Every year, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection tallies up how many facilities within its borders handle hazardous waste—which can include everything from used oil to unpronounceable chemicals—and breaks down just where those toxic supplies are.
The information in DEP’s annual report about “HazMat” is culled from a Citywide Facility Inventory Database that, at last count, included 10,819 facilities. Last year, that list grew by just under 2,000 places.
Some of those facilities deal with a lot more hazardous stuff than others: Only 1,376 made the list of “facilities Reporting 10,000 Pounds or More of a Hazardous Substance.” DEP reports that information by community board, and the map and chart below indicate how much is reported per board (though not the specific location of any facility).
The city conducted more than 7,300 inspections of those facilities in fiscal 2014 and issued 449 violations—most of them for failing to file forms, but a few for failing to grant access. There were also more than 3,000 hazmat incidents in FY14, about 1,000 of which involved actual spills of chemicals or oil. Responding to those problems was a multi-agency team consisting of DEP HazMat specialists, specially trained police officers and firefighters, sanitation cops, health department staff and folks from the Office of Emergency Management.
In the annual report, DEP thanks “All concerned individuals who report unsafe acts, storage or releases that involve the spread of hazardous substances into our environment.” That’s done via 311.
Community Board | Neighborhoods | Number of Facilities Reporting 10,000 Pounds or More of a Hazardous Substance |
Bronx 1 | Mott Haven, Port Morris, Melrose | 25 |
Bronx 2 | Hunts Point, Longwood, Morrisania | 14 |
Bronx 3 | Crotona Park, Claremont Village, Concourse Village, Woodstock, and Morrisania | 4 |
Bronx 4 | Highbridge, Concourse, Mount Eden, and Concourse Village | 8 |
Bronx 5 | Fordham, University Heights, Morris Heights, Bathgate, and Mount Hope | 5 |
Bronx 6 | Belmont, Bathgate, West Farms, East Tremont, and Bronx Park Sout | 10 |
Bronx 7 | Norwood, University Heights, Jerome Park, Bedford Park, Fordham, and Kingsbridge Heights | 11 |
Bronx 8 | Fieldston, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Van Cortlandt Village | 8 |
Bronx 9 | Parkchester, Unionport, Soundview, Castle Hill, Bruckner, Harding Park, Bronx River and Clason Point | 15 |
Bronx 10 | Co-op City, City Island, Spencer Estates, Throggs Neck, Country Club, Zerega, Westchester Square, Pelham Bay, Eastchester Bay, Schuylerville, Edgewater, Locust Point, and Silver Beach | 14 |
Bronx 11 | Allerton, Bronx Park East, Eastchester Gardens, Indian Village, Morris Park, Olinville, Parkside, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Van Nest, and Westchester Heights | 12 |
Bronx 12 | Edenwald, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Woodlawn, Fish Bay, Eastchester, Olinville, and Baychester | 16 |
Brooklyn 1 | Flushing Avenue, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Northside, and Southside | 41 |
Brooklyn 2 | Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Mall, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Fulton Ferry, and Clinton Hill | 36 |
Brooklyn 3 | Bedford-Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Heights, and Ocean Hill | 7 |
Brooklyn 4 | Bushwick | 5 |
Brooklyn 5 | East New York, Cypress Hills, Highland Park, New Lots, City Line, Starrett City, and Ridgewood | 26 |
Brooklyn 6 | Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Gowanus, and Cobble Hill | 19 |
Brooklyn 7 | Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace | 30 |
Brooklyn 8 | Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Weeksville | 5 |
Brooklyn 9 | Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Wingate | 9 |
Brooklyn 10 | Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Fort Hamilton | 6 |
Brooklyn 11 | Bath Beach, Gravesend, Mapleton, and Bensonhurst | 13 |
Brooklyn 12 | Boro Park, Kensington, Ocean Parkway, and Midwood | 4 |
Brooklyn 13 | Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, and Seagate | 9 |
Brooklyn 14 | Flatbush, Midwood, Kensington, and Ocean Parkway | 6 |
Brooklyn 15 | Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Kings Bay, Gerritsen Beach, Kings Highway, East Gravesend, Madison, Homecrest, and Plum Beach | 9 |
Brooklyn 16 | Brownsville and Ocean Hill | 6 |
Brooklyn 17 | East Flatbush, Remsen Village, Farragut, Rugby, Erasmus and Ditmas Village | 6 |
Brooklyn 18 | Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Flatlands, Marine Park, Georgetown, and Mill Island | 30 |
Manhattan 1 | Tribeca, Seaport/Civic Center, Financial District, Battery Park City | 99 |
Manhattan 2 | Greenwich Village, West Village, NoHo, SoHo, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Little Italy | 30 |
Manhattan 3 | Tompkins Square, East Village, Lower East Side, Chinatown, Two Bridges | 7 |
Manhattan 4 | Clinton, Chelsea | 60 |
Manhattan 5 | Midtown | 148 |
Manhattan 6 | Stuyvesant Town, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Peter Cooper Village, Murray Hill, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Sutton Place | 52 |
Manhattan 7 | Manhattan Valley, Upper West Side, and Lincoln Square | 16 |
Manhattan 8 | Upper East Side, LenoxHill, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island | 32 |
Manhattan 9 | Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, Morningside Heights, and West Harlem | 11 |
Manhattan 10 | Central Harlem | 4 |
Manhattan 11 | East Harlem | 12 |
Manhattan 12 | Inwood and Washington Heights | 15 |
Queens 1 | Astoria, Old Astoria, Long Island City, Queensbridge, Ditmars, Ravenswood, Steinway, Garden Bay, and Woodside | 61 |
Queens 2 | Long Island City, Woodside, and Sunnyside | 53 |
Queens 3 | Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, North Corona, and La Guardia Airport | 10 |
Queens 4 | Corona, Corona Heights, Elmhurst, and Newtown | 6 |
Queens 5 | Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, and Liberty Park | 24 |
Queens 6 | Forest Hills and Rego Park | 7 |
Queens 7 | Flushing, Bay Terrace, College Point, Whitestone, Malba, Beechhurst, Queensboro Hill, and Willets Point | 54 |
Queens 8 | Fresh Meadows, Cunningham Heights, Hilltop Village, Pomonak Houses, Fresh Meadows, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood, Flushing South, Utopia, Kew Gardens Hills, and Briarwood | 10 |
Queens 9 | Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Ozone Park, and Kew Gardens | 8 |
Queens 10 | Howard Beach, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Tudor Village, and Lindenwood | 12 |
Queens 11 | Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, Auburndale, East Flushing, Oakland Gardens, and Hollis Hills | 18 |
Queens 12 | Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Park, Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica | 31 |
Queens 13 | Queens Village, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Floral Park, and Brookville | 54 |
Queens 14 | Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, Broad Channel, Neponsit, Arverne, Bayswater, Edgemere, Rockaway Park, Rockaway and Far Rockaway | 14 |
Staten Island 1 | Arlington, Castleton Corners, Clifton, Concord, Elm Park, Fort Wadsworth, Graniteville, Grymes Hill, Livingston, Mariners Harbor, Meiers Corners, New Brighton, Port Ivory, Port Richmond, Randall Manor, Rosebank, St. George, Shore Acres, Silver Lake, Stapleton, Sunnyside, Tompkinsville, West Brighton, Westerleigh | 50 |
Staten Island 2 | Arrochar, Bloomfield, Bulls Heads, Chelsea, Dongan Hills, Egbertville, Emerson Hill, Grant City, Grasmere, High Rock, Lighthouse Hill, Midland Beach, New Dorp, New Springville, Oakwood, Ocean Breeze, Old Town, Richmondtown, South Beach, Todt Hill, and Travis | 31 |
Staten Island 3 | Annadale, Arden Heights, Bay Terrace, Charleston, Eltingville, Great Kills, Greenridge, Huguenot, Pleasant Plains, Prince’s Bay, Richmondtown, Richmond Valley, Rossville, Tottenville, and Woodrow | 28 |
One thought on “UrbaNerd: How Much Hazardous Material is in Your Neighborhood?”
Thanks for the NYC Hazardous Materials Right-to-Know Law update. As the author of this law, back in the late 80’s. happy to see its performing its function. Also, interesting to note that after decades of gentrification, Greenpoint/Williamsburg (CB1) still has so many listed haz-mat locations