Remediation of Farrington Avenue site underway

From the Queens Tribune:

The third phase of Con Edison’s remedial investigation at a Flushing site is underway.

The agency entered into a voluntary cleanup agreement with the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the State Dept. of Health to investigate and remediate potential impacts at former manufactured gas plant sites, such as the Farrington Street Gas Works. The latest phase of this investigation is taking place through January.

The agency is looking into sites that were at one point operated by Con Ed or its predecessor companies, before natural gas became widely available. These plants, which operated between the 1800s and mid-1900s, were used to convert coal and oil into gas for heating, lighting and cooking.

One example is the former New York & Queens Gas Company, which manufactured and stored gas at Farrington Street Gas Works. That company used to own properties on the blocks contained by Linden Place to the east, Downing Street to the west, 31st Road to the north and 32nd Drive to the south. The site is approximately 6.17 acres of land.

The areas the agency is looking into now contain a Pathmark grocery, pharmacy and various stores, a Con Ed storage facility and a Con Ed truck flush facility.

The third and current phase of this project includes the collection of soil and groundwater samples around the Pathmark building. When the testing is completed, a report will be issued with the findings and results of the investigation, along with Con Ed’s next steps.

During the remedial investigations, Con Ed said extensive efforts are being made to protect the community from potential hazards, such as real-time air monitoring.