Proposition For a New Public School in Greenpoint Digs Up Old Community Concerns

GREENPOINT — A 20,000-square-foot lot at the north end of Greenpoint has garnered a lot of attention over the past month and a half. The School Construction Authority (SCA) proposed to develop 257 Franklin Street into a new public school for District 14, but there’s a catch — it’s located diagonal to the former NuHart Plastic Manufacturing site, a location that was ​​classified in 2010 as a Class 2 Superfund site by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). 

NYSDEC had determined the location was a significant threat to public and environmental health that required immediate action. But now, 15 years later, NYSDEC says that all on-site excavation and cleanup activities have been completed, and that any remaining off-site contaminants have remained stable and 12 feet underground out of the way of any possible human exposure. 

“It’s been almost 20 years that we’ve been fighting over the future of this site [257 Franklin Street] and there’s been a lot of concern in the community over an extended period of time because of the state superfund site at NuHart across the street,” said Community Member Lincoln Restler during a January 22, 2025 community briefing. “Now that that site has been largely cleaned up, it warrants us having a community conversation about whether we think this is a safe and appropriate site for a school.” 

Learn more about 257 Franklin Street and the proposed school here.