4 times • JULY 23, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Public comment period open for cleanup of Ridgewood site BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport The latest site in an industrially zoned area of northern Ridgewood slated for redevelopment requires a serious cleanup, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). A recent report found that there were several semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and metals above cleanup guidelines at the site, located at 175 Woodward Ave., which had been used for storage of wooden pallets and shipping containers. Two mixed-use buildings, with ground-floor commercial space and apartments above it, are slated to rise on the site. Soil vapor samples taken from the location revealed chlorinated solvents above the monitoring/mitigation level ranges established by the state Department of Health. Now that the extent of the contamination has been assessed, the DEC is drafting a Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) to propose remedial actions to clean the site for redevelopment. The RAWP proposes two cleanup options for the site: an unrestricted use soil cleanup plan, which would remove an estimated 850 tons of soil/fill from the site and properly dispose of it off-site; or the construction of a depressurization system underneath the building. The unrestricted use option would, for development purposes, require that 75 percent of the property be excavated to depths of 11 feet below grade, while the remaining 25 percent will be excavated to 4 feet below grade. In addition, a hotspot area identified within 4 feet of the excavation site will be further delineated and excavated to depths of 14 feet below grade. If the unrestricted use proposal is not selected, the DEC will move forward with plan B, which includes the installation of an active sub-slab depressurization system and a soil vapor barrier/waterproofing system below the concrete slab, as well as behind foundation walls of the proposed building. The plan also calls for the construction and maintenance of an engineered composite cover consisting of 6 feet of concrete slab below the footprint of the new building, and a concrete cap for the rear yard portion. Before any form of cleanup takes place, the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) is accepting public comments on the draft RAWP. Residents can submit comments to Amanda Duchesne, project manager for OER, at 100 Gold Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10038, by phone at 212-341-2077 or by email at ADuchesne@dep.nyc.gov; and Shaminder Chawla, deputy director for OER at the same mailing address, by phone at 212-442-3007 and by email at SChawla@dep.nyc. gov. The OER is accepting public comments on the draft RAWP for RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Anthony Giudice The public is invited to comment on the plan to clean up the site located at 175 Woodward Ave. in Ridgewood. Participatory budgeting coming to Councilwoman Crowley’s district BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com @robbpoz Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is the latest city lawmaker to hop on the participatory budgeting bandwagon. Crowley announced on Tuesday that residents in the 30th City Council District — which includes all or parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Woodhaven and Woodside — will get to decide how to spend $1 million in city funds on community improvement projects. She is the 11th member of the City Council’s Queens delegation to host participatory budgeting. During the 2015 fiscal year, City Council members Costa Constantinides, Daniel Dromm, Julissa Ferreras, Karen Koslowitz, I. Daneek Miller, Donovan Richards, Antonio Reynoso, Eric Ulrich, Paul Vallone and Jimmy Van Bramer — along with former City Councilman Mark Weprin — pledged to fund $12,871,000 in projects through the process. “This year, I am able to bring participatory budgeting to my constituents and give them insight into the often lengthy and sometimes very expensive city budgeting process,” Crowley said in a statement. “This will provide a forum for active engagement between residents and myself to decide on capital projects, and calls for the participation of every community TIMES NEWSWEEKLY (USPS 465-940) is published weekly by Schneps NY Media LLC, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, NY. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Times Newsweekly/Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. member.” Through participatory budgeting, local residents brainstorm and then vote on a number of proposed capital budget projects for their community, such as street tree planting, park improvements, school technology upgrades, security cameras and street resurfacing. The first round of community meetings focused on the process will be held in September, with voting taking place in February 2016. For additional information, call Crowley’s Glendale office at 718-366- 3900. RIDGEWOOD TIMES/Photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, shown at this April groundbreaking ceremony at Glendale’s Evergreen Playground, is bringing participatory budgeting to her district.
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