Hazard NYC Podcast - The Plume Beneath the Surface Is Creeping Up on Meeker Ave. - Season 2: Episode 2

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Now defunct dry cleaners, metal and brass foundries, and soap and lacquer manufacturers leaked toxic chemicals into the ground in Greenpoint and East Williamsburg, beneath businesses and homes. The feds are taking a look, but in the meantime, locals could be breathing in fumes. There’s a way to find out and fix any problems, but only if property owners get on board.

THE CITY’s senior reporter Samantha Maldonado and independent journalist Jordan Gass-Pooré talk to locals who live on top of the so-called Meeker Avenue Plume and want people to remember, as one neighbor said, “It’s more than just a toxic site” in episode two of Hazard NYC, a four-part FAQ NYC Presents limited series exploring the city’s Superfund sites.

See and read more about the Meeker Avenue Plume here.

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Read the episode transcript below:

**HS VO [PRE-ROLL] **

It’s FAQ NYC PRESENTS, where the only podcast in the only city in the world brings in other voices to dig into what it’s all about.

I’m Harry Siegel, FAQ NYC’s co-host and executive producer, and right now you’re going to hear part 2 of Hazard NYC, a four-part limited series looking at New York’s four federal superfund sites hosted by Samantha Maldonado of The City and independent journalist Jordan Gass-Poore.

Hazard NYC was made possible by support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. The project was produced in partnership with the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and is part of the Pulitzer Center's Connected Coastlines initiative. For more information, go to pulitzer center dot org… forward slash… connected hyphen coastlines.

Hazard NYC is supported in part by Newlab – a platform helping deep-tech startups succeed to address the climate crisis. Learn more at newlab.com.

SM VO

A MENACE LURKS BENEATH THE GROUND IN NORTH BROOKLYN.

**Lisa Bloodgood: **These are toxic chemicals, and so they have pretty serious implications for human health and also environmental health.

JPG VO

YOU CAN’T SEE THEM OR SMELL THEM… BUT THEY’RE CREEPING TOWARD THE SURFACE.

Attendee: It’s kinda scary, it’s really scary, saying I got this freaking chemical coming through different elevations of my house.

[MUX IN: “Hazard NYC Theme”]

SM VO

THIS IS HAZARD N-Y-C… A MINI SERIES FROM F-A-Q N-Y-C.

I’M SAMANTHA MALDONADO… A REPORTER WITH THE CITY.

JGP VO

AND I’M JORDAN GASS POORE… AN INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST AND PODCAST PRODUCER.

ON THIS EPISODE… WE TAKE YOU TO NEW YORK CITY’S LATEST SUPERFUND SITE… THE MEEKER AVENUE PLUME.

[MUX fades down]

JGP VO

THE MEEKER AVENUE PLUME IS MADE UP OF HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS LOCATED UNDER SEVERAL BLOCKS IN NORTH BROOKLYN.

THE STORY STARTS WITH AN OIL SPILL… ONE OF AMERICA'S BIGGEST… EVER.

SM VO

THIS IS THE SAME OIL SPILL THAT’S RIGHT NEAR NEWTOWN CREEK… AS WE GOT INTO IN THE LAST EPISODE.

JGP VO

OVER THE COURSE OF A CENTURY… MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS STORED IN AN OIL REFINERY AND STORAGE FACILITIES IN GREENPOINT LEAKED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S SOIL.

**[NEWS CLIP ARCHIVE] **

JGP VO

IN THE MID TWO THOUSANDS WHEN NEW YORK STATE WAS MONITORING THAT OIL SPILL… THEY DISCOVERED SOMETHING SEPARATE AND NEW.

THEY FOUND CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS IN GREENPOINT’S GROUNDWATER AND SOIL.

THEY NAMED WHAT THEY FOUND THE MEEKER AVENUE PLUME… ALTHOUGH IT STRETCHES BEYOND THE AVENUE.

SM VO

OK… WAIT… LET’S BACK UP… WHAT’S A PLUME?

**Lisa Bloodgood: **Sometimes I say it's an underground puddle.

SM VO

THAT’S LISA BLOODGOOD… A LONGTIME GREENPOINT RESIDENT.

**Lisa Bloodgood: **It's just an area that is subsurface, so below ground level. And the contaminants are commingling with the soil, with the groundwater, and spaces of air in between the soil particles within that area.

SM VO

THE E-P-A IS CONDUCTING ITS OWN INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTAMINATION AND FIGURING OUT WHICH BUSINESSES ARE PROBABLY RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

THE AGENCY IS BUILDING OFF WHAT THE STATE ALREADY FOUND.

**Judith Zelikoff: **These are nasties. These are nasty chemicals.

JGP VO

JUDITH ZELIKOFF IS A TOXICOLOGIST AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE.

**Judith Zelikoff: **When you look at the chemicals that come out of these particular industries, you have things, and what's been identified very clearly and at high levels, has been the trichloroethylene, the tetrachloroethylene, the DCE, the dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride.

JGP VO

THOSE CHEMICALS ARE TYPICALLY IN INDUSTRIAL SOLVENTS AND DEGREASERS.

WHEN THE STATE RESEARCHED THE PLUME… IT LINKED THOSE CHEMICALS TO SIX FORMER LOCAL BUSINESSES… DRY CLEANERS… METAL AND BRASS FOUNDRIES… AND SOAP AND LACQUER MANUFACTURERS.

**Judith Zelikoff: **These chemicals are known to have health effects when the exposure level is high and when the exposure is continuous, for long periods of time. And, especially the trichloroethylene and the tetrachloroethylene, are both known and recognized carcinogens.

SM VO

THE E-P-A IS TRYING TO FIND OUT WHICH CHEMICALS ARE IN THE GROUNDWATER… AND IN WHAT CONCENTRATIONS.

IN ORDER FOR THE AGENCY TO DO THAT… THEY’RE LOOKING INTO GROUNDWATER MONITORING WELLS INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

John Brennan: This is a groundwater monitoring well. It's designated Dec zero 49 R. There are over 300 monitoring wells just like this one, in-and-around Greenpoint. EPA started testing them in August.

SM VO

THAT’S JOHN BRENNAN. HE WORKS WITH THE E-P-A AS A PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE SITE.

[SKATEBOARDER AMBI IN]

WE’RE BELOW THE KOSCIUSZKO BRIDGE IN GREENPOINT. THERE ARE A BUNCH OF SKATEBOARDERS SHREDDING IN A NEARBY SKATE PARK.

[SKATEBOARDER AMBI FADES INTO [MONITORING WELL AMBI]

JOHN UNSCREWS THE CAP OF A GROUNDWATER WELL. IT’S ESSENTIALLY A MANHOLE COVER… ONE YOU PROBABLY STEP ON ALL THE TIME WITHOUT NOTICING.

THERE’S A P-V-C PIPE IN THE HOLE. IT’S SURROUNDED BY CONCRETE UP TO THE SURFACE. AND THE PIPE GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE WATER TABLE.

**John Brennan: **We can put a pump down the well and we can pull the groundwater out. Groundwater samples get put in a jar, inside a cooler with ice, and then get delivered to a laboratory.

JGP VO

THE LAB WILL PERFORM TESTS AND SEND BACK DATA THAT’LL LET JOHN AND HIS TEAM KNOW ABOUT THE LEVELS OF CONTAMINATION IN THE WATER.

John Brennan: We want to get a full assessment about what the groundwater condition is in this area.

JGP VO

JOHN SAYS THIS INVESTIGATION COULD TAKE YEARS.

**John Brennan: **What we'll do is we'll take a look at the data, see if there's any data gaps, see if there's any places maybe we need to put more wells.

SM VO

THE D-E-C… THAT’S NEW YORK STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION… HAS ALREADY DONE A LOT OF WORK ON THIS SITE.

BUT JOHN SAYS THE E-P-A WANTS A MORE HOLISTIC VIEW.

John Brennan: They did a great deal of groundwater sampling, they focused on certain source areas that they discovered. What we're doing now is trying to look at all of them at once. So, sample 320 monitoring wells, all at once.

JGP VO

THE WELLS VARY IN DEPTH. THEY’RE ANYWHERE FROM THIRTY TO ONE-HUNDRED-AND-THIRTY FEET.

JOHN SAYS IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW FAR DOWN THE CONTAMINATION GOES SO THE E-P-A CAN UNDERSTAND THE BOUNDS OF THE PLUME.

John Brennan: Do we have the balance both horizontally and vertically to say we know where that plume ends? Or do we not? So that's really a big part of what we're trying to determine.

**[MUX IN: “Never Alone”] **

SM VO

BASED ON INFORMATION UNCOVERED BY THE STATE… THE AREA OF THE PLUME IS JUST WEST OF MCGOLDRICK PARK. IT’S SHAPED ALMOST LIKE A CHEVRON… WITH ITS POINT DIRECTING US EASTWARD.

…IT STRADDLES THE BROOKLYN-QUEENS EXPRESSWAY IN NORTH BROOKLYN… RIGHT BEFORE THE HIGHWAY HEADS NORTHEAST INTO QUEENS.

JPG VO

BUT THE PLUME CAN MOVE. IT CAN CHANGE DIRECTION. ITS CHEMICALS COULD EVEN GET INTO NEWTOWN CREEK…

SM VO

THE CREEK IS ANOTHER NEARBY SUPERFUND SITE… AS WE HEARD ALL ABOUT IN EPISODE ONE.

JPG VO

THE E-P-A WILL LOOK AT THE RISKS THE PLUME POSES TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND TO HUMAN HEALTH.

JUDITH ZELIKOFF… THE N-Y-U TOXICOLOGIST… SAYS THE DANGERS OF THE CONTAMINATION DEPEND ON THE EXPOSURE.

**[MUX FADE OUT: “Never Alone”] **

Judith Zelikoff: If you're exposed for a short time to these chemicals, you can have what we call acute effects. And those effects are things like your eyes water, you get dizzy, you get brain fog. The chemicals in general do not stick around very long, so they are excreted pretty quickly in the body; they don't form a high body burden.

JGP VO

BUT THE STORY CHANGES FOR LONG-TERM EXPOSURE.

**Judith Zelikoff: **When you're exposed to something day after day after day, it's definitely injurious to the organ systems. And once they cause a mutation or a change in the cell, let's say in the kidney, then it certainly could go on to lead on to kidney cancer.

JGP VO

JUDITH SAYS YOU CAN BE EXPOSED THROUGH CONTACT WITH SOIL OR BY BREATHING IN THE CHEMICALS.

Judith Zelikoff: The one thing that people in Meeker Ave are concerned about is vapor intrusion.

JGP VO

THAT’S HOW TOXIC FUMES CAN START FROM THE PLUME AND GET INTO THE AIR INSIDE A BUILDING WHERE IT CAN BE INHALED.

PEOPLE WHO LIVE OR SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN BASEMENTS OR GROUND FLOORS ARE THE MOST AT RISK OF HARMFUL EFFECTS IF THERE IS VAPOR INTRUSION.

SM VO

BACK UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE… JOHN EXPLAINS HOW VAPOR INTRUSION WORKS.

John Brennan: Essentially, what happens is these contaminants get down into the soil, they get down into the groundwater, and then they begin to travel around, but they don't like to stay in the groundwater for very long because they're volatile.

SM VO

THEY TURN INTO GAS.

John Brennan: Then they get up under a home or a residence or a commercial building and then, unfortunately, sometimes they can work their way into that home.

**[MUX IN: “Heaven We Need”] **

SM VO

THE CHEMICALS CAN COME IN THROUGH CRACKS… OR CRAWL SPACES… OR THROUGH PIPES.

GREENPOINT AND EAST WILLIAMSBURG ARE DENSE AREAS… WITH LOTS OF HOMES AND BUSINESSES SITTING ON TOP OF THE PLUME.

THESE SITES ARE AT RISK OF VAPOR INTRUSION.

AND REMEMBER HOW THE E-P-A IS FIGURING OUT WHERE THE PLUME IS AND WHETHER IT MIGHT MOVE?

WELL… CLIMATE CHANGE CAN AFFECT BOTH THE PLUME’S MOVEMENT AND THE RISK OF VAPOR INTRUSION.

AS A RESULT OF A WARMING PLANET… SEA LEVELS WILL RISE BETWEEN ABOUT A FOOT AND TWO FEET IN THE NEXT THREE DECADES.

THAT’S ACCORDING TO PREDICTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE.

**[MUX OUT: “Heaven We Need”] **

Kristina Hill: As the sea level comes up, groundwater is either going to discharge more to streams and creeks and cracked underground pipes, or it's going to rise. It's either going to leak out or it's going to rise.

JGP VO

THAT’S KRISTINA HILL. SHE’S AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT U-C BERKELEY’S COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN AND A RESEARCHER ON GROUNDWATER.

AS SEA LEVELS RISE… GROUNDWATER CAN ALSO RISE. AND THAT CAN CAUSE A PLUME TO CHANGE DIRECTION.

Kristina Hill: If it changes direction, or gets shallower, then the gas component of all those chemicals can behave differently, like, it can sneak into a sewer line and up into buildings.

SM VO

BUT HOW DOES SOMEONE KNOW IF VAPOR INTRUSION IS A PROBLEM? WELL… THROUGH INDOOR AIR TESTS.

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS… STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES HAVE TESTED HOMES IN THE AREA FOR VAPOR INTRUSION.

NOW… THE E-P-A WANTS TO RAMP UP THE EFFORTS.

**John Brennan: **We don't have a goal, per se. I would certainly like to sample as many houses as we can.

**HS VO [MID-ROLL] **

THE CITY's Hazard NYC podcast is supported in part by Brooklyn SolarWorks, a solar design and installation firm dedicated to helping homes and buildings in New York City reduce their energy costs and their carbon footprints. Want to know if your home or building is right for solar? Schedule a free consultation by visiting brooklynsolarworks.com or calling 347-712-3915

**JGP VO [MID-ROLL] **

I want to tell you about another podcast to check out… called Drilled. Drilled is a true crime podcast about climate change that’s hosted by award winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt and reported by a team of climate journalists. The podcast investigates the various obstacles that have kept the world from responding to climate change. You can listen now to the latest episodes of Drilled… wherever you get your podcasts.

SM VO

WE WENT TO VISIT AN EAST WILLIAMSBURG RESIDENT WHO HAD HER HOME TESTED FOR VAPOR INTRUSION YEARS AGO BY THE STATE.

**[SFX] **

CHRISTINE FACELLA’S HOUSE SITS DIRECTLY ON THE PLUME.

SHE’S OWNED HER BRICK ROW HOME SINCE TWO-THOUSAND-NINE.

IT’S HALF A MILE FROM NEWTOWN CREEK AND JUST BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE NATIONAL GRID DEPOT AND WAREHOUSES THAT BIG TRUCKS DRIVE INTO ALL THE TIME. BUT HER BACKYARD IS A LUSH URBAN OASIS.

THE AFTERNOON WE VISITED… SHE HAD THREE CATS LOUNGING AROUND THE HOUSE.

Christine Facella: [JGP: And your cat is adorable.] Oh, that's not my cat. What's that? That this is, like, I don't know what to call this. There's a party here everyday. We have one cat, but there's often five. So that's, that's Cloudy. He's one of the stray guys. There's three stray guys that come here and demand food…

JGP VO

MORE THAN A DECADE AGO… THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION CONTACTED HER.

Christine Facella: They got in touch and said, ‘Do you mind if we take some air samples?’

JGP VO

THE STATE TESTED HER THREE STORY HOME FOR VAPOR INTRUSION.

**Christine Facella: **They took samples and they said they had no readings, that everything was alright, but they put in a mitigation system anyway or asked us, ‘Do you want this?’ And it was free, so we said, ‘Yes.’ Why wouldn't we do that? [07:14]

SM VO

THE MITIGATION SYSTEM IS BASICALLY LIKE A PIPE THAT RUNS FROM THE BASEMENT TO THE ROOF. IT CAN PULL OUT AND THEN VENT ANY HARMFUL VAPORS.

**Christine Facella: **I've been assured that the mitigation system is enough to keep, you know, things safe.

SM VO

CHRISTINE SHOWED US ONE SMALL PART OF THE SYSTEM… A GAUGE.

**Christine Facella: **We're in the bathroom, which is very, very small. But this is the shaft that sort of connects the whole building.

SM VO

WE PEEKED THROUGH A WINDOW IN HER BATHROOM THAT LOOKS OUT TO AN INTERIOR SHAFT.

**Christine Facella: **It's all hidden in the shaft that is useless besides, you know, connecting the plumbing in this house, and it goes all the way up to the roof, and there's a little sand and it just sucks out, I guess, the ground vapors if there is anything and spews it out.

**[MUX IN: “Interstitial - Happy, Uplifting”] **

JGP VO

THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN IN CHRISTINE’S HOUSE SINCE 20-10. SHE SAYS INSPECTORS HAVE COME BY TO CHECK IT OUT A FEW TIMES.

BUT THAT’S IT.

THIS IS THE KIND OF TESTING AND WORK THE E-P-A WILL DO AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

SOME LOCALS ARE PUSHING FOR THEIR NEIGHBORS TO GET IT DONE.

BUT PROPERTY OWNERS NEED TO GIVE PERMISSION FIRST.

AND THAT MEANS RENTERS HAVE TO ASK THEIR LANDLORDS TO GET TESTING DONE.

HEIDI VANDERLEE IS A GREENPOINT RESIDENT WHO IS ALSO HELPING TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT TESTING.

SHE SAYS SHE’S BEEN RENTING AN APARTMENT ON THE PLUME~~ ~~SINCE LAST APRIL.

**[MUX OUT: “Interstitial - Happy, Uplifting”] **

**Heidi Vanderlee: **I moved from one spot on the plume to another spot on the plume, like, I stayed because this is my neighborhood.

JGP VO

IN HER LAST APARTMENT… HEIDI SAYS SHE ASKED THE E-P-A TO CONTACT HER LANDLORD TO GET THEM TO TEST THE BUILDING.

Heidi Vanderlee: My old landlord was not happy. I don't think it's why she asked me to move out, but I don't think it helped.

SM VO

HEIDI SAYS SHE’S NOT SURE IF THE TESTING EVER HAPPENED AT HER OLD PLACE.

IN HER CURRENT PLACE… HEIDI LIVES ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF HER BUILDING. THAT PUTS HER AT A LOWER RISK OF ANY POSSIBLE VAPOR INTRUSION…

ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO HER NEIGHBOR WHO LIVES ON THE GROUND FLOOR.

HEIDI SPENT TIME TABLING AT THE WEEKLY FARMERS MARKET AT MCGOLDRICK PARK… AND TALKING AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS TO GET THE WORD OUT.

**Heidi Vanderlee: **I've had all kinds of conversations, and people have been pretty engaged actually, like, that's one thing I'll say about this neighborhood is people really care about what happens in it. And, you know, some people it ranged from, like, terrified to, like, ‘Oh, well, I knew this place is poison anyway.’ Or, like, ‘Ah, shit, I should ask my landlord, but I don't think they'll do it.’ And we also got some homeowners who said, ‘Oh, crap.’

SM VO

HEIDI SAYS SOME HOMEOWNERS ARE SKEPTICAL OF THE GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL.

WE ALSO HEARD THAT SOME HOMEOWNERS DON’T WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR TENANTS LIVING IN ILLEGAL BASEMENT APARTMENTS.

JGP VO

AND NOT EVERY TENANT KNOWS THAT THERE’S AN ISSUE HERE TO ASK ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Heidi Vanderlee: A lot of people also just do not know this is happening. And it's just a hard situation because, like, do you want to tell people who are on the first floor living in a basement what's going on? And then they're, like, ‘Well, shit, I'm not cool with my landlord. What do I do?’ Like it sucks, right? It's a very weird catch 22 situation and, like, we're put in the position of trying to navigate that.

SM VO

IN NOVEMBER… HEIDI AND SOME NEIGHBORS HOSTED A MEETING IN THE BASEMENT OF A GREENPOINT CHURCH. IT WAS TO TELL LANDLORDS ABOUT THE PLUME AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO GET TESTING.

**Attendee: **So, right now I am going to hand the mic to the EPA and they will give a presentation, after the presentation, we will have a question and answer session, hopefully you’ll get all your questions answered. And on the way out, please leave your email address…

SM VO

THERE WERE PEOPLE TO TRANSLATE THE MEETING INTO SPANISH AND POLISH.

THE LANDLORDS ASKED ABOUT HOW THE TESTING WOULD AFFECT THEIR PROPERTY VALUES… AND MANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

**Attendee 1: **If you have a crawl space and you don’t have a slab on grade but the crawl space is vented out already, do you need this?

Attendee 2: Is there any sort of compensation because of this?

**Attendee 3: **What happens if you breathe this in?

**Attendee 4: **I think a lot of people are reluctant to have any governmental agency go into their house (that’s true) because I can attest to this personally.

SM VO

AS ANOTHER PART OF ORGANIZING AROUND THE PLUME… THE GROUP OF NEIGHBORS ASKED THE E-P-A TO TEST THE COOPER PARK HOUSES FOR VAPOR INTRUSION.

COOPER PARK IS A PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON THE BORDER OF GREENPOINT AND EAST WILLIAMSBURG.

CONTAMINATION IS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR ELISHA FYE [NAME PRONOUNCER: E-LISH-AH FYE sounds like FRY]… MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS E-W.

**Elisha Fye: **I grew up in the community, so, you know, you have to keep your ear on the pulse of the community, you know, try to preserve and protect it as much as you can.

JGP VO

E-W’S IN HIS SEVENTIES… AND HAS LIVED AT COOPER PARK MOST OF HIS LIFE.

HE’S A FIXTURE OF THE COMMUNITY AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COOPER PARK HOUSES RESIDENT COUNCIL. HE UNDERSTANDS WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN A HEAVILY TRAFFICKED INDUSTRIAL CORRIDOR.

**Elisha Fye: **It's just a plethora of different things that were the north side, it's being attacked with, you know, pollution and it didn't just start yesterday.

SM VO

E-W GREW UP PLAYING ON LAND THAT IS NOW A BASEBALL FIELD… WELL… A CLOSED BASEBALL FIELD… CLOSED BECAUSE OF THE LEVELS OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS FOUND IN THE SOIL.

AND… OF COURSE… NEARBY IS A MASSIVE UNDERGROUND OIL SPILL… THE ONE MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS EPISODE.

JPG VO

THAT’S NOT ALL.

**Elisha Fye: **We started out with the truckin’. We was receiving 75% of the garbage. Am I right? At one point right here, right here, right in our backyard.

JGP VO

AND THERE’S THE MEEKER AVENUE PLUME.

**Elisha Fye: **I'm just finding out about the plume.

JGP VO

COOPER PARK HOUSES DOES NOT SIT ON THE PLUME. BUT THE E-P-A TESTED THE HOUSES FOR VAPOR INTRUSION ANYWAY.

**Debra Benders: **Even though might be outside the boundaries we’re still part of this community because the way this place is divided if you go across the street it’s Greenpoint area, but this side is Williamsburg area, so we still part of it no matter what side of the street we on.

SM VO

THAT’S E-W’S NEIGHBOR… DEBRA BENDERS. SHE’S THE PRESIDENT OF THE RESIDENT COUNCIL. THAT’S A ROLE SHE SAYS INVOLVES…

**Debra Benders: **A lot of work. A lot of work that's not paid. But I don't mind doing it because I love where I live at.

JGP VO

PART OF THAT WORK IS STAYING INFORMED ABOUT THE MEEKER AVENUE PLUME. SHE WAS AT THE MEETING WHEN THE E-P-A SHARED RESULTS OF THE COOPER PARK TESTING.

FOR THE MOST PART… THE RESULTS WERE CLEAN. BUT THE E-P-A FOUND HIGH LEVELS OF CONTAMINANTS IN A FEW SAMPLES. BUT WHAT WAS FOUND WAS LIKELY NOT FROM THE PLUME.

Debra Benders: Whatever it was, it was like cleaning products.

SM VO

THE E-P-A FOUND IT DIDN’T NEED TO TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION AT THE COOPER PARK HOUSES… FOR THE TIME BEING. BUT DEBRA AND E-W WERE GLAD TO HAVE THE SAMPLING DONE.

IT’S A WAY TO PROTECT THEIR NEIGHBORS… WHO HAVE AMONG THE HIGHEST RATES OF ASTHMA… C-O-P-D… AND HEART DISEASE IN THE CITY.

ANY INFORMATION THEY HAVE IS ANOTHER TOOL TO ARM THEM IN THE FIGHT AGAINST POLLUTION IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

I ASKED DEBRA WHAT SHE WANTS FOR HER NEIGHBORHOOD.

**Debra Benders: **I wouldn't even know how to answer that question. I’m just hoping we get some clean air. I mean, like, trucks not coming through here, as much as some of these factories, we don't have as many as we used to have years ago, so that's a plus too. So, I mean, change how people do things, you know?

SM VO

FOR DEBRA AND E-W… THE PLUME’S REMEDIATION IS JUST ONE PIECE OF IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.

**Elisha Fye: **It's a lifetime battle. And we have to really try to combat this and get a hold of it.

SM VO

THAT’S WHAT’S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS SUPERFUND CLEAN UP. FOR MANY… IT’S HOME… AND THEY’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

Christine Facella: It's more than just a toxic site.

JGP VO

CHRISTINE FACELLA AGAIN.

Christine Facella: One of the things that I love about it, because we are at the end of the world, is it's a haven for wildlife. And so I want people to know that too, that this isn't just a gross place, and I'm a little tired of people saying you need to move because we're kind of dedicated to our space and land.

[THEME MUX IN]

JGP VO [CREDITS]

THIS HAS BEEN EPISODE TWO OF HAZARD N-Y-C… A SPECIAL FOUR PART LIMITED SERIES FROM F-A-Q N-Y-C.

THE SHOW IS WRITTEN AND HOSTED BY SAMANTHA MALDONADO…

AND ME… JORDAN GASS-POORE… THE CREATOR AND EDITOR OF THE SHOW.

OUR ENGINEERS ARE ADAM CHIMERA AND MARK BUSH… WHO ALSO DID OUR SOUND DESIGN.

MUSIC FOR THE SHOW WAS COMPOSED BY NICK PENNINGTON.

ARTWORK BY MATTHEW FLEMING.

COME BACK TOMORROW TO HEAR EPISODE THREE.

[THEME MUX OUT]

**HS VO [POST-ROLL] **

FAQ NYC is part of The City, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York. Our work is freely available to everyone, and is supported by listeners and readers like you — go to the city dot nyc slash give if you’d like to pitch in. Harry Siegel is FAQ NYC’s executive producer. The pod also receives support from P&T Knitwear, an independent bookstore, cafe, and event space on Manhattan's Lower East Side with a podcast studio that can be freely reserved for community use. The pod is a proud member of the Brickhouse cooperative of independent journalists, critics and artists, and is affiliated with the Colin Powell School at CUNY’s City College where co-host Christina Greer is one of the Moynihan Public Scholars inaugural fellows.