Gotham Point, Hunter’s Point South

The Gotham Organization is developing a 1.4-acre project known as Gotham Point that consists of two parcels located along the East River and Newtown Creek within the Hunters Point South (HPS) Project Area in Long Island City, Queens. The Site and surrounding area historically operated as a sugar refinery and newspaper printing press, among other industrial and commercial uses. This prior site use posed a potential adverse impact to subsurface conditions due to facility operation, their subsequent demolition, and import of fill from unknown sources. The main contaminants of concern were metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil, likely present as a result of historical and recent fill placement to extend the land into the East River and raise grade. The land in the HPS Project Area was owned by the City of New York and has been completely redeveloped with new infrastructure, parks, and schools.

Roux was awarded the environmental consulting work through a competitive bidding process in early 2018. By collaborating with Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) for geotechnical engineering services and Bohler Engineering for site civil services, our firms were able to displace one full-service incumbent engineering and consulting firm. Both parcels entered the Brownfield Cleanup Program in December of 2018, followed by investigation and reporting work throughout 2019, and remedial soil removal and excavation for building foundations in 2020. In order to maintain competitive costs, one field manager conducted oversight and inspections of both parcels simultaneously for the entire duration of the project.

Roux worked with MRCE to allow for the support of excavation (SOE) design to achieve the depth necessary for soil excavation and remediation to the desired Brownfields Cleanup Program (BCP) track. Roux’s 2020 scope of work included construction oversight, drilling oversight, community air monitoring program implementation, waste characterization soil sampling, endpoint soil sampling, dewatering inspections, and vapor barrier inspections. Roux’s remedial design included the export of approximately 40,000 tons of soil from the Site. Certificates of Completion were received in 2020 and the buildings were completed in 2022.

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