In the beginning of December, the NYC Parks Department along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), held a virtual meeting to update the community on the new timeline for the Red Hook Ballfields and answer questions.
According to Parks, the last update was in June, and a lot has changed as far as construction and the budget due to Covid. The timelines have been pushed back for the various phases due to the shutdowns.
Daniel Gaughan, who is the on scene coordinator from the EPA, went through some of the history of the site and why EPA got involved. The whole complex except for Field 9 and the track has been closed due to lead contamination and there are four phases that will modernize and fix the fields.
In the late 1920s and the 1930s, there was a lead facility located near where ball field seven is in the back of the complex not far from where IKEA is now. There was a lot of lead, dust, fumes and waste that was released into the air and soil. Lead stays in the soil when it comes in contact with it.
He said that lead can be especially an issue for children since they put a lot of things in their mouth and that is how it can transfer to them. People can also be exposed to lead contaminated soil accidentally.
“In 2014, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation referred the site to the EPA (along with 40 other smelter sites in the state, and this is one of the bigger ones,” Gaughan said.
They found that the top six inches of ballfields 5-8 were highly contaminated. That was why they could not stay open.
Anything above 400 parts per million is concerning for the EPA. For ball fields 5-8, the top six inches was 2,200, which is an average number throughout the ball field and below that it it goes down to almost 4,000, which is almost 10 times the limit.
“It is under formal EPA oversight,” Gaughan said. “We have an order signed with parks to do this work. Specifically 5-8 we have built up high levels in the surface. We have built signs around the facility to let people know why it is being closed.”
They will maintain a cover over the fields to keep any wind blown dust from escaping the site, and there will also be at least a 12 inch cover of clean material wit soil, fill and turf to cover the site. If anything goes wrong, DEC will provide oversight in the future.
In the process of beginning fields 5-8 construction, there is demarcation layer of contaminated soil that was left at the site. There will also be clean fill and a drainage layer. They had to take down a number of trees, but they kept what they could.
Davey Ives, who is the chief of staff for Brooklyn Parks and Recreation, then went over the updated timeline of the fields.
The first phase, which includes fields 5-8, is slated to be finished in the spring of 2021. A good amount of construction was done before the pandemic. In the previous update it was said that it would be done fall of 2021, but Covid impacted the anticipated completion.
Phase two, which is ball field nine and soccer field 2 across from the Red Hook Recreation Center, is slated to be finished in the summer of 2021.
A question was asked if little league will be realistic for spring of 2021 and Ives said summer of 2021 is more realistic. They will try to get everyone back on the fields as soon as possible with respect to issuing permits.
It is unknown as of know when the construction will be completed for phase three, but it is anticipated to be finished at some point in 2022. Phase three, which is the most extensive phase, includes soccer field 3 (inside of the track) and ball fields 1-4 (soccer fields 4 and 5 in fall season).
“This project was ready to begin in the spring but do to some constraints with budgeting purposes during Covid the project was put on pause,” Ives said. “We are hoping we can restart this project. However, it’s probably not likely this year for phase three.”
Phase four, which includes soccer fields 1 (synthetic turf) and 6, is still in the design phase. They hope to wrap up the design of phase four early in 2022, and they expect this phase to be completed sometime in 2023.
“After the design is finished, it will go to the community board,” Ives said. “Then we have to go through the procurement process before construction.”
Terry Naranjo, who is the director of landscape architecture for the Brooklyn team at Parks, went over some public safety measures. They do dust monitoring by watering down the area to make sure the dust does not rise up.
Trucks are sprayed down before they leave the site in the decontamination area.
So far in phase one, there has been work on the curbs and sidewalk, top soil placement and grading of the protective cap that will serve as the foundation. The fields have synthetic turf and there has been construction of the curbs.
By the completion of the phase, the synthetic turf area will have new backstops, perimeter fencing and new dugouts. A lot of big trees will provide shade and there will be accessible ramps and concrete steps leading up to the fields.
For phase two, they have chipped off the top soil and left it for disposal, pruned the trees and done electrical utility work. They will be doing more utility work in addition to drainage infrastructure.
Like in phase one, the field will be suitable for everyone since people can either walk up the steps or take an accessible ramp to field 9.
Regarding phase three, before Covid, they were in the final stages of procurement inquiry to enter into construction but now they don’t know when they might be able to move forward.
More specifics on phase three are that it will feature a brand new running track around the synthetic turf field, which can be used for soccer, rugby and football. There will be new sports field lighting for night usage, an adult fitness area and a picnic area.
Around the perimeter of the fields in phase three there will be game tables and lots of bleachers to view the action.
Adult fitness can include pull up bars, dip bars and will be essentially a 2021 version of the fitness area in Bush Clinton Park. They can customize it for different ages with various stations for the people at the track or ball field next to it.
Phase four is bisected in the middle by Bay Street and is still n the design phase.
“We were hoping to wrap up this design by the end of the year but we may have to push it back into spring of 2021,” Naranjo said. “We are trying to wrap up some coordination issues. We are currently waiting for feedback from DEC on environmental clean up work that is happening on the site adjacent to field one but we are hoping to resolve that and et in procurement as soon as possible.”
There will be new synthetic turf for soccer fields 1 and 6 as well as adult fitness next to soccer field 6 on Court Street. There will also be new accessible entrances and a completely revamped seating area along Bay Street next to Soccer Field 1.
There will be an area for food trucks to line up next to Soccer Field 1 with nearby tables for people to gather during a break from the action.
There was a question about why synthetic turf is being used instead of grass and the answer is that it requires much less maintenance than grass does.
“Us at the Parks Department, we are able to do a lot more with synthetic turf,” Ives said. “We are able to play on the fields right after it rains. I am sure a lot of the leagues will attest to that. With the unknowns that are in the soils, synthetic turf is a more engineered solution.”
There was a question about rubber black pellets being harmful in the turf and the answer to that was they do not use black rubber pellets anymore since the technology is improved.
“We used a sand coated silicon and a new type of fiber between it that is cooler and designed to shed heat,” Ives said. “In every single synthetic turf design we put in a mister so there are opportunities to cool down the field.”
A design consultant from TRC discussed the results of the air monitoring after a question was asked. The results for phases one and two have showed that there have been few exceedances of the community air monitoring program criteria. He added that the contractor has done a good job suppressing dust throughout the construction project.
There was a question from Melissa Del Valle Ortiz, who is the community & housing coordinator congresswoman Velazquez’s office, about accessibility and how various ages with disabilities will be addressed in the construction.
Naranjo said accessibility has been one of the primary drivers of how they look at access throughout the four phases. The ramps provide companion seating next to the benches and they have an accessibility coordinator that makes that it is something they are incorporating at the beginning of the design.
