Buyer beware: Toxic sites litter NYC neighborhoods

PropertyShark's interactive map of toxic sites in New York City
PropertyShark's interactive map of toxic sites in New York City

New York property owners, you would think, have enough concerns without taking toxic sites into consideration.

From oil spills to hazardous waste violations, the Big Apple is littered with toxic spots that could trigger health or financial woes, according to an interactive map of such sites compiled by PropertyShark.com, first spotted by Brick Underground.

“It’s buyer or investor beware,” Nancy Jorisch, a senior data analyst for PropertyShark, told BrickUnderground, adding that in some cases buyers could be on the hook for clean-up in spots where they may have played no role in the original mess. “Properties closest to manufacturing plants, gas stations and landfills have the highest amounts of potential toxicity.”

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Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, to name one such place, is considered one of the country’s most polluted spots thanks to a 30 million gallon oil and raw sewage spill that lead to the locale’s designation as a Superfund site in 2010.

And yet, some concerns should weigh more heavily than others, as the map’s key explains.

“Not all icons are equally serious and some issues are much more benign than others,” Jorisch told BrickUnderground. [BrickUnderground] — Julie Strickland