Parcel 3 – Block 2287, Lot 16

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 3 was operated by the Williamsburg Gas Light Company starting in at least 1868 and by its successor, Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG), until approximately 1935. Williamsburg Gas Light Company sold Parcel 3 to BUG in 1895. BUG was acquired by National Grid in 2007. The MGP used coal and other 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 3 had one circular iron gas tank, a generator, condenser, and exhauster houses, a retort house, an engine room, as well as paint, machine, and carpentry shops. From 1919 to 1921, Parcel 3 had three scrubbers for gas enrichment associated with the toluol manufacturing plant owned by the U.S. War Department and operated by BUG on behalf of the federal government on Parcels 1 through 3 and possibly Parcel 4. In 1935, MGP operations at Parcel 3 ceased and all structures were demolished prior to 1941. In 1947, BUG sold Parcel 3 to Havemeyer and Elder, Inc. and in 1948, Havemeyer and Elder, Inc. sold the property to Brooklyn Eastern Terminal. Sometime after 1947 when BUG sold Parcel 3, fill was added above the historic industrial surface of Parcels 2, 3, and 4 to level it for later site development. In 1958, Paragon Oil Co., Inc. acquired Parcel 3 from Brooklyn Eastern Terminal. By 1965, Paragon Oil Co., Inc. operated a scrap metal storage area with baling buildings, rail spurs, and a repair shop on Parcel 3 and by 1978, the parcel and buildings were mostly vacant. From 1982 to 1983, it is possible that oil truck parking on Parcel 4 extended into Parcel 3. In 1982, Texaco, Inc. (a successor to Paragon Oil Co., Inc.) sold Parcel 3 to Bridge Lumber Co., Inc., which sold the property to the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) a few months later. In circa 1982, a warehouse was constructed on Parcel 3 and the property was also used for vehicle parking. In 1987, Bridge Lumber Co., Inc. repurchased Parcel 3 and sold it to R.A.R. Realty Corp. on the same day. The warehouse was used for lumber storage until 1995 when CitiPostal Inc., aka CitiStorage, a document storage company, acquired Parcel 3 from R.A.R. Realty Corp. In 2001, 10th Street LLC purchased Parcel 3 from CitiStorage, and then New 10th Street LLC acquired it in 2004. The warehouse was used for document storage until it was destroyed by fire in 2015. New York City (NYC) purchased Parcel 3 in 2017 to incorporate it into Bushwick Inlet Park. Parcel 3 is currently vacant land.

Investigation / Remediation:

Environmental investigations at Parcel 3 commenced in 1994. A Phase II Site Investigation found that concentrations of contaminants in soil borings were above New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) regulatory limits but concluded that additional remediation was unnecessary due to the contamination being capped by the existing warehouse, asphalt, and concrete. In 2006, environmental investigations continued on Parcel 3 (outside of the area occupied by the warehouse) on behalf of NYC. In 2007, National Grid entered into an Order on Consent with NYSDEC to evaluate the extent of the environmental contamination at multiple sites, including the former Williamsburg Works MGP site partially located on Parcel 3. 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 and groundwater samples were collected which indicated that NAPL, MGP, and non-MGP impacts were present at Parcel 3. 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 3 is listed under the NYSDEC State Superfund Program and is owned by NYC and operated as part of Bushwick Inlet Park.