Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 Draft Upland Site Summary QUEENS WEST (HUNTER’S POINT) PARCEL 11 (DAR SITE ID #138) Address: 2-01 50th Avenue, Long Island City, Queens (2-14 49th Avenue) Tax Lot Parcel(s): Queens Block 17, Lots 21 and 28 Latitude: 40.7349 Longitude: -73.9588 Regulatory Programs/ Numbers/Codes: NYSDEC VCP Site Code V00194B Analytical Data Status: Electronic Data Available Hardcopies only No Data Available 1 SUMMARY OF CONSTITUENTS OF POTENTIAL CONCERN (COPCs) TRANSPORT PATHWAYS TO THE CREEK The current understanding of the transport mechanisms of COPCs from the upland portions of the Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 site (site) to Newtown Creek is summarized in this section and Table 1, and supported in the following sections. Overland Transport This site is 0.27 mile from Newtown Creek and associated waterways. This is not a complete current or historical pathway. Bank Erosion This site is not adjacent to Newtown Creek and associated waterways. This is not a complete current or historical pathway. Groundwater This site is 0.27 mile from Newtown Creek and associated waterways. Previous studies in the Queens West area indicate that groundwater beneath the site is expected to flow toward the East River (AKRF 2008). There is insufficient evidence to make a current or historical pathway determination. Draft Upland Site Summary Report May 2012 Newtown Creek RI/FS 1 120782-01.01 Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 Overwater Activities The site is not adjacent to Newtown Creek and associated waterways. Information regarding overwater activities was not identified in documents available for review. This is not a complete current or historical pathway. Stormwater/Wastewater Systems This site is within the Bowery Bay Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) sewershed (NYCDEP 2007). Based on the site topography and improved infrastructure, stormwater at the site is expected to drain directly to the East River or flow into a combined sewer system. Wastewater discharges from the site flow into a combined sewer system. When the combined flows exceed the system’s capacity, untreated combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are discharged to the East River. Direct discharge of stormwater and wastewater and discharge to the sewer/ CSO are not complete current or historical pathways. Air Releases Information regarding air discharges from the site was not identified in documents available for review. There is insufficient information to make a current or historical pathway determination. 2 PROJECT STATUS The entire Queens West Development property was investigated from 1985 to 1986 and 1989, with an additional investigation in 1994 to assess subsurface conditions (AKRF 1990; AKRF 2003). In August 1998, a Voluntary Cleanup Agreement was entered into between New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC). Pre-construction soil sampling was conducted in 2000 (AKRF 2000), and remediation between December 2000 and May 2006 in accordance with the NYSDEC-approved Remedial Work Plan (RWP) for Queens West Development Parcel 11 (AKRF Engineering 1998). The site remediation was documented in a Final Engineering Report (FER) dated March 2008, and on-going site management requirements were specified in a Site Management Plan (SMP). NYSDEC issued an approval letter for the FER on March 31, 2008 (ATC 2010). A summary of investigation and remedial activities at the site is provided in the following table. Draft Upland Site Summary Report May2012 Newtown Creek RI/FS 2 120782-01.01 Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 Activity Date(s)/Comments Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Site Characterization 1990 - Environmental Impact Statement Remedial Investigation 2000 – Soil Sampling Program March 1995, Remediation Plan for Queens West Remedy Selection Development – Stage 1 Remedial Design/Remedial Action August 1998 – RAWP approved Implementation February 2001 – Remediation complete Use Restrictions (Environmental Easements or March 2008 Institutional Controls) Construction Completion March 2002 Site Closeout/No Further Action Determination March 2008 Note: RAWP – remedial action work plan • NYSDEC Site Code(s): VCP Site Code V00194B • NYSDEC Site Manager: Sondra Martinkat, (718) 482-4891 3 SITE OWNERSHIP HISTORY Respondent Member: Yes No Owner Years Occupant Type of Operation ca. 1903 LIRR Express Stables ca. 1903 Keystone Varnish Co. Varnish manufacturer? ca. 1917 Adams Express Co. Stables, horseshoeing ca. 1917 Unknown (LIRR?) Storage Unknown ca. 1943 – ca. Hardwood Sawdust & Wood supplier? 1949 Supply Co. Inc. Crown Oil Products Corp. ca. 1943 – ca. (2-14 49th Ave.) aka Vegetable oil refining, 1959 Crown Oil Chemical synthetic resins, drying oils Company Metal distributors & Expanded Metal Engineering Co. Expanded Metal ca. 1950 – 1974 warehouse, building (2-01 50th Ave.) (lot 28) Engineering Co. materials & supplies Draft Upland Site Summary Report May2012 Newtown Creek RI/FS 3 120782-01.01 Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 Delbay Corp. (subsidiary of the 1966 – 1987 Pennsylvania Railroad)(lot 21) Hashizune Food Products Corp. 1974 – 1982 (2-01 50th Ave.) (lot 28) Doris Freed (50%), James F. Giannone (25%), Nicholas 1982 – 1990 Giannone (25%) (lot 28) Unknown Unknown MO Associates (lot 21) 1987 – 1996 Jame F. Giannone & Antoinette Giannone (50%) 1990 – 1996 Nicholas Giannone and Cheryl Giannone (50%) (lot 28) Queens West Development 1996 Agency (lots 21 & 28) River View Gardens Housing Avalon Riverview & Residential and senior 2000 Development Fund Co., Inc. Riverview Gardens housing Note: Ave. – avenue ca. – circa Co. – company Corp. – corporation LIRR – Long Island Railroad MO – Manhattan Overlook 4 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION The property occupies 1.17 acres (AKRF 2008) near the East River in the Hunters Point area of Queens. The site slopes gently down from approximately 5 feet above mean sea level on the eastern property boundary to the East River on the western property boundary. The property is located approximately 0.27 mile northwest of Newtown Creek. The site is covered by two residential buildings. The site is bounded by 49th Avenue to the north, 50th Avenue to the south, residential/commercial properties to the east, and Center Boulevard to the west. The area is zoned M3-1 (Manufacturing). M3 districts are designated for areas with heavy industries that generate noise, traffic, or pollutants (NYCDCP 2012). Draft Upland Site Summary Report May2012 Newtown Creek RI/FS 4 120782-01.01 Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 Parcel 10, located north of the site across 49th Avenue, is occupied by a high-rise residential building, which also includes a public elementary school, P.S. 78, at its western end. The area between Parcel 11 and the East River is part of the Queens West waterfront park. A tennis club is located southwest of the site, and the former Schwartz Chemical building site, currently being redeveloped with condominiums, is located to the southeast. The buildings immediately east of the site are not part of the Queens West Development. These buildings are occupied by a mix of light industrial, commercial, and residential uses (AKRF 2008). A 2010 aerial photograph of the site is presented as Figure 1 and a map displaying composite site cover and development is shown in Attachment 1. 5 CURRENT SITE USE The site is currently occupied by a high-rise residential building, the Avalon Riverview, on the southern portion of the site at 2-01 50th Avenue, and a second residential building, containing federally-subsidized housing for the elderly, the Riverview Gardens, on the northern portion of the site at 2-14 49th Avenue. Ground level retail is present on the western portion of the first floor of the Avalon Riverview. The Avalon Riverview was first occupied in March 2002 (AKRF 2008; Queenswest.com 2011). 6 SITE USE HISTORY The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) had track along 49th Avenue (formerly 5th Street), which culminated in the LIRR Freight Yard where freight was unloaded from barges on the East River. Block 17, located between 49th Avenue and 50th Avenue, was part of the freight yard. The LIRR originally kept their Express stables at the end of the block, on the rail yard, formerly 4th and 5th Streets (Sanborn Map Company 1898; Queenswest.org 2011). A variety of industrial manufacturers were located at the site, but only a small amount of information exits for two. The Crown Oil Chemical Company stored soybean, linseed, and fish oils onsite beginning in 1959. Crown produced phthalic hydride and maleic phydride. A 4-inch pipe drained to the storm sewer, which then drained to the East River (Hazen and Sawyer 1959). In 1969, the Expanded Metal Engineering Company created metal pieces for Draft Upland Site Summary Report May2012 Newtown Creek RI/FS 5 120782-01.01 Queens West (Hunter’s Point) Parcel 11 machine guards, window guards, display purposes, metal lath, building accessories, and access doors (Chamber of Commerce 1969). As of 1996, the site became a part of a larger development by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the state of New York called the Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC), a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. The project extended from the Anable Basin to 50th Avenue and west of 5th Street. The QWDC planned a public park, residential housing, and retail space and improved sewer and public utilities as well as public schools and a public library (Queenswest.org 2011). 7 CURRENT AND HISTORICAL AREAS OF