare and record environmental easements, and continue the NAPL gauging and recovery. A Remedial Alternatives Analysis for impacts associated with Parcels 2, 3, and 4 is currently under development.

Currently, Parcel 2 is listed under the NYSDEC State Superfund Program and is owned by NYC and operated as part of Bushwick Inlet Park.