Dark cloud over brownfield schools

Although Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to make New York more environmentally friendly by 2030 involves cleaning up 7,600 polluted acres around the city, some politicians and environmentalists believe the agenda is tied to the administration’s more immediate goal of opening 100 schools over the next two years. Four city schools in the Bronx and Queens are currently being built on brownfields. “Frequently there’s state money available to reimburse school construction projects, so at least part, if not all, of the cleanup cost is covered,” said attorney Steven Fischbach, who wrote a study on the subject for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “You have vacant land that’s contaminated, and it’s cheap to acquire.” At issue is whether current cleanup methods address all toxic contaminants at the school sites. The Bloomberg administration says its brownfield cleanup program is not tied to its plans to build new schools. more [Metro]