The “mystery lot” at the corner of N. 11 Street and Bedford Avenue is a muddy mess, which one presumes helps hold down any toxic dust that might blow around, but work is already going forward on the big Karl Fischer rental building that will rise on the property. The official address is 95 Bedford and the site was once a paint factory and most recently a parking lot. Whether the property’s bad reputation follows it into the rental phase, especially in what will become an increasingly glutted market is an open question.
2 responses so far ↓
1 planter's nuts // Oct 8, 2008 at 12:31 am
“let it grow….let it grow”
2 Concerned Neighbor // Nov 14, 2008 at 5:59 pm
This lot previously was the site of a paint manufacturing plant owned by NJZ Color and Reichhold Chemical. Reichhold made color paint products there starting before WWII. They produced a variety of lead based paints, including yellow cadmium paint. Both lead and cadmium are highly toxic if inhaled as dust. During WWII, this facility became the source of one-third of the U.S. military’s rust prevention primer, which basically is a coating of lead paint and something called molybdate pigments. Google that one and see what used to be used in these paints. The company went on to produce coatings for tanks, battleships, bombers, ground vehicles, and more prosaic products, such as radios and furniture. It’s most certainly the sort of place that has toxicity. The plant manager was Ralph Cortazzo. Maybe somebody can reach him and find out what he knows about the handling of toxins during his reign, and why they blood tested their employees all the time. http://www.forcon.com/cvs/rcortazzo.pdf