Department of Environmental Protection News

FDNY responded to a brush fire in Inwood Hill Park.

NYC Escalates to Drought Warning as Upstate Reservoirs Fall to 60% Capacity

Nov. 18, 2024, 6:05 p.m.Nov. 21, 2024, 4:18 p.m.

Mayor Adams ordered city agencies to conserve water and urged residents to take shorter showers, report leaky fire hydrants and take other water-saving steps.

Environment

New York City Is Under a Drought Watch. Shorter Showers Could Just Be The Start

Nov. 4, 2024, 2:07 p.m.Nov. 4, 2024, 2:07 p.m.

Water-conservation measures are voluntary — for now. Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening, and what could be coming next.

Department of Environmental Protection

Poor Communication, Out-of-Service Equipment Hindered Response to Tropical Storm, Comptroller Finds

April 22, 2024, 5:08 p.m.April 23, 2024, 10:57 a.m.

Just 19 of 51 trucks the city uses to clean catch basins of debris were working that day, according to the report from Comptroller Brad Lander, which identified a litany of shortcomings.

Tap water flows from a faucet in Lower Manhattan.

Health

No ‘Forever Chemicals’ Worries for NYC’s Drinking Water — But Environmental Agency Is Making Extra Sure to Be Safe

April 16, 2024, 5:00 a.m.April 15, 2024, 4:59 p.m.

Levels of 29 PFAS compounds are below detectable levels in the city reservoir network, as tougher standards spur hunt for potential risk sources.

Environment

Adams Agency Blesses Green Rikers Island While City Hall Scoffs at 2027 Shutdown Deadline

March 7, 2024, 6:48 p.m.March 8, 2024, 10:09 a.m.

Wastewater treatment and green energy generation are both feasible where troubled city jails now stand, new city studies conclude.

A school of fish swim under an oil slick in the Gowanus Canal.

Environment

The Scramble to Cleanup the Gowanus Canal, as Housing Boom Looms

Samantha Maldonado Feb. 18, 2024, 9:55 a.m.Feb. 20, 2024, 12:53 p.m.

A fast-growing Brooklyn neighborhood deals with the legacy industrial contamination, ongoing sewage spills, and frequent flooding — all made worse by climate change.

Environment

Demolishing a Chemical Company’s Radioactive Past in Ridgewood, Queens

Samantha Maldonado Feb. 15, 2024, 4:07 p.m.Feb. 15, 2024, 4:07 p.m.

The feds are moving to clean up a small patch of radiologically contaminated land where the Wolff-Alport Chemical Company supplied material used to develop nuclear weapons.

The Meeker Avenue plume Superfund site covers and industrial and residential part of eastern Greenpoint.

Environment

The Meeker Avenue Plume Lurks Beneath North Brooklyn

Samantha Maldonado Feb. 14, 2024, 5:53 p.m.Feb. 14, 2024, 5:53 p.m.

A reservoir of toxic chemicals lies below hundreds of homes in Greenpoint and East Williamsburg. The feds first need to find out if any dangerous fumes have surfaced, but that means getting property owners on board.