Discovery of methane gas at site of Bronx golf course worries residents

A city-owned former landfill in the Bronx is set to becomes an 18-hole golf course, but high levels of methane gas recently detected on the site have some residents worried, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city found that the gas levels on the site in Ferry Point Park, in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx, did not pose a threat,but the discovery has proved to be another setback for the long–delayed project.

In January, the Parks Department chose the Trump Organization to operate the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, which is expected to wrap-up construction in 2014. The city is spending nearly $100 million to renovate the site, more than $40 million of which will pay for the removal of waste. An additional $85 million is set to be spent on upgrades to Ferry Point Park.

But despite concerns over the high levels of gas, with so much city money flowing into the area  — as well as the $16 million or so to be spent by Trump — many locals are glad to see the project finally getting underway.

“I think it’s going to be good for the value of my house,” Tony Robles, who has lived a block away from Ferry Point Park for 10 years, said. [WSJ] —Christopher Cameron