Land Near Popular Clinton Hill Bar Slated for Environmental Cleanup

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A contaminated site that's now home to a popular outdoor bar is slated to get an environmental cleanup, officials announced.

The area surrounding Hot Bird on Clinton Street near Atlantic Avenue will be decontaminated as part of the Brownfield Cleanup Program, the state initiative that offers tax breaks to developers who clean polluted land.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Thursday that it would accept comments on a proposal to investigate lead contamination in the soil on the northern side of Atlantic Avenue between Vanderbilt and Clinton avenues.

Investigators propose to sample the soil and groundwater on the site located at 805-825 Atlantic Ave., calls for sampling the soil and groundwater to "determine the extent of metal-contaminated soil, and additional soil vapor points to confirm previous results,” according to the DEC comment request.

The public will have until Sept. 9 to contribute comments on the proposed testing and will also be invited to comment on the resultant plan to remove the contaminants from the soil, according to the DEC.

The half-acre plot of land’s history dates back to 1887 and it has since hosted two auto-repair shops, a car wash, a paint and a gas station.

There were six petroleum tank installed in the 1930s — located underneath the plot that now houses Hot Bird — that were were removed in 2004, according to the DEC.

The site is now occupied by a car wash, two auto repair shops, one vacant tenant space and Hot Bird.

The investigation of the plot — co-owned by Lichter Family LLC, Superior Associates, LLC and Crosstown Management Corp. — will be performed by 550 Clinton Partners LLC and 539 Vanderbilt Partners LLC with oversight by DEC and the New York State Department of Health.

To submit comments on the proposed contamination investigation plan for 805-825 Atlantic Ave., find contact information for the Project Manager on the DEC's fact sheet.

Photo courtesy of Google Maps/Nov. 2016