An investigation into toxic fumes beneath the popular Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Gowanus, Brooklyn, has expanded to 273 nearby properties.
The Department of Environmental Conservation sent letters to the owners of properties on both sides of the fetid waterway in October, seeking access so investigators could test for hazardous chemicals like trichloroethylene, or TCE.
The state agency said in a statement that the properties were the subject of a “soil vapor intrusion investigation” that involves “sampling of sub-slab vapors, indoor air and ambient air.” The agency pledged to keep the public informed as the investigation proceeds through March of next year.
TCE, a cancer-causing chemical, was first detected at the shuffleboard spot in March 2021. Readings found TCE levels 20 times above state limits. The building’s owners, the Brodsky Organization and Avery Hall Investments, are building a 350-unit mixed-use development around the shuffleboard club.
The state posted its first public notice about the contamination at 514 Union St. five months later. In 2022, state environmental investigators began testing the air quality at 33 properties on nearby President, Union and Nevins streets. Royal Palms workers and many Gowanus residents said they didn’t learn about the discovery until Gothamist reported about it in March 2023.
The Department of Environmental Conservation and the club’s owners say the indoor air is safe to breathe thanks to a remediation system meant to capture vapors before they enter the building. The agency says the site has posed no significant health or safety risks during the state’s investigation and cleanup.
The 17,000-square-foot shuffleboard space is on one of many brownfields contaminated by chemicals from Gowanus’ industrial past. The Royal Palms site was once home to companies that manufactured building materials and other products.
The Gowanus Canal is one of the country’s most notoriously contaminated waterways. Beginning in…
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