Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Resiliency topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
LPC issues positive binding report for Ocean Parkway pumping-station repairs and restored intake stack
Summary
The commission issued a positive binding report for DEP’s plan to reconstruct a historic intake stack, add a new vent stack and install emergency-generators and paving changes at the Avenue U pumping station in the Ocean Parkway scenic landmark; commissioners asked the agency to revisit base materials for the reconstructed stack.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a positive binding report on April 1, 2025 for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s planned upgrades to the Avenue U pumping station within the Ocean Parkway scenic landmark in southern Brooklyn.
Project scope: DEP’s presentation, led by Andrew Ng, described a package to replace pumps and ventilation systems, upgrade below‑grade electrical rooms with waterproofing and a deployable submarine door, install a second parallel force main for redundancy, restore a demolished historic cast-iron intake stack (which was hit and heavily damaged by a vehicle in 2022), add a smaller utilitarian vent stack, install an emergency-generator connection cabinet and make sidewalk/median adjustments (curb extensions) to deploy flood covers and meet ADA ramping requirements.
Historic element reconstruction: DEP has salvaged portions of the original decorative intake crown; the agency proposed reusing the crown and rebuilding the body of the stack. DEP proposed a hybrid approach: a new iron body for the shaft and molded decorative base elements in fiberglass to replicate the historic cast-iron moldings. Preservation groups raised concerns about fiberglass at ground level where road salt, mowers and vehicular impacts could damage a nonmetal base. The Victorian Society asked that the intake base be cast metal to avoid maintenance problems.
Commission discussion: commissioners and the Victorian Society supported DEP’s resiliency and redundancy upgrades and the reconstruction of the intake stack in place, but several commissioners joined preservation advocates in urging the agency to evaluate a durable cast‑metal base or otherwise confirm that the chosen material would withstand snowplows, salt and ground‑level maintenance. DEP said fiberglass was chosen in part for cost and constructability but said it would re-examine options and could work with staff.
Outcome: the commission issued a positive binding report approving the project’s scope, noting that salvage elements would be reused where feasible and that the cumulative effect of the installations would not overwhelm the scenic parkway. The commission asked DEP and staff to coordinate further on materials for the intake base and on exact siting to preserve the prominence of the historic stack.
