Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. Its once-industrial waterfront is now lined with gleaming residential high-rises, but as the neighborhood’s population swells, so do other community needs.<\/p>\n
Zachary Eisenstat, a father of two, has been closely following New York City’s plan to build a new elementary school at 257 Franklin St., a site located diagonally across from the NuHart Superfund site, a former plastics manufacturer where toxic chemicals once leaked into the ground.<\/p>\n
“I think that the exploding population of Greenpoint needs more infrastructure,” Eisenstat said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The school will not sit directly on the Superfund site, but nearby contaminated land is home to two underground toxic plumes. That area has since been remediated and redeveloped into a residential building.<\/p>\n
“Primarily a perception issue”<\/p>\n
The city’s plans were originally met with skepticism by many neighbors, but Eisenstat says several meetings made him see the development as safe.<\/p>\n
“I see no evidence that they would say it’s safe and willing to work there if it’s not,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler said he’s confident in the city’s decision.<\/p>\n
“It’s not my first choice of where the school should have been built,” Restler said. “But we’ve looked at it carefully, and I do think that it is safe … So, the issue is primarily a perception issue.”<\/p>\n
Still, some longtime residents remain uneasy. \u00a0<\/p>\n
“So many people in my family have gotten sick”<\/p>\n
Laura Hofmann was a\u00a0plaintiff in an unrelated environmental pollution lawsuit\u00a0<\/a>against ExxonMobil which ended in a settlement. The lifelong Greenpoint resident lives a block away and serves on the local community board’s environmental committee.<\/p>\n “I was the only person who voted no against the plan,” Hofmann said. “I know I’m kind of like a lone voice in the neighborhood. Maybe that’s because, you know, so many people in my family have gotten sick.”<\/p>\n