New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the successful completion of a comprehensive cleanup of the former Brookfield Avenue Landfill located in Staten Island, New York. The former municipal solid waste disposal site, where toxic materials were illegally dumped in the 1970s, was listed as a Superfund site in 1986, which launched a comprehensive cleanup to protect public health and the environment. After years of thorough investigation and comprehensive remediation, DEC and the New York State Department of Health (DOH) have certified the cleanup is complete and the site is safe to be used as a public park. 

“After decades of abuse from illegal dumping of toxic materials, the site of the former Brookfield Avenue Landfill has been carefully cleaned up to allow for its eventual redevelopment and reuse by the City as public parkland for the residents of Staten Island to enjoy,” said Commissioner Seggos.  “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, DEC remains focused on cleaning up contaminated areas that have stained too many of our communities for far too long, and through this successful remediation we are breathing new life back into this community.”  

The Brookfield Avenue Landfill is a former municipal solid waste disposal site operated by the NYC Department of Sanitation from 1966 until 1980. The facility accepted general refuse, including household garbage and construction wastes and was later discovered to have received illegally dumped toxic materials in the 1970s. After a lengthy process to fully investigate the contamination and develop an appropriate cleanup plan, remediation efforts began in 2009 by the City under DEC’s strict oversight.  DEC invested $100,000,000 to advance the cleanup and restoration of the site.  

The recently completed remedial actions include a landfill cap, a slurry wall around the entire site, a leachate collection and treatment system, and a landfill gas venting system. The site is now subject to a Site Management Plan which includes routine monitoring and periodic certification of the cover system and other engineering controls. 

Senator Andrew Lanza said, "Brookfield Landfill has long been a blight on Great Kills. I have fought for a complete remediation of Brookfield, so that this travesty could be turned into opportunity for our community. Working with city and state officials, I secured the funding necessary to properly cap this site and ensure it is safe for the public to use as a park. I applaud the voluntary work of the Brookfield Citizens Advisory Committee, led by John Felicetti, who met monthly to ensure all community concerns were addressed at every step of the remediation. I also thank NYSDEC, NYSDOH, and NYCDEP for their work on this project, along with Governor Cuomo for his oversight on this reclassification." 

"Converting this site into a park for the community to use represents a change in direction that Staten Island needs. With projects happening across the Island, we are strengthening our local economy, rebuilding our infrastructure, and bringing back the close-knit nature of our community. I commend the efforts of the City and the DEC and am excited to see how this site can benefit Staten Islanders going forward," said Assemblymember Ron Castorina 

“Residents of the South Shore, and indeed all of Staten Island, have been promised that the environmental nightmare known as the Brookfield Landfill would be remediated and transformed into a public park to enjoy for generations to come,” said Borough President James Oddo. “With this announcement, we are one step closer to that goal. Thank you to Governor Cuomo and to DEC for this transformation. A site that was once dead is coming back to life before our very eyes.  We very much look forward to the transfer of the property to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and hope that it opens to the public in a timely manner.”

“This is something that my office has been closely following over the last year and a half through meetings and correspondence with city and state agencies, elected officials, and community stakeholders. I’m excited for the official transition to public parkland and I’d like to thank DEC Commissioner Seggos for his efforts to ensure that this transition adheres to a timeline that is amenable to the Parks Department and surrounding residents,” said Council Member Joseph Borelli.

For more information, visit: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/dep_projects/cp_brookfield_landfill.shtml