It’s a really windy, really cold day in Poughkeepsie, and I'm standing in an empty parking lot next to what appears to be an equally-empty storefront. Town Supervisor Rebecca Edwards says this lot used to be the Dutchess Center, a bustling plaza with a grocery store and a Kmart. But before that it was a toxic landfill, and Edwards says the Kmart had to be torn down because the ground beneath it was literally sinking.
“[The landfill] has not been capped, so we still need to remediate the site," Edwards explains. "We have some poisons and toxins flowing in to the Casperkill from this site because it was never properly remediated.”
Now, at least, Poughkeepsie has money to perhaps do something about it. Assemblymember Didi Barrett, a Democrat from the 106th District, says New York’s Brownfield Opportunity Area program has awarded Poughkeepsie more than $250,000 to evaluate the site.
“I’ve driven by here for decades and thought, ‘Ugh,'" says Barrett. "And the prospect of really turning this into something beautiful and something the community can love is exactly what I love about working in government.”
Encompassing more than 120 acres, the area was historically the headwaters of the Casperkill, which runs from Peach Hill Park to the Hudson River. Edwards says clay mining took off here in the 19th Century, at which point this place was called “Brickyard Hill.” When the mine closed in the 1930s, residents began using the leftover clay pits as a dumping ground, which is how it became the VandeWater Landfill from 1948 to 1971.
Edwards says if you dig, you’ll find garbage close to the surface.
"We know from research that there was a drycleaner that dumped things illegally here," she notes. "We know that there has been some preliminary testing that finds mercury and things there — which is very typical of a landfill, right? If it hasn’t been capped and sealed off, then those things are going to be in the trash.”
Edwards says the contamination has “definitely” impacted the town, and really, anyone on the Hudson River downstream of Poughkeepsie. The state grant will allow the town to better understand it, figure out how to remediate it, and decide what to build next. Edwards says the town doesn’t own the whole site, so it’s going to be years before there’s a finished product. But personally, she's hoping for a park.
“I want green space. If we can build housing and things like that, great. But on parts of this that are in the flood plain or a floodway, where realistically, it’s probably going to be very difficult to build anything on them, I think we could use soccer fields," says Edwards. "I would love to see phytoremediation, where you use plants to remediate. I would love to see farmer’s market space, maybe even concert space, open green space. I don’t know if that’s what’s gonna end up happening — this is really up to the whole community — but that’s something, to me, that is inspiring to work for.”
