Despite McCarren Park no longer being adjacent to a lead paint factory, the factory has left its physical footprint in the park’s soil – high levels of lead.
On April 16, North Brooklyn Neighbors (NBN) released the results of a soil testing project they had conducted. It found that many areas of the park’s soil exceeded the state standard levels of 400 parts per million (ppm). Some areas even breached levels of 2,000 ppm.
Some of the highest levels of lead were found surrounding the “area near the intersection of Driggs Avenue and North 12th Streets and areas along the fence near an informal running path,” according to NBN.
“[The soil is] most dangerous for children, who may be crawling around, potentially putting things in their mouth, but on dry days, when there is not a lot of cover on the ground, dust can also blow up and people can breathe it in. So it definitely is a public health concern. Especially for children, but not just for children,” said Lael Goodman, director of environmental programs at NBN.
Goodman, alongside NBN, did most of the testing. Soil was dug up from different areas of the park, and sent off to a private laboratory. At the same time, they used their own device that tested the soil.
This is not the first time that the lead levels in McCarren Park’s soil has been tested. In 2019, WNYC conducted a study of the soil in Astoria Park, Prospect Park, and McCarren Park. McCarren park was the most contaminated of the three.
However, WNYC’s study did not take soil samples from the entirety of the park, as opposed to NBN’s most recent study that did a broader range of testing in many areas. Goodman explained that while WNYC’s findings were “higher than what we would have liked…some of the follow up testing was by far more concerning.”
NYC Council Member Lincoln Restler reached out to the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health) after finding out about the high levels of lead. He instead was referred to an online request to contact Mayor Eric Adams.
“Despite public health concerns, we were rebuffed and asked to fill out forms by the Adams administration,” Restler shared in a statement to Greenpointers.
Layers of grass, compost, or plant covers can help create protection from direct exposure to lead. NYC Parks responded to the results of testing by spreading mulch over some affected parts of the park, including the area by the dog run and Driggs Avenue. However, other levels of the park had high numbers and did not receive any treatment.
Levels of lead in soil are not only restricted to parks. On May 5, NBN held a soil testing event where many residents brought their own backyard soil to test. Goodman explained that in some cases, levels of lead were higher in private backyards than in McCarren park.
“We saw a lot of people bring in their own soil from their backyards or gardens, and a lot of them said that they had read about the problems that we had uncovered in McCarren park, and that was one of the reasons they brought their soil in. So definitely there are people paying attention,” she stated.
To keep people safe from the lead in the soil, Goodman suggests using a blanket when sitting on the ground in McCarren park, sanitizing any outdoor toys or balls after use, and washing hands before eating.
The Greenline 