FINAL CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY STAGE 1A REPORT NEWTOWN CREEK, NEW YORK REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION/FEASIBILITY STUDY, NEWTOWN CREEK Prepared by: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, Inc. 241 East Fourth Street, Suite 100 Frederick, MD 21701 December 2012 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Cultural Resources Survey Stage 1A Report describes the results of research to identify any known or potential cultural resources within the Study Area in compliance with Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This research included reconnaissance surveys, background research, and development of historical contexts (e.g., land use patterns and prehistoric and historic cultural development) (Anchor QEA 2011: 11). This report was prepared for Anchor QEA, LLC, and performed in accordance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in the USEPA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program (USEPA 1989). The Newtown Creek Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) is being conducted under the USEPA CERCLA program and, therefore, must meet the requirements of the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs). The USEPA guidance document CERCLA Compliance with Other Laws Manual, Part II Clean Air Act, and Other Environmental Statutes and State Requirements (USEPA 1989) describes how the effects of a CERCLA remedial action must consider impacts on cultural resources. This guidance document describes a process for compliance with the NHPA and defines the responsibilities of USEPA and other involved agencies (i.e., the State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] and Advisory Council on Historic Preservation [ACHP]) (Anchor QEA 2011). Remedial actions performed under CERCLA are subject to the regulations set forth in the NHPA of 1966, as amended (regulations at 36 CFR Part 800 – Protection of Historic Properties). Under Section 106 of the NHPA, CERCLA remedial actions are required to take into account the effects of the remedial activities on any historic properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register (Anchor QEA 2011). 36 CFR Part 800 requires the establishment of proposed areas of potential effects (APE), defined as the “geographic area or areas within which an undertaking may directly or indirectly cause alterations in the character or use of historic properties” (36 CFR 800.16(d)). Should historic properties be identified, additional CRS stages will be required (Anchor QEA 2011). Section 14.09 of The New York State Historic Preservation Act of 1980 and its implementing regulations establish the State Register of Historic Places and require SHPO review of state agency projects that have the potential to cause a change in the quality of a property eligible for the register (Anchor QEA 2011). The Newtown Creek Superfund Site Study Area is described in the Administrative Order on Consent as encompassing the body of water known as Newtown Creek, situated at the border of the boroughs of Brooklyn (Kings County) and Queens (Queens County) in the City of New York and the State of New York, roughly centered at the geographic coordinates of 40° 42' 54.69" north latitude (40.715192°) and 73° 55' 50.74" west longitude (-73.930762°), having an approximate 3.8-mile reach, including Newtown Creek proper and its five branches (or tributaries) known respectively as Dutch Kills, Maspeth Creek, Whale Creek, East Branch, and English Kills, as well as the sediments below the water December 2012 Cultural Resource Survey, Stage 1A Report, Newtown Creek RI/FS Page iii and the water column above the sediments, up to and including the landward edge of the shoreline, and including also any bulkheads or riprap containing the waterbody, except where no bulkhead or riprap exists, then the Study Area shall extend to the ordinary high water mark, as defined in 33 CFR §328(e), of Newtown Creek and the areal extent of the contamination from such area, but not including upland areas beyond the landward edge of the shoreline (notwithstanding that such upland areas may subsequently be identified as sources of contamination to the waterbody and its sediments or that such upland areas may be included within the scope of the Newtown Creek Superfund Site as listed pursuant to Section 105(a)(8) of the CERCLA) (Anchor QEA 2011: 1). The legal definition of the Newtown Creek Superfund Site Study Area excludes upland areas beyond the landward edge of the shoreline (Anchor QEA 2011:1), but on-shore areas are contained within the proposed Archeological Study Area and the Built Environment Study Area for cultural resources investigations. The Archeological Study Area is defined as comprising channels, bulkheads along the creek and its tributaries and a 50-foot buffer inland (Anchor QEA 2011:18). The Built Environment Study Area is defined as encompassing properties that are within and immediately adjacent to the Newtown Creek Superfund Site Study Area. Access to the study area was restricted to public rights of way during the archeological and built resources land-based surveys. During all water based survey activities, access to certain parts of the creek were restricted by obstacles (bridges, piles, containment booms, shallow water, etc.). Any study limitations as a result of restricted access will be addressed if and when a specific property is to be used as part of a response action. The Stage 1A survey was conducted to determine if potentially National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)-eligible historic properties are present in the study area, and to ensure that the development of remediation alternatives can include consideration of effects to these properties (Anchor QEA 2011). R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates Inc. conducted the Stage 1A Cultural Resources Survey that comprised a literature search, boat and land-side field reconnaissance surveys, and remote sensing data analyses under contract to Anchor QEA for the Newtown Creek RI/FS. A literature search was conducted to identify and known potential cultural resources. A boat and land side survey was conducted to identify areas that may contain potential cultural resources that may require more intensive research or further investigation. An architectural survey of the Built Environment Study Area was conducted to identify built resources with the potential to possess the qualities of significance and integrity to qualify as historic properties. An archeological cultural resources assessment applying hydrographic and geophysical survey data collected by CR Environmental was conducted. The natural and cultural setting of Newtown Creek is presented in Chapter II, establishing the physical, environmental, and historical development of this maritime cultural landscape. An overview history shows the area to be an active and developing maritime cultural landscape from prehistory through the twentieth centuries. Newtown Creek is a 3.8 mile long estuary (with 5 tributaries) with a semi-diurnal tidal cycle ranging from five to seven feet. Three archeological sites have been identified and twenty-three archeological investigations have been conducted within one mile of Newtown Creek. December 2012 Cultural Resource Survey, Stage 1A Report, Newtown Creek RI/FS Page iv Twenty-two archeological investigations recommended no further work. No architectural resources within the Newtown Creek Built Environment Study Area are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Within one mile of the creek, eleven architectural resources are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and thirteen resources are New York City landmarks. Two bridges, the Borden Avenue Bridge and the Kosciuszko Bridge, have concurrence determinations as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Chapter III discusses the development of Newtown Creek from its early use as an economic resource in its own right; through its alteration and adaptation for use as a support mechanism for increasing industrial development. Newtown Creek has been part of a changing historical maritime cultural landscape from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Thirty-two previously recorded vessel wrecks lay within and in the vicinity of Newtown Creek. Throughout the history of Newtown Creek there have been many episodes of bridge building and re-building that has left a mark either in the form of standing bridges or ruins along the banks of the creek. Many different methods of establishing bulkheads were used along Newtown Creek; these range from simple backfilled pile wall structures, to cribbing to the construction of concrete bulkheads. A commission was established in 1869 to establish wharf, pier and bulkhead lines and to regulate any impediments to navigation along the creek. The various investigative methods employed during the Stage 1A Cultural Resources Survey are discussed in Chapter IV. The literature search, boat and land-side field reconnaissance survey, and remote sensing data analyses each used a unique approach to the Study Area. The literature search involved extensive archival research at a wide variety of research repositories, visits to relevant agencies were conducted to collect data and online sources and databases were consulted. Architectural investigations comprised background research, field survey by boat and land, and data analysis using historic maps and aerials. Nautical archeologists conducted a boat based reconnaissance survey to identify areas of potential cultural resources and to characterize