Polluted construction site in Williamsburg angers local residents

Work on a new 15-story housing tower at 11 Broadway and the corner of Kent Avenue in Williamsburg is angering local residents, as construction is set to begin even though a six-year-old toxic spill underneath the site has not been fully cleaned up. “There are dozens of stalled projects in Williamsburg, more than in any part of the city, so what’s the urgency of putting this building up?” resident Bill Storandt said to the Brooklyn Paper. The project, financed by L+M Development Partners and Goldman Sachs, would consist of 160 units, 80 percent of which will be priced at below-market rates. But the site — where plans to build a $70-million luxury hotel fizzled out in 2007 — contains a toxic oil spill and other contaminants, and state officials confirmed that it does not meet environmental standards. The developer has not submitted a required work plan detailing its clean-up efforts, which must be sent in before construction begins, according to Maureen Wren, spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Conservation. Wren also said that neighbors are concerned about the developer’s plan to include a supermarket on the ground floor of the building, which will put food products close to pollution. [Brooklyn Paper]