NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 24, 2026) — Four lawsuits filed in Bronx and Westchester counties have brought new details to light about a chemical incident at developer Mark Stagg’s New Rochelle construction project that left a worker severely burned and prompted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to move to revoke the property’s environmental cleanup certification. The lawsuits challenge DEC decisions affecting four other brownfield redevelopment projects associated with Stagg in Yonkers, Peekskill and the Bronx.
Although the cases involve separate properties, each stems from the agency’s investigation into a November 4, 2025 incident at 26 Garden Street, where workers poured chemicals into a groundwater monitoring well at the former Cottage-Garden Auto Repair site. The court filings include statements attributed to an injured worker indicating that similar work had been performed previously, a sworn declaration from an environmental engineer acknowledging discussions about the chemicals with a development representative, and extensive records concerning groundwater sampling at the property.
The filings also show how an incident at one New Rochelle property has become the basis for DEC actions against other redevelopment projects involving Stagg, setting off a series of legal challenges over the agency’s authority to exclude developers from New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
Four Lawsuits in Two Counties
Three of the lawsuits were filed September 14, 2026, in Bronx Supreme Court, while the fourth was filed October 22 in Westchester Supreme Court. Although three proceedings are pending in the Bronx, only two involve Bronx properties; the third concerns a redevelopment project in Peekskill.
The first Bronx case, South Bronx Development I LLC v. NYSDEC, Index No. 818169/2026E, concerns the Webster Avenue Auto Repair and Substation property. The developer challenges DEC’s June 22 decision to rescind its earlier acceptance of the property into the Brownfield Cleanup Program. A second proceeding, South Bronx Development I LLC and South Bronx Development II LLC v. NYSDEC, Index No. 818191/2026E, challenges DEC’s June 22 determination that the nearby Webster Avenue Railroad Harlem Division property was ineligible for the program.
The third Bronx proceeding, 418 North Division Street LLC v. NYSDEC, Index No. 818199/2026E, concerns the Highland Light Steam Laundry property in Peekskill. DEC rejected the project’s Brownfield Cleanup Program application on June 22, citing concerns arising from the Garden Street incident. The fourth lawsuit, Yonkers Kimball Development LLC v. NYSDEC, Index No. 76495/2026, was filed in Westchester Supreme Court and challenges DEC’s July 7 refusal to approve an amendment to an existing Brownfield Cleanup Agreement involving a Yonkers property.
All four lawsuits are being handled by Albert J. Pirro Jr. and attorneys at Abrams Fensterman, including Amy Marion. Pirro is a prominent Westchester attorney and the former husband of Jeanine Pirro, who served as Westchester County district attorney before becoming a Fox News television personality and, more recently, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
Albert Pirro also represents his former wife in litigation involving Con Edison in Rye, a matter extensively covered by Talk of the Sound. He has been in communication with Talk of the Sound concerning the brownfield litigation and has responded to questions about the cases.
Injured Worker Described Previous Work on Monitoring Wells
The most consequential details concern what DEC investigators learned following the November 4 incident at Garden Street. The accident occurred while workers were handling sodium persulfate and sodium hydroxide, chemicals that can be used together in environmental remediation. José Candelario suffered severe chemical burns, including serious injuries to his eyes, when a chemical reaction occurred at the site.
According to DEC’s June 1, 2026 notice of intent to revoke the property’s Certificate of Completion, investigators reviewed New Rochelle Police Department body-worn camera footage of a November 5 hospital interview with Candelario. DEC’s account indicates that Candelario described work involving the cleaning of groundwater monitoring wells before an anticipated inspection and said similar work had been performed previously. The agency also identified Mark Fonte, a representative involved with the development, in connection with instructions given to the workers.
That statement is particularly significant because the developers maintain that the chemicals entered monitoring well MW-4 accidentally when workers mistook the well for a drain. If workers had previously introduced chemicals into groundwater monitoring wells, it would raise questions about whether the November incident was an isolated mistake and whether earlier groundwater sampling results could have been affected.
DEC’s account of the hospital interview is contained in the agency’s investigative materials and is disputed by the developers. The underlying body-camera footage has not been released to Talk of the Sound, which has sought police records concerning the incident under New York’s Freedom of Information Law.
DEC Moves to Revoke Cleanup Certification
The Garden Street property was part of the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, which encourages redevelopment of contaminated properties through environmental remediation and financial incentives. The former Cottage-Garden Auto Repair site received a conditional Certificate of Completion in 2020, recognizing completion of an approved cleanup program while leaving certain environmental restrictions and monitoring obligations in place.
On June 1, 2026, DEC notified the property owners that it intended to revoke the certificate, citing the November chemical incident and concerns about the integrity of groundwater monitoring. The agency’s investigation focused on the introduction of sodium persulfate and sodium hydroxide into monitoring well MW-4. DEC alleged that the activity was deliberate and raised concerns about interference with groundwater sampling.
Groundwater monitoring wells are designed to provide reliable samples of subsurface water so environmental regulators can determine whether contamination remains and whether remediation has been effective. Introducing reactive chemicals into such a well can alter the conditions being measured and potentially undermine the reliability of subsequent test results.
The developers dispute DEC’s interpretation and contend that the workers were attempting to address a drainage problem in the parking garage. In a June 30 response, the Garden Street property owners and associated individuals requested an administrative hearing to challenge the proposed revocation, maintaining that the chemicals were mistakenly poured into MW-4 because the workers believed they were treating a drain. That administrative proceeding is separate from the four Article 78 lawsuits, which challenge DEC’s decisions concerning other properties.
Environmental Engineer Acknowledges Chemical Discussions
The court filings include a September 10, 2026 sworn declaration from Fuad Dahan, Ph.D., P.E., a principal at SESI Consulting Engineers, the environmental engineering firm involved with the Garden Street remediation. Dahan acknowledged discussing sodium persulfate activated with sodium hydroxide with Fonte, including potential applications beyond environmental remediation.
“I understand that Applicant subsequently referenced those discussions in selecting chemicals for use in cleaning drain lines,” Dahan stated. His declaration establishes that the selection of the chemicals followed discussions involving the project’s environmental consultant and a development representative, although it does not establish that Dahan directed the workers to use the chemicals at Garden Street or approved their introduction into a groundwater monitoring well.
The developers cite Dahan’s declaration in support of their position that the chemicals were intended for cleaning drains rather than altering groundwater conditions. DEC’s investigation, however, focuses on what the workers actually did and whether the activity compromised the environmental monitoring system.
Groundwater Tests Show Continuing Contamination Questions
Another substantial document included in the litigation is a 393-page groundwater monitoring report prepared by SESI and dated September 16, 2025, less than two months before the chemical incident. The report was submitted as the developers sought recognition that the Garden Street property had satisfied the requirements for an unrestricted, or Track 1, cleanup and could be released from certain continuing environmental restrictions.
The document includes sampling results for several groundwater monitoring wells and describes changes in concentrations of contaminants over time. At monitoring well MW-3, trichloroethylene, or TCE, measured 87 micrograms per liter in December 2021, 20 micrograms per liter in March 2025 and 0.55 micrograms per liter in July 2025. The groundwater standard cited in the report was 5 micrograms per liter.
The same well showed methyl tert-butyl ether, or MTBE, concentrations of 43 micrograms per liter in March 2025 and 12 micrograms per liter in July 2025, compared with a standard of 10 micrograms per liter. Although those measurements showed substantial declines, the July MTBE result remained above the cited groundwater standard.
SESI argued that the overall sampling results supported ending additional groundwater monitoring. The report reflects the engineering firm’s assessment before the November incident, not a determination that DEC had accepted its conclusions. The subsequent introduction of chemicals into MW-4 became central to DEC’s concerns about the integrity of the property’s environmental monitoring.
DEC Actions Spread to Other Stagg Projects
The consequences of the Garden Street investigation extended beyond New Rochelle in June and July 2026, when DEC took adverse action involving several other brownfield projects associated with Stagg. In its June 22 rejection of the Highland Light Steam Laundry application, DEC Director of Environmental Remediation Andrew Guglielmi cited Stagg’s connection to Garden Street and the agency’s notice of intent to revoke the New Rochelle cleanup certificate.
Guglielmi determined that admitting the Peekskill property into the Brownfield Cleanup Program would not serve the public interest. The Highland developers had proposed approximately 160 affordable apartments, together with retail and community facility space, according to correspondence submitted with the court petition.
DEC also rejected the Webster Avenue Railroad Harlem Division application and rescinded an earlier acceptance of the nearby Webster Avenue Auto Repair and Substation property in the Bronx. In Yonkers, DEC refused to approve an amendment to an existing Brownfield Cleanup Agreement involving Yonkers Kimball Development LLC.
The developers contend that DEC improperly used allegations arising from Garden Street to penalize separate projects and entities without adequately evaluating the circumstances of each application. They also argue that the agency’s actions threaten redevelopment projects involving affordable housing and the remediation of contaminated properties.
DEC’s written determinations take a different position, identifying concerns about Stagg’s involvement at Garden Street as relevant to whether associated applicants should be permitted to participate in the state cleanup program. The lawsuits ask courts to review those determinations, but they do not resolve the underlying factual dispute about the November chemical incident.
Administrative Dispute Continues
The Garden Street property owners have separately challenged DEC’s proposed revocation of their Certificate of Completion. Documents included in the litigation show that the parties entered into agreements extending DEC’s review period for the developers’ request to remove continuing environmental restrictions from the property.
The agreements, signed in December 2025 and April 2026, extended the agency’s decision-making period after the November accident. They do not establish that DEC approved the developers’ explanation of the incident or accepted the groundwater monitoring results.
The developers’ June 30 administrative hearing request also challenges DEC’s reliance on the police hospital interview and seeks access to evidence used by the agency. The filings reference additional investigative materials, including video associated with DEC enforcement personnel, that could provide further insight into what investigators observed and how they reached their conclusions.
Garden Street Questions Remain Unanswered
Talk of the Sound has previously reported on the November 4 accident, Candelario’s injuries, DEC’s proposed revocation and the dispute over access to New Rochelle police records. The four lawsuits provide a more extensive documentary record of the controversy, including DEC’s investigative findings, the developers’ response, sworn engineering testimony and groundwater sampling data.
They also demonstrate how the consequences of the Garden Street incident have spread to proposed developments elsewhere in Westchester County and the Bronx. At the center of the dispute is whether the chemicals entered the groundwater monitoring well through a mistaken attempt to clean a drain, as the developers contend, or through deliberate activity involving the monitoring system, as DEC alleges.
That question remains unresolved in the administrative proceeding concerning Garden Street, even as the agency’s decisions involving four other projects are being challenged in court.
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This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
Have information about this story? Email robertcox@talkofthesound (preferred) or contact via WhatsApp: +353 089 972 0669.
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