Dear Roosevelt Island Neighbors,
After our elected officials called for it back in April, the City and HPD have finally agreed to a Community Advisory Group for the Steam Plant — and its first meeting is this Wednesday, June 17. ArchRIca has a seat at the table, and on Friday we submitted twelve written questions to the City, asking for answers on the record and shared with everyone. We’re publishing all twelve here, in full, so the whole community can see exactly what we asked. We are still waiting for answers.
Here are the twelve questions, as submitted:
1. Non-emergency protections.
HPD’s written Q&A distinguishes the completed emergency order to seal and secure the building from the separate demolition order, and DOB’s First Deputy Commissioner confirmed at the April 15 town hall that the demolition is not an emergency. For a non-emergency demolition of a contaminated industrial site, please confirm which standard protections apply to this project, and when each will be in place: a Community Air Monitoring Plan, a Remedial Action Plan, independent soil testing, and public review of the means-and-methods plan. If any of these will not apply, please explain why.
2. Sequencing commitment.
The CAG’s first meeting comes months into active site work. Will HPD and DOB commit in writing that smokestack demolition will not begin before the means-and-methods plan and the Community Air Monitoring Plan have been presented to the CAG — and that demolition of the main building will not begin before the soil-removal work plan DEC has stated is required has been approved and shared with the CAG? If not, please state which work will proceed before those steps, and why.
3. Schedule and advance notice.
What are the current projected start dates for smokestack demolition and for demolition of the main building? How many days of advance written public notice will residents receive before each phase begins, and through what channel?
4. Smokestack demolition safety.
The 210-foot western stack stands approximately 8–10 feet from the occupied air-supported tennis structure, adjacent to the tram and public walkways.
(a) What exclusion zones and protective measures will be in place for adjacent occupied structures and public areas during smokestack demolition, and will these be shown in the means-and-methods plan shared with the CAG before work begins?
(b) Has the residue on the interior of the stacks — deposits from roughly 75 years of #6 fuel oil combustion — been sampled and characterized, including for lead, PCBs, and combustion byproducts, and how will it be contained during demolition?
5. Air monitoring design.
Published results to date are asbestos-only TEM samples taken at work-area locations. Will perimeter or community-side monitoring — particulates (PM10/PM2.5), lead, VOCs, and PCBs — be added during the current asbestos abatement and during demolition? HPD has stated that a Community Air Monitoring Plan will be implemented during demolition: will the CAMP document be shared with the CAG for review and comment before demolition begins, and where and how frequently will results be published? Will HPD commit to pausing the asbestos remediation and establishing CAMP, before abatement continues?
6. Lead.
HPD’s own April 2026 Q&A acknowledged the potential for lead dust at this site. The building dates to 1939, and interior cutting and torch work — for which FDNY permits were issued — is underway in the current phase. The CDC has identified no safe blood lead level in children, and the site’s nearest neighbors include fields and facilities where children are present daily.
(a) Has lead-based paint in the work areas been surveyed and characterized, and is a lead-specific containment and decontamination protocol in effect now?
(b) Is any lead monitoring being performed — in air, in settled dust, or in the runoff that has left the site on three documented occasions — and where will results be published?
(c) Will soil and surface testing for lead be conducted at the adjacent public receptors — Main Street, sidewalks, Ferry Stop, Tram, Firefighters Field, the swimming pool, and the air-supported tennis facility — with results shared with the CAG?
7. Soil and the open spill case.
What is the current status of DEC Spill #2508914? DEC has stated that a soil-removal work plan is required before demolition of the building — has that plan been submitted and approved, and will it be shared with the CAG? Will third-party soil testing be conducted in adjacent public areas, including Firefighters Field, with results published? And will DEC and DEP designate representatives to the CAG?
8. Project documents.
Will the following be shared with the CAG: the DOB engineering assessment underlying the demolition order, which the community has now been requesting for more than 190 days; and the Integrated Physical Needs Assessment (IPNA) and Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment for this building? If either of the latter two was not performed, please confirm that for the record.
9. Forum for the site’s future.
On November 14, 2025, the City and State announced a planning and community engagement process for Roosevelt Island — with the formal process to begin “in the coming weeks,” public engagement opportunities in 2026, and a commitment to meet with the Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee. Is this CAG part of that promised engagement? If not, which forum will address the future use of the building and the site, and when will the engagement described in that announcement begin?
10. CAG operations and public access.
Please respond to each part:
(a) Who will chair the CAG, will it operate under written ground rules, which agencies will be represented at each meeting, and will the member list be published in advance?
(b) Will meetings be recorded, with recordings, minutes, and written answers to submitted questions posted publicly?
(c) Will Roosevelt Island residents who are not designated organizational representatives be able to watch the meetings live — by livestream or open virtual attendance — and to ask questions directly during the meeting, in addition to submitting them in advance?
(d) Will questions receive written responses within a defined number of days, with a running public log of all questions and answers maintained between meetings?
(e) Will the group meet weekly rather than monthly for as long as work is active at the site — demolition, remediation, and hauling — at a time accessible to working residents?
(f) Will member organizations be able to propose agenda items and make presentations — including by the community’s technical team of licensed engineers and architects — with discussion time allocated, and will a draft agenda be circulated before each meeting?
11. Containment.
Three contaminated runoff events from the site have been documented and reported (February 6, April 3–5, and April 25–26). What containment changes were made after each event, and what were the results of DEP’s site inspections?
12. Soil and debris removal logistics.
How will contaminated soil and demolition debris be removed from the island — by truck or by barge? Roosevelt Island has a single through street: any truck route necessarily passes P.S. 217, two additional schools, and two kindergartens. If trucking is planned: what are the projected truck volumes, operating hours, and number of trips; how will loads be covered and loading-area dust controlled; what monitoring will occur along the haul route; how will children’s safety be protected at these five facilities; and will truck movements be restricted during school arrival and dismissal hours? Given the unavoidable exposure along the island’s only road, has barge removal been evaluated as an alternative? Will the transport plan be shared with the CAG before removal begins? When is removal scheduled to begin?
Three ways to help right now:
Sign and share this petition — help us reach 2,500.
Send your own letter to your elected officials. It takes under two minutes at ricivica.org. Tell them you want real answers to questions like these — and real protections in place before any demolition begins.
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We’ll share what we hear back, and we’ll keep you posted after Wednesday.
With gratitude,
ArchRI