Contamination Watchdog Named for Lower Manhattan Jail Project
State Assembly member Grace Lee has succeeded in convincing the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to appoint an independent environmental monitor to oversee the ongoing demolition and reconstruction of the Manhattan Detention Complex (MDC) on White Street between Baxter and Centre Streets.
For years, controversy has dogged the plan to demolish the existing MDC and erect the world’s tallest jail in its place (rendering at right). This is part of a broader project to close the City’s centralized detention facility on Rikers Island and replace it with four borough-based jails (one in each borough except Staten Island). Critics of this plan, which is officially priced at $9 billion, predict it will likely cost many billions more and take much longer than the three years remaining in the official timeline. (Earlier this year, Adams administration officials acknowledged that the City will not meet its legally mandated 2027 deadline to close the jail on Rikers Island.) The same skeptics envision years of harmful environmental impacts from demolition and construction. One focus of these concerns is the Chung Pak residential facility for seniors, which adjoins the MDC site, and contains 88 homes for the elderly, along with office, retail, medical, and community space.
“The seniors at Chung Pak, the children at the daycare center, the patients at the community health center, and the residents in and around the area deserve safety and peace of mind as this project moves forward,” Ms. Lee said. “The independent community monitor will play a critical role in ensuring accountability throughout the process.”
The post of independent monitor will be filled by Lawra Dodge, president of the consulting firm Excel Environmental. Ms. Dodge and Excel were central to addressing community worries on a similarly contentious project — remediation of mercury contamination at 250 Water Street, in the Seaport neighborhood, over the last five years. “Lawra Dodge is a trusted professional who I am confident will act independently, advocate for the community, and hold the City accountable for the safety and security of residents,” Assembly member Lee said.
“An independent monitor overseeing the work being done in Chinatown is a significant win for the community,” she added. Thus far, City Hall has committed to contracting with Ms. Dodge and Excel Environmental only through the end of demolition phase of the MDC initiative, but Ms. Lee insisted, “we will continue to advocate for the firm’s involvement through later stages of the project, which I believe is appropriate and needed for the community’s well-being and safety.”
This decision amounts to a belated response by the Adams administration to a call two years ago from a coalition of local elected officials and Community Board 1 to appoint such a monitor. The push began with a letter to the State’s then-Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos — co-signed by U.S. Congress member Jerry Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, and City Council member Chris Marte — asking for the appointment of an outside expert to oversee the project.
That letter demanded the retention of an environmental monitor and prioritized categories of hazards. Ranked first was “air quality, noise, vibration, and dust control.” Second, the coalition of elected officials urged that “known asbestos in the existing structures [be] extracted from the site following the appropriate protocols.” Their third demand focused on an analysis of subsurface boring tests, and the fourth called for an analysis of gasoline contaminants. Findings were to be reported to the community and remedial actions put in place. The group stipulated that findings and monthly reports be made public and delivered to the offices of Manhattan Community Board 1 and all local elected officials, and that remedial actions be put in place
At CB1’s October 22 meeting, chair Tammy Meltzer applauded the appointment of Ms. Dodge to serve as independent monitor at the MDC site, but called for this development to serve as a precedent. “We think that with all the large resiliency projects that will soon frame our coastline from tip to tip, an independent monitor should be advocated for the Battery Park City projects, for the Seaport City project, and the FiDi master plan. Because the best people to take care of our residents are independent,” Ms. Meltzer said.
She added, “you’ll hear more from us.”