Parcel 5 – Block 2294, Lot 1/5

Historic Operations:

The land mass of Parcel 5 was originally created by filling shoreline areas of the East River in the mid to late 1800s. From approximately 1868 to 1937, Parcel 5 was used by ExxonMobil predecessors for petroleum storage and transport purposes, specifically for shipping products refined on Parcel 6. From 1868 to 1892, Parcel 5 was occupied by Pratt Oil Works, which used the property for filling, storage (in tanks and barrels), and shipping of petroleum products, as well as a cooperage and barrel printing operations. Pratt Oil conveyed the operation to Standard Oil Company of New York (SOCONY), which succeeded Pratt Oil, in 1892. SOCONY acquired portions of Parcel 6 in 1914. ExxonMobil is the successor to both Pratt Oil and SOCONY.

SOCONY continued bulk operations at the property until 1937. During the time of SOCONY’s operations, two piers were built that extended into the East River that were used for shipping and receiving of petroleum products in drums and barrels. Refinery products such as gasoline and refined oils were stored in onsite storage tanks with capacity of over 3.5 million gallons. Pratt Oil/SOCONY also constructed and operated pipelines in the late 1800s that connected Parcel 5 to SOCONY facilities on neighboring parcels, specifically the refinery located on Parcel 6, the petroleum storage yard at 25 Kent Avenue, and SOCONY’s facilities on nearby Newtown Creek.

In 1937, SOCONY sold Parcel 5 to Havemeyer & Elder, which later sold the parcel to Brooklyn Eastern Terminal in 1959. Under ownership of the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal, Parcel 5 was used for bulk flour storage and a rail terminal. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal sold Parcel 5 in 1971, after which it underwent several changes in ownership until it was purchased by CitiPostal Inc., aka CitiStorage, in 1999, which constructed a warehouse on the property and used it for document storage. Parcel 5 was sold to 10th Street Realty in 2001 and was ultimately purchased by New York City (NYC) in 2017 to develop as a portion of Bushwick Inlet Park. The storage warehouse on Parcel 5 was used by Iron Mountain, a document storage company, until 2021, and was ultimately demolished in October 2024.

Investigation / Remediation:

Environmental investigations commenced at Parcel 5 on behalf of NYC in 2006 for the proposed construction of Williamsburg Park (currently Bushwick Inlet Park). The Site Investigation was conducted on Parcels 2, 3, 4 and 5 to evaluate the lateral and vertical extent of contamination. However, due to the warehouse taking up the majority of Parcel 5’s footprint, soil and groundwater sampling activities were limited to the area outside of the warehouse, including in the streets immediately adjacent to Parcel 5. The investigation collected soil, groundwater, and sediment samples from the adjacent waterway, and found organic and inorganic contaminant impacts in the sampled media.  

In 2007, National Grid entered into an Order on Consent with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to evaluate environmental conditions at several sites including the former Williamsburg Works MGP site located on adjacent Parcels 1, 2, 3, and 4. As part of that investigation effort, which began in 2009 and continues to present, National Grid has sampled soil, groundwater, and sediment adjacent to Parcel 5 to delineate potential MGP impacts. Similar to the 2006 NYC investigation, National Grid’s sampling activities on Parcel 5 were limited to the areas outside of the warehouse. A Final Remedial Investigation Report (RIR) was submitted in 2025 on behalf of National Grid identifying both MGP related and non-MGP related contamination in site groundwater, soil, and adjacent sediment.

Currently, Parcel 5 is listed under the NYSDEC State Superfund Program and is owned by NYC. The site currently is unoccupied land and is slated for investigation by NYSDEC.