8.0 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES
8.1 Introduction
Cultural resources refer to both historic and archaeologically sensitive places. Many types of projects are required to document certain types of cultural (archeological and architectural/historic) resources that they may affect. Archaeological and architectural resources to be considered in New York City include not only sites listed or eligible to be listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, but also designated New York City Landmarks, Interior Landmarks, Scenic Landmarks, and Historic Districts. With respect to an Article X project, the Public Service Law requires the Siting Board to issue a Certificate only if it finds that the Project "minimizes adverse environmental impacts, considering... the interest of the state with respect to... preservation of historic sites." PSL168.2(c)(i). Furthermore, the Siting Board regulations explicitly require applicants to list local cultural resources, specifically the "identified historic community and archaeological resources listed, or eligible to be listed, in the National or State Registers of Historic Places." 16 NYCRR 1001.3(b)1(iv).
8.2 Existing Setting
8.2.1 Site History
The Project site is presently occupied by the Bayside Oil Terminal. The site has served as an oil distribution terminal for approximately 100 years. The soils on-site are all previously disturbed. A Phase I archaeological survey will be completed in coordination with the state Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP). It will address the potential for subsurface historic resource discovery.
In addition, an evaluation of historic and cultural resource databases will be conducted. There are a number of registered national and state historic places and a number of city landmarks in the general vicinity of the Project. For purposes of identifying historic resources in this Preliminary Scoping Statement, TGE has relied on the New York City and Brooklyn Waterfront Plans, the Greenpoint and Williamsburg 197-a plans, Landmark Preservation Commission data, the GWAPP Preliminary Report, and the National and State Register. For the Application, additional investigations will be conducted, including a review and description of structures eligible for listing on the National Register.
8.2.2 Historic or Landmark Sites within One-Half Mile
Several sites that are within a half-mile of the Project site and are currently either listed on the National Register of Historic Places or recognized under the New York City Landmarks Law are listed in Table 8-1 below. A location map is included as Figure 8?1, Local Historic Resources. Selected descriptions of properties appear below.
Figure 8-1: Local Historic Resources
The Greenpoint Historic District is located west of the Project site. The district is outlined by Franklin Street to the west, Java Street and Kent Street to the north, Leonard Street to the east, and Calyer Street and Meserole Avenue to the south between Clifford Place and Manhattan Avenue. In addition to its listing on the National Register, construction in the Greenpoint Historic District is protected under the New York City Landmarks Law. While no construction in the district is proposed, studies in the Application will take into account the significance of this district and any visual impacts the Project would have on the district.
Table 8-1: Preliminary Listing of City Landmarks, Historic Districts, National Register Properties, and Proposed Historic Properties Within ½ Mile of Project Site Name Location Astral Apartments 184 Franklin Street, Greenpoint Greenpoint Historic District Franklin and Leonard streets Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Driggs and North 12th Street Msgr. McGolrick Park Driggs and North Henry Street Public School 34 (Oliver H. Perry High School) McGuinness Boulevard and Norman Street Northside Savings Bank Metropolitan and Kent avenues Greenpoint Terminal Market Noble and West Streets
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord is located at Driggs Avenue and North Twelfth Street, overlooking McCarren Park. The Cathedral was built in the Byzantine style in 1921 and placed on the National Register in the early 1980s.
Northside Savings Bank is located at 35 Grand Street. The Romanesque bank was constructed in 1889, one block from the ferry landing at the foot of Grand Street.
The Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (BEDT), former payroll office was located at the northwest corner of Kent Avenue and North 9th Street, but has been torn down.
The Greenpoint Terminal Market is comprised of a 20 acre complex of vacant buildings located on the East River waterfront on Noble and West Streets.
Lastly, both the Greenpoint and Williamsburg 197-a Plans discuss the goal of creating a park in honor of the Civil War ironclad Monitor. The U.S.S. Monitor was built at the Continental Iron Works site on Quay Street. The Monitor was the first and most famous of the ironclad fighting ships built at Continental Iron Works. The Application will analyze how TGE can assist the community in achieving this goal.
8.2.3 Other Historic Properties
There are numerous historic properties approximately 1 mile south of the Project site in the heart of Williamsburg. These include:
· The Williamsburg Savings Bank (1875), located on Broadway at the intersection with Driggs Avenue. · Kings County Savings Bank (1868), located on Broadway and Bedford Avenue. · 179 South Ninth Street, a historic residence that currently houses the Light of the World Church. · Colored School No. 3, located at 270 Union Avenue · Williamsburg Branch of the Brooklyn Library, located at 226 Division Avenue - the first of 26 Carnegie Libraries. · BMT Power House (Decommissioned Power Plant), at the southwest corner of Kent Avenue and Division Street. The BMT Powerhouse was built to supply power to the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Company.
8.3 Cultural Resource Assessment Methodology
8.3.1 Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey
As detailed in Stipulation 2, a survey is proposed to be conducted to determine whether there is a likelihood that there are any historic archaeological resources from the period during which the site was filled. The investigation will include a site reconnaissance, a background information search, and an evaluation of the site's potential to be the location of previously unrecorded cultural resources. This survey will include reviews of historic documents such as maps. It will also make use of electronic files held by OPRHP and the City's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). It is anticipated that, considering the extent of prior subsurface disturbance, significant prehistoric or historic archeological deposits are unlikely at the proposed Project site.
An Unanticipated Discovery Plan will be included in the Application. In the unexpected event that resources of historic or archaeological importance are encountered in the excavation process, appropriate studies will be conducted commensurate with the importance of the discovery. The plan would outline procedures for TGE to appropriately address any archaeological resources encountered during construction. Appropriate mitigation measures, when and if needed, will be taken.
8.3.2 Architectural Survey
For architectural resources, Stipulation 2 provides that the proposed study area is 1 mile. The neighborhoods surrounding the Project site are the locations from which the existing on-site structure and the potential views of the Project are most readily apparent. The CEQR Technical Manual suggests a radius of 400 feet (0.1 miles) around the Project site for typical developments, but larger radii for developments such as the Project. TGE will consult with city and state agencies once the survey is in progress to ensure that the survey is satisfactory.
The architectural survey will rely both on visual inspection and research into resources of historic and cultural significance. Building structure inventory forms will be included, if necessary, as part of the documentation effort for historically important resources (both those that may satisfy State and/or National Register eligibility criteria, and any sites or structures listed by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission).
A field inspection will also be conducted to observe previously listed sites and also identify any previously unidentified historic architectural properties. It will be limited to the Area of Potential Effect (APE), defined in this case primarily in visual terms. Sites from which no portion of the Project is expected to be visible will not be examined. However, the determination of visibility will be made on a case-by-case basis from each historic property, because the fundamental obstruction to views in most of the study area is not terrain or vegetation, but buildings. For each historic property from which there is a potential to see the Project, the study will include an analysis of impacts due to the Project. It will include photographs representing the potential views toward the Project site from the structures or cultural sites or a view of the cultural sites with the Project in background, depending on the location and available views.
8.4 Initial Impact Assessment and Mitigation
The uniform use of the Project site as an oil storage facility reduces the potential for cultural resources to be present on the Project site, and no mitigation efforts are currently anticipated, but will be implemented as necessary if studies show a potential for impacts. With respect to off-site cultural resources located away from the site, impacts would be limited to potential views of the proposed Project. The proposed urban design and aesthetics evaluation is presented in Section 10. It specifically addresses the potential for visual impacts and the methodologies proposed to evaluate them. TGE is committed to developing, with opportunity for input from stakeholders, a design that is positive and meaningful to the way in which the architectural heritage of the neighborhood is understood. The alternative design methods with which TGE hopes to achieve this goal are further detailed in Section 10.