A South DaCola foot soldier told me last night that they have access to the 4th floor patios of the Phillips Lofts facing east, which overlooks the construction grounds of the Levitt. They said recently there has been some curious drainage of the grounds and ‘oily like’ substances being drained from the property.
I have NO idea what this would be.
I do know that the main reason why NO development has happened on the East side of Phillips to the Falls is because of the years of contamination on that land, and that in order to even use it as a park they had to cover some of the contaminated earth. I almost wonder if they are doing more extensive cleanup?
The Levitt Shell is being built on a brownfield (a tract of land that has been developed for industrial purposes, polluted, and then abandoned).
It is where the former Pitts Selvage Yard was located.
I was at the Parks Board meeting the very first time the Levitt people were in SF to consider if this would be a site for one of their pavilions.
A member of the Levitt family spoke at that meeting. One of the things he said was the Falls Park site was the most polluted site the Levitt family had ever considered with the contaminants being just one inch below the surface.
The City is not to be trusted when it comes to environmental clean-up. Look at the most recent situation with the Copper Lounge asbestos.
Several years ago they also proposed dumping the contaminated soil from the 10 acres involved in the Railroad Relocation Project into the Weber Street Quarry instead of trucking it to the landfill. This idea was rejected.
Recently, I asked Mark Cotter where they were taking that contaminated soil. He said they were trucking it to the city landfill and disposing of it in a special liner.
I’m not so sure I trust his answer.
Hopefully, state and federal agencies are monitoring what is happening at Falls Park West.
Huether used federal money for entertainment projects instead of flood control. I’ve heard that both areas are below hundred year flood elevation without having raised river levees.
A few years ago when the Levitt idea first came to SF, I did a little digging. At that time there were several across the country. All had the same premise. 50 free concerts a year, at a Levitt shell, on what was once brown land. Back then a person could bring their food and beverage to a free concert. I thought, that will never ever happen in this town. And it will not. I see now the cities that had the “your own food and beverage†rules have now banned that concept.
I suffered 40 years from agent orange. I watched when C130’s sprayed on me in Cambodia. I had 6 heart surgeries, kidney stones, thyroid issues, and tennis ball size cysts. Lately, it’s been atrial fibrillation and colon polyps. It took forever for the VA to finally accept they should take responsibility.
When you sit on the ground at the Levitt Shell or live at the railroad property, ask yourself when you’ll be compensated for health issues. The answer is never.