CB 1 hears Bankside’s groundwater remediation plan
Joe Mahon, an environmental consultant, speaks on Tuesday, February
25 to CB1 about the water treatment plan for 101 Lincoln Avenue at Bankside.
Schneps Media Jason Cohen
BY JASON COHEN
In an effort to be transparent,
a luxury housing developer
spoke to Community
Board 1 last week about its
plans to conduct water treatment
at its mega million project
in the south Bronx.
On Tuesday, February 25,
representatives from Brookfi
eld Properties revealed what
it will be doing at 101 Lincoln
Avenue in Mott Haven. BOP
101 Lincoln Ave. LLC submitted
an application to the NYS
Department of Environmental
Conservation for dewatering
and groundwater pumping
operations, which requires
a State Pollution Discharge
Elimination System permit.
The treatment will begin
in the second quarter of the
year.
The property was once
used for coal storage and as
a vehicle repair, paint shop,
blacksmith shop, bus depot
and crane yard.
“This site is a brownfi eld
site with known contamination
and you have to have a
treatment system,” said Joe
Mahon of Subsurface Consulting
Services. “The developers
are very well aware of all the
contamination on the site.”
This is part of Bankside, a
$950 million, 4.3-acre mixeduse
multi tower development
located along the waterfront
in Mott Haven.
Bankside represents one
Crespo, Cabrera shake up the county’s political landscape
BY JASON COHEN
The political landscape in
the Bronx is changing.
On Friday, February 28,
Assemblyman Marcos Crespo,
the Bronx County Democratic
leader, announced he
would not seek re-election nor
run for borough president, the
position, which many thought
he was eyeing.
Crespo has served in the
assembly since 2009 when he
won a special election to replace
Ruben Díaz Jr., who became
borough president. In
2015, Crespo was elected chair
of the Bronx County Demo-
BRONX TIMES R 4 EPORTER, MARCH 6-12, 2020 BTR
Assemblyman Marcos Crespo shocked everyone when he announced he
is not seeking re-election. Photo Courtesy Robert Jaccoi
cratic Committee, replacing
Carl Heastie when he became
Assembly Speaker.
With a wife and two young
daughters, it is no surprise
the 39-year-old wants to step
back.
“When I fi rst interned in
the NYS Assembly for then Assembly
Member Ruben Diaz
Jr., I could never have imagined
what doors would open,”
Crespo said in a statement. “I
will forever cherish the privilege
my community has given
me to serve. The Bronx is and
will always be my home. To
have worked alongside such
an amazing community and
hard-working colleagues in
government and helped lead
the many improvements we
have seen in our Borough
is nothing short of a dream
come true. I’m grateful to every
single person who over the
years supported my efforts,
mentored me and believed in
the leadership and vision we
brought to this work.”
According to NY1, he is
headed to work for Montefi ore
Medical Center.
Then on Sunday, March
1, Councilman Fernando Cabrera,
who has served on
council since 2010, dropped
out of the Congressional race
against Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez and put his hat in the
race for borough president.
Cabrera, 55, said he didn’t
want to split votes with moderate
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
nor have people become confused
with two Cabreras on
the ballot.
“I will fully support Michelle
Caruso-Cabrera,” Cabrera
said.
Furthermore, with many
years under his belt as a
elected offi cial, he feels he is
ready for his next challenge as
borough president.
“I’m very well suited for the
job,” Cabrera told the Bronx
Times.
The biggest issues he sees
in the Bronx are affordable
housing, economic development,
health disparities and
crime.
Cabrera touched on the
highly controversial cash bail.
He said that keeping everyone
in jail is not the answer, but
neither is letting most people
back on the streets the same
day they are arrested for a
crime.
“We still need reform, but it
needs to be sensible,” he said.
“We can’t have people committing
three crimes in one day
and be out on the street. At
the same time we don’t want
people in jail that shouldn’t be
in jail because they couldn’t
afford the bail.”
Cabrera, who is a father of
two and has fi ve grandchildren,
has been a pastor for 32
years at New Life Outreach International
in Kingsbridge.
Ultimately if elected, he
hopes to continue to lead the
borough in the right direction.
“I have been about empowering
people and I have a good
track record,” he said.
Councilman Fernando Cabrera announced he is running for Bronx borough
president. Photo courtesy of John McCarten
of the largest private investments
ever undertaken in the
borough.
A series of pipes will be inserted
vetically into the contaminated
construction site
that will pump the ground water
into the water treatment
system, before being fl ushed
into the Harlem River. This
process will continue for a
year.
Soils at the site consist
of historic fi ll materials to
a depth ranging from fi ve to
seven feet below the surface
followed by salty sand and
peat layers.
Mahon explained this
clean-up work is required by
the state.
Charlie Howe, a senior
associate at Brookfi eld, explained
the process is quite
common on former industrial
sites.
“There’s tons of development
all along Long Island
City,” Howe said. “We think
it’s a trend here in NYC. For a
long time NYC turned its back
on the waterfront. As a society
we’re learning the importance
of being by the water.”
The towers will be interconnected
by a low-rise base
spread across the two parcels.
All the towers will be 25 stories,
except for the one on the
2401 Third Avenue site, which
will be 17 stories.
The construction, which
has now begun, will occur in
two phases, beginning with
more than 450 apartments on
the site at 2401 Third Avenue,
expected to open by the end of
2021.
There will be a public waterfront
park and esplanade
on the Harlem River shoreline.
Brookfi eld will also make
substantial improvements to
the shoreline bulkhead and
enhance upland connectivity
to the river.
Bankside will consume
two sizable parcels located on
each side of the Third Avenue
Bridge along the Harlem River
– at 2401 Third Avenue and 101
Lincoln Avenue. There will
be 462,000 gross square feet of
development at 2401 Third Avenue
and 950,000 gross square
feet at Lincoln. The Third Avenue
parcel will have three
towers and 101 Lincoln Avenue
will have four towers.
There will be more than
1,350 apartments, 30 percent of
which will be income-targeted
through the Affordable New
York program.
Brookfi eld Properties paid
$165 million for the site.