NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that brownfield remediation work has been completed at 149 North Avenue in New Rochelle, NY. Flamingo Cleaners began dry cleaning operations at that location, near the southeastern corner of the intersection of Clinton Place and North Avenue, in 1958. The dry cleaning business operated until 2005.
The location is well familiar to Talk of the Sound readers as the home of New Roc Mini-Mart, run by Abbas Al-Saidi, a paid FBI informant in the Liberty Seven terrorism case in Miami, FL.
The site is a one-story commercial building with a full basement. The building is divided into four tenant spaces which included Shooters Bar, a beauty salon, a pizza restaurant that previously housed a travel agency and the dry-cleaner location taken over by New Roc Mini-Mart (and since closed). The existing building was constructed in 1941 and used for retail.
Prior to remediation, the primary contaminants of concern were volatile organic compounds, primarily tetrachloroethylene (PCE or perc) which was present in soils, groundwater, and indoor air. PCE breakdown products Trichloroethene (TCE) and 1,2-dichloroethene (1,2-DCE), vinyl chloride, as well as 1,1,1 trichloroethane (1,1,1 TCA), were also present at the site.
After Flamingo Cleaners shut down operations in 2005 all dry-cleaning equipment was removed. Site contamination is a result of the former dry cleaner operations from improper management, disposal, and leaks of tetrachloroethylene (PCE). Prior completed investigations include a Phase I Investigation in October of 2003 and a Phase II Investigation completed in March of 2004. The Volunteer entered into a Brownfield Cleanup Agreement in April 2005.
A Decision Document was issued in March 2012 for a remedy involving source soil removal and in situ chemical oxidation treatment of groundwater. Based on the extent of the site contamination, a referral to State Superfund for an off-site investigation was completed in December 2007. The groundwater plume was found to be isolated to immediately behind the building and little to no off-site impacts were noted in groundwater, soils, nor in soil vapor.
The site is underlain by glacial till which sits atop highly weathered bedrock. Bedrock ranges from 5 – 22 feet below ground surface. The water table is between 5 – 11 feet below ground surface. Groundwater flow direction dominantly to the south-southeast toward Long Island Sound, however, site specific groundwater flow direction is radial, and seasonally affected.
According to an NYSDEC report, remedial actions have removed source soils, treated groundwater, and have prevented contaminants from entering the indoor air. Residual contamination in the soil, groundwater, and indoor air is being managed under a Site Management Plan.
Measures are in place to control the potential for coming in contact with subsurface soil and ground water contamination remaining on the site. Contaminated groundwater at the site is not used for drinking or other purposes and the site is served by a public water supply that obtains water from a different source not affected by this contamination. Volatile organic compounds in groundwater and/or soil may move into the soil vapor (air space within the soil), which in turn may move into overlying building and affect the indoor air quality. This process, which is similar to the movement of radon gas from the subsurface into the indoor air of buildings, is referred to as soil vapor intrusion. A sub-slab depressurization system (system that ventilate/remove the air beneath the building) has been installed in the on-site building to prevent the indoor air quality from being affected by the contamination in the soil vapor beneath the building. Sampling indicates soil vapor intrusion is not a concern for off-site buildings.