Intro Template

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I am writing as a (parent/neighbor/community member) who attends The Baby Meetup with my family (weekly/3x a month/monthly) throughout the year. My child/children are (ages) and maintaining the safety of the soil and air quality at Paradise on Earth Garden is extremely important to me. 

Optional, we also attend with our elderly/immunocompromised family members. Feel free to adjust this to your family and also add anything else that you may want to share.  

 

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I am writing to submit comments on the Brownfield Cleanup Program Application from Fort Apache Residences LLC for the site known as Dr. Izquierdo Gardens (Site ID #C203102).

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Our community garden, Paradise on Earth Community Garden, sits directly adjacent to the proposed construction site. There is only a chain-link fence separating the two properties. 

Paradise on Earth Community Garden was created with clean soil, and it serves as an essential community space for our neighborhood. We are deeply concerned about the Brownfield Cleanup that Fort Apache Residences LLC has applied for at 1111 Fox Street due to the contaminants found in the soil, soil vapor and groundwater during testing in both in 2016 and in 2025.  

Our garden is used extensively and especially by the most vulnerable and sensitive members of our community and we worried about contaminated dust and soil migration into the garden as a potential pathway to exposure which is why we are expressing our concerns and requests to NYS DEC.

Paradise on Earth hosts children’s programming, known as The Baby Meetup, provides free weekly playgroups, outdoor learning experiences and parent–child workshops for families with children under age 5. The attendees of our weekly event are extremely sensitive to pollution and contaminants - they are pregnant, postpartum & breastfeeding people, babies, toddlers, their grandparents and other caregivers. Many of these same attendees are also immunocompromised and/or have special needs. The Baby Meetup is hosted once a week, from April through November(9 months of the year), with an average attendance of 35 families, each family includes adults and children so the average number of participants is between 60-70 per 3 hour session. 

Beyond hosting very well attended weekly events, Paradise on Earth Community Garden also grows, harvests & shares produce with our community members. Our garden members tend to their garden beds any day of the week as well as host open hours for the community who come to eat at the tables and play in the open space.  

Paradise on Earth is a primary site for weekly fresh produce distributions by Morning Glory Garden and Serra Vida Farms throughout the growing season.

Additionally, the Charles J Fox Elementary School (Pre-K to 5th grade) utilizes the playground directly next to the construction site and the garden, increasing the number of vulnerable children who could be impacted by dust or contamination. The children go outside for recess every single day of the school year, with exception only for weather. 

Because the developer’s cleanup and excavation activities will occur immediately next to our garden, we are requesting clear and enforceable protections to ensure that our community — especially young children — are not exposed to contaminated dust, soil, vapor, or runoff.

Based on our experience of living in this community for generations, we are well aware that developers may or may not have the health of the community in mind when excavating and building. We also know that developers subcontract extensive amounts of the work involved and do not frequently have team members on site daily during the entire excavation and construction process. A developer may write about their positive intentions in their applications for funding, but that does not necessarily translate into safe practices and techniques every step of the way.  

We cannot afford missteps in a brownfield cleanup because we live here, grow food here, eat here, safely let our babies and children play here. We recognize that the developers have made a documentary about the history of the site and have well-intentioned plans for the new building, but they do not live here and will not physically deal with the repercussions of contaminated air, soil and water.  

Under the BCP, NYSDEC requires a Community Participation Plan before a cleanup begins. 
Given this context and this requirement, we are making several requests and recommendations: 

1. Communication
Under the CPP, as an adjacent property, we are requesting that we be placed on a mailing list for all findings, sampling results and comment periods. 

2. Publicly Shared Safety Plan/Interim Site Management Plan(ISMP) and Remedial Action Work Plan(RAWP) 
Brownfield excavations can be done safely, if a thorough and circumspect plan is diligently adhered to. We are requesting that the full safety plan/ISMP/RAWP be shared publicly and specifically with Paradise on Earth Garden. The plans should have a focus on community and environmental health and include systematic methods to prevent dust and runoff from leaving the site including a "wet excavation" to prevent contaminants from becoming airborne, dust screens or barriers along the shared fences, wheel washing stations, covered removal of debris. These measures are important to the safety of our community and we would like to see them outlined in detail. 

3. Higher level of Monitoring 
We are requesting a NYSDEC-required Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) during construction and specifically air quality monitoring for particulates and VOCs on the fence that we share throughout the entire process of excavation and building with publicly available real time data. We are recommending the same for the fence shared with the school playground. 

4. Commitment and Proof
We are requesting a public commitment from Ford Apache Residencies LLC and their contractors to the safety plan and to sharing proof that they are following it. 

Questions
While we know that the development is in the initial phases and the comment period has just opened, we are requesting answers to the following questions as soon as practical:
Who will serve as the primary environmental point of contact and how can community members contact them?
Will DEC or the developer host public meetings for adjacent residents and garden users?
When can we expect that the developer will submit the Remedial Investigation Work Plan (RIWP) to NYSDEC?
Can we request that the developer provide at least 48 hours’ notice before major excavation or soil removal work begins?
Will work stop immediately if perimeter air monitoring exceeds action levels?
Who is the point of contact for environmental inquiries, and what is the preferred way to contact them?
Will the developer and/ or NYSDEC provide copies of the RIWP, RI Report, and the Draft Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) when they are submitted to NYSDEC?
Will the developer and/or NYSDEC host or participate in any informational meeting(s) held for adjacent residents/garden users?
Sincerely,