Toxic Abadi Site On Smith Street Finally Gets Adequately Secured

BEFORE

AFTER

That was about time!

Mr. Abadi, the owner of the 455/459 Smith Street site finally did what he should have done a very, very long time ago: install a secure fence around his highly contaminated land.

Since last week, a higher, sturdier chain-link fence surrounds the site next to the Gowanus Canal.

The inadequate plywood fence that had previously been installed blew down countless times, exposing contaminated soil and an opening to the 3rd Street sewer line. The falling wood panels also damaged cars parked on Huntington Street between the canal and Smith Street at least twice. Those owners were never paid for the damage, because there was a problem with Mr. Abati's insurance. (It would appear that he did not have insurance for the site.)

The Abadi property has been declared a brownfield site due to the contaminated soil and coal tar left behind by the old Brooklyn Union Gas Company and various other industries. It is also next to the equally toxic six acre Public Place site, which the city intends to turn into a mixed-use development with over 700 units of low and middle -income housing after re-mediation.

In any case, the new fence is good news.

Related Reading:

Once Again, Construction Fence At Toxic Abadi Site Falls, Damaging Cars

More Trouble at Toxic Abadi Site At 455-459 Smith Street

The Very Troubling History Of The Smith Street Abadi Warehouse Demolition

Abadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo

Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abadi Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight

When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus

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Once Again, Construction Fence At Toxic Abadi Site Falls, Damaging Cars

On Smith Street side

On Huntington Street side

trash around site

Once again, the construction fence surrounding the Abadi/Vichar property at 455/459 Smith Street has fallen down, leaving the highly toxic site wide open to the public. Rain soaked plywood panels, together with sections of the chain-link fence, were blown right onto the sidewalk on Smith Street. On Huntington Street, a section fell right onto a car.

This, it would seem, has become a frequent occurrence at the site. The same happened in November '09. And of course, there was a partial building collapse at the site before that.


The Abadi property has been declared a brownfield site due to the contaminated soil and coal tar left behind by the old Brooklyn Union Gas Company and various other industries. It is also next to the equally toxic six acre Public Place site, which the city intends to turn into a mixed-use development with over 700 units of low and middle -income housing after re-mediation.

The NYC Department of Buildings has placed a partial stop work order on the site and there are quite a few violations that are outstanding.

This is a dangerous situation that has been allowed to occur over and over. Leaving a brownfield site wide open is just unacceptable.

Related reading

More Trouble at Toxic Abadi Site At 455-459 Smith Street

The Very Troubling History Of The Smith Street Abadi Warehouse Demolition

Abadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo

Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abadi Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight

When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus

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More Trouble at Toxic Abadi Site At 455-459 Smith Street

photo credit: Reader J

This week-end's high winds knocked down a few sections of the construction fence surrounding the Abadi/ Vichar site at 455-459 Smith Street. Instead of being nailed up again, the sections were removed, leaving a huge gap in the fence. As of Friday morning, the extremely toxic site is wide open to the public. The Abadi property has been declared a brownfield site due to the contaminated soil and coal tar left behind by the old Brooklyn Union Gas Company and various other industries. It is also next to the equally toxic six acre Public Place site, which the city intends to turn into a mixed-use development with over 700 units of low and middle -income housing after remediation. Leaving the 455-459 Smith Street property wide open is not only a violation, it is also an incredible health hazard. As though the toxins in the ground aren't dangerous enough, the Bond Street sewer pipe is accessible from the site. It is only covered by a piece of metal. Someone could easily fall in.
At the Abadi Site: Opening to Bond Street Sewer Pipe

photo credit: Reader J. 

The New York City Buildings Department just recently lifted a Stop-Work Order on the Abadi/Vichar site. It was rather surprising, since there are still 18 ECB and 7 DOB active violations on record But on November 14th, the site was hit with a new partial stop-work order for an expired permit. 

Newest partial stop-work order served on November 14th After all the violations, stop-work orders and partial building collapse at the site in August, one has to wonder why the D.O.B. and the Department of Environmental Conservation do not monitor the Abadi/Vichar property more closely. There simply is no excuse. 

Related Reading:
The Very Troubling History Of The Smith Street Abadi Warehouse DemolitionAbadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo
Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abadi Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight
When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking

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The Very Troubling History Of The Smith Street Abadi Warehouse Demolition

The former Abadi/ Vichar, Inc. building in early 2009

Late 2008

Very recently, the New York City Buildings Department has lifted a Stop-Work Order imposed on the Abadi/ Vichar, Inc. Warehouse at 455-459 Smith Street. It is rather surprising, since there are still 15 ECB and 7 DOB active violations. Besides those violations, there are quite a few reasons why this site should be closely monitored, both by this community and the DOB, but also by the Department Of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Reason # 1 

In February 2009, the contractor, Perry Ferrara, had his crews demolish the roof of the building, which once housed 47th Street Photo. But he did so without the knowledge of the Buildings Department and without receiving the proper demolition permit. The roof contained asbestos, so the unsupervised demolition was rather problematic. The demo earned the site a full stop-work order for "hazardous conditions and lack of public protection.

Reason #2

Predictably, the structurally weakened building collapsed on August 11th, 2009. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but quite a few cars were buried under the rubble. Interestingly enough, when the owners of the cars contacted Mr. Ferrara's insurance company to file their claims, they were told by the claims adjuster that the contractor is not covered for this type of incident. It would appear that he is only insured for interior sheet rock installation, not the demolition of an entire building.
The car owners still need to be reimbursed for damages. If that is indeed correct, one would suppose that the Buildings Department would have caught the mistake.

Reason # 3

The Abadi property has been declared a brownfield site due to the contaminated soil and coal tar left behind by the old Brooklyn Union Gas Company and various other industries. It is also next to the equally toxic six acre Public Place site, which the city intends to turn into a mixed-use development with over 700 units of low and middle -income housing after remediation. Just this week, the Stop-Work Order was lifted and demolition resumed. Today, crews were digging away at the cement slab of the old building. Whatever is underneath that slab is rather nasty and dangerous stuff. If any special steps had been taken because of the toxicity in the ground, it was not apparent yesterday, when I took the video above. In addition, the site has not been secured. Anyone can slip through the big gap in the fencing. Given the history of the demolition of Mr. Abadi's property so far, it is important to keep our collective eyes and ears open. The owner and his contractor have been way too negligent so far.

filmed October 6th 2009

Abadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo
Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abadi Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight
When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus

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When 'The East India Chemical Works Company' Made Fertilizers On The Shores Of The Gowanus

This incredible print of the East India Chemical Works Company is from the 19th century and is part of a larger advertisement booklet for a fertilizer company that was located on the shores of the Gowanus Canal.

The company was established in 1864 by H.J. Baker & Bro., Inc. A brief history on their web site indicates that:
As the Civil War draws to a close, H.J. Baker & Bro., prepares to meet peacetime demands. The company purchases the facilities of the Gowanus Chemical Works on Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal. Renaming it the East India Chemical Works, H.J. Baker begins producing America's early fertilizers. These early fertilizers were mostly low analysis organics, including specific analyses for potatoes, onions, corn and other crops.

The actual brochure is from 1906. A caption below the image reads:

Factory On Block Bounded By Smith Street, Huntington Street & Gowanus Canal Brooklyn
This would place it in the general vicinity of Public Place and the Abati warehouse at 455-458 Smith Street, which is in the process of being demolished.
The print comes courtesy of the Park Slope Gallery, which has been incredibly generous in letting me use some of their fabulous historic documents.

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Abadi Warehouse: Carroll Gardeners Finally Clued In On Demo

CB6 Public Safety/Environmental Protection Committee Meeting last night

Mr. Abadi's Lawyer

Perry Ferrara, demolition contractor

Michael Zukauskas of GEI Consultants ,

hired by National Grid

Carroll Gardeners finally received some information about the demolition of the Abadi warehouse at 455-458 Smith Street.
Last night, at Community Board 6's Public Safety/Environmental Protection
Committee meeting, Mr. Abadi's lawyer, his demolition contractor Perry Ferrara and Michael Zukauskas of GEI Consultants, a geotechnical consulting firm hired by National Grid, talked about the project and explained what has been done so far and what will happen next.

It seems that in the spring of 2008, asbestos was discovered in the roof of the warehouse. Before receiving a demolition permit from the Department of Buildings, this asbestos had to be abated. The work was completed in July 2008 and the asbestos removed from the site.

Currently, Mr. Ferrara explained, Phase 1 of the project is under way. This involves the removal of all of the structure above ground. The roof has been removed except for one small section. The exterior walls will be knocked down next, which is no more than a two day procedure.
Lastly, the floor slab will be taken up. The debris will be shipped out of the area on barges on the Gowanus canal.

Phase 2 will involve anything below ground and will be the responsiblity of Keyspan/ National Grid (the former Brooklyn Union Gas). The company once operated a gas manufacturing plant on the site. Over decades, dangerous toxins have leached into the ground and will need to be remediated . For this, they have hired GEI Consultants. As explained by Mr. Zukauskas, GEI's representative,
the work will present two problems: dust and vapors.
To keep dust from spreading as the soil is disturbed, the area will be wet down. The release of vapors will be constantly monitored. If they should escape, they will be contained by using a special foam which knocks them down. Work will be stopped until it is safe to continue. Foam spreading equipment will be on site.

Mr. Ferrara and Mr.Zukauskas promised to be more communicative. Last night, they agreed to inform the Community Board of all steps taken.

As for the stop work order that has been placed on the site? Mr. Ferrara stated that all points had been addressed and feels confident that the order will be lifted by Wednesday.

My opinion?
Carroll Gardeners should be extremely vigilant. The toxic brew underneath the warehouse is incredibly dangerous. It is in our best interest to stay involved, ask questions and press our officials to do the same. Read more

Carroll Gardeners To Get Answers About Abati Building At CB6 Meeting Tonight

It appears that long before receiving a demolition permit by the Department of Buildings for his warehouse at 455-459 Smith Street, the owner, Mr. Abati, had allowed crews to dismantle his building, starting with the roof.
Situated next to the Public Place site, the earth underneath the Abati warehouse is equally toxic. Carroll Gardeners have long been suspicious of the goings-on at the site.
Last week, a Full Stop-Work Order has been issued by D.o.B. for ' Hazardous Conditions and Lack Of Public Protection.'
Hopefully, the neighborhood will be able to get some answers tonight.
According to Tom Gray, Councilman deBlasio's District Director:

"Perry Ferrara the man heading the Demo and Mr. Abadi's attorney have
agreed to attend the CB6 Public Safety/Environmental Protection
Committee meeting Monday evening to present their plans for resuming
work and the ongoing demo of the site. They will be prepared to answer
questions from the community."

So come out and let them know that they can't jeopardize our health!

Where: Public School 32 317 Hoyt Street Brooklyn NY
WHEN: Monday, February 23
AT: 6:30 PM

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