Residents of Community Board 5 who need clean soil for a community garden can obtain it at no cost from the City stockpile at 830 Forbell Street, Brooklyn.
The stockpile, run by the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER), currently holds more than 7,000 CY of clean soil. Its purpose is to save the City money when City agencies purchase soil. Yet the stockpile is also a community asset and offers clean soil to residents of Community Board 5 who seek to replenish or cap the soil at an existing community garden or start a new community garden.
The stockpile provides clean soil at no cost to a party that requests it. At this time, residents who want clean soil will need to provide trucking from the stockpile to their garden site. Stockpile personnel can load a pickup truck with clean soil. OER is working to obtain trucking services so it can deliver small amounts of soil (1CY-5 CY) to gardens in CB-5.
Clean soil at the stockpile originates from deep excavations at construction sites across the City. All stockpile soil is covered by a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) issued by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. The BUD means that the soil is chemically clean and can be used for any purpose for which it is fit.
The stockpile has Unrestricted Use soil (defined at DEC Part 375-6.8(a)) and General Fill soil (DEC Part 360.13(e).
Soil at the stockpile is glacial sediment with low levels of organics and nutrients. It would need to be mixed with compost to make a topsoil suitable for growing vegetables. In the past five years, OER has supplied clean soil to replenish more than a dozen Green Thumb community gardens.
CB-5 residents interested in obtaining clean soil or learning more about this resource should contact OER through 311 or the following link: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/oer/contact/contact-form.page.