The worst pollution in Gowanus is buried underground, adding a level of uncertainty to excavations.  Case in point, no one knows what the Lateral Canal near Boymelgreen's property was filled with (8). 

A manufactured gas plant once sat atop this land.  On the surface, Public Place looks like any other 11.5 plot of vacant lot - barren and underused.  Below ground, however, an enormous toxic plume of coal tar and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is spreading from this site all the way across Gowanus Canal (6 , 17 ,

Shaya Boymelgreen is among the most active developers in New York City.  Currently his companies are managing five projects in Manhattan, nine in Brooklyn, and two in Queens (1).  However, Boymelgreen's development history in New York City is rife with unsafe conditions, shoddy construction and delayed work.