Cornell Tech – Roosevelt Island Campus

Roux collaborated with Cornell University to efficiently manage all soil and groundwater during subsurface disturbances to support the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP)-required Remedial Action Plan (RAP) developed for the Site. Roux also worked closely with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), the lead agency of the Site, to ensure all redevelopment and remediation work was completed to the satisfaction of all local and city regulations. The Site, formerly home to the seven-building Goldwater Memorial Hospital, is an approximate 12.5-acre parcel on the southern end of Roosevelt Island located between Manhattan and Queens. The campus opened in 2017 with completion of four new state-of-the-art buildings, a geothermal well field, and a 6.5-acre open meadow enveloping the southern end of the Site. In 2021, the final two buildings of Cornell University’s campus redevelopment were completed and NYCDEP sign-off, showing that all RAP responsibilities were properly carried out, was obtained.

During construction activities, our services included:

• Effectively communicating with various public agencies (NYCDEP, NYCEDC, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation [NYSDEC], Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation);
• Community Air Monitoring Program;
• Soil characterization of over 50,000 tons of soil intended for reuse on-site;
• Documentation of meadow regrading and installation of engineered soil cap, meeting standards determined by the NYCDEP;
• Coordination with the NYSDEC to secure approval for temporary construction dewatering (State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System [SPDES]);
• Stormwater Pollution Protection Plan (SWPPP) site-wide inspections and coordination;
• Underground storage tank (UST) removal; and
• Preparation of two separate Remedial Closure Reports.

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