Fulton Avenue

Overview

A fabric-cutting mill operated at 150 Fulton Avenue in Garden City Park, Nassau County, New York from 1965 to 1974. It left behind soil and groundwater contaminated with hazardous chemicals. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in March 1998. The NPL is the federal list of the most serious uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the country. Cleanup is organized into two operable units, which are separate phases targeting different contamination problems.

The main contaminants are tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), both found in soil and groundwater. EPA determined these chemicals pose an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment. Operable Unit 1 (OU1) covers the mill property itself and a PCE-dominant groundwater plume. Operable Unit 2 (OU2) addresses a separate, TCE-dominant plume discovered during the OU1 investigation.

For OU1, an interim cleanup ran from October 1998 to November 2001, removing contaminated sediments and soil and pulling more than 10,000 pounds of PCE out of the ground using air sparging and soil vapor extraction. A sub-slab ventilation system installed in 2004 further cut soil gas levels. Testing confirmed contaminant levels dropped below state standards. A Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment was signed in September 2015, and a responsible party agreed in September 2016 to carry out the remedial work. Remedial action at OU1 began in January 2017 and completed in November 2020. Long-term response actions are now ongoing there. The most recent five-year review was completed in September 2022. Human exposure is currently under control at the site.

For OU2, a Remedial Investigation began in spring 2011, restarted in July 2019, and two sampling rounds were completed by December 2019. The combined remedial investigation and feasibility study for OU2 is estimated to finish in September 2025. Remedial design is estimated for 2026, with remedial action starting around late 2028. A ROD for OU2 was issued on September 30, 2025. Groundwater migration status remains uncertain because there is not yet enough data to determine whether contaminated groundwater movement has been stabilized. The site has not been deleted from the NPL and has not achieved sitewide readiness for reuse.

One business is currently operating at the site, employing 32 people and generating about $13.7 million in annual sales. Community members can review site records at the EPA Superfund Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York City (by appointment, phone 212-637-4308), at the Garden City Public Library at 60 Seventh Street in Garden City, or at the Shelter Rock Public Library at 165 Shelter Rock Road in Albertson. A community update was issued in September 2025. For questions, residents can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager.