BY BEN BRACHFELD
The city has, once again, exterminated
a proposed pesticide
storage facility on Ralph Avenue
in East Flatbush after vocal
community opposition, and now
is instead planning to site a storage
depot for the Department of
Homeless Services at the 50,000
square-foot warehouse.
The Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene originally
submitted plans for a pesticide
storage facility at the site, which
sits between Chase and Preston
courts and straddles the border
between East Flatbush and Canarsie,
in September 2020. The
proposal was unanimously approved
by Community Board
18 in March 2021, though the
approval may have been accidental
as many members later
expressed confusion over the
vote mechanics, culminating
in the Board offi cially switching
its position to disapproval
in May (CB18 chair Michael Ien
denied that the initial approval
was mistaken).
After an uproar by local
pols, including City Councilmember
One night only!
COURIER L 20 IFE, JAN. 28-FEB. 3, 2022
Farah Louis and then-
Borough President Eric Adams,
the city offi cially pulled
the plug on the proposal. In
November, the city informally
began a community outreach
process again to potentially site
the chemical warehouse on the
lot, prompting outcry and protests
from local pols and civic
groups, though a new land use
application was not fi led.
Concerned residents noted
the facility’s proximity to the
Brooklyn Terminal Market —
a massive food distribution center
just a block away — along
with a school bus depot next
door and residential homes
within two blocks of the site.
They also noted the long
history of storing chemicals
and other dangerous substances
within communities
of color, and the associated
negative impacts that’s had on
the health of those communities.
That came to the fore last
Councilmember Farah Louis speaks at a protest against a planned pesticide facility. Photo by Ben Brachfeld
week in Passaic, New Jersey,
where a massive fi re took place
at a chemical plant just across
a highway from a 900-family
public housing development.
In light of all that, it appears
the community’s concerns
won out: a Health
Department spokesperson confi
rmed to Brooklyn Paper that
all applications are withdrawn
and the Department no longer
intends to site the pesticide facility
there.
“Relieved to know we won
the battle to stop toxic materials
from coming in — but
that’s only part of the work,”
said Jibreel Jalloh, Brooklyn
Borough Advocate and president
of the Canarsie-based advocacy
group the Flossy Organization,
who helped organize
opposition to the facility. “To
truly build a world-class community,
we must fi ght for something
and not just against bad
government ideas. We’ll continue
to organize and go from
shouting HELL NO to harmful
proposals and shouting HELL
YES for more investments into
our community.”
At a recent CB18 meeting,
planning and zoning committee
chair Sal Calise informed
board members of the new
proposal for a citywide storage
depot for the Department
of Homeless Services, which
would supplement the department’s
existing facility nearby
at a massive, multi-purpose
warehouse on Farragut Road
in Canarsie.
A spokesperson for DHS
did not respond to multiple requests
for comment. A spokesperson
for the Department of
Citywide Administrative Services
declined to comment.
Exterminated!
City pulls plug on contested
E. Flatbush pesticide facility
Harry Connick, Jr.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5
AT 8:30 PM
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