Health & Environment Quiet since Sep 11 Updated Sep 11, 2026
The PS 372 vapor intrusion
PS 372's basement annex near the Gowanus Canal Superfund site has run a sub-slab vapor mitigation system since 2024, but state sampling in July 2025 found indoor air unchanged from before the fix. Pre-K and kindergarten students are being moved out of the basement onto other floors days before New York City schools open Sept. 10, and the fight is over whether new ventilation actually cuts contamination and what the next round of state air sampling shows.
The story so far
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Sep 10, 2026 Latest
The state Department of Environmental Conservation began installing a new ventilation system at PS 372's contaminated basement annex, days after pre-K and kindergarten students were moved out onto other floors.
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Sep 6, 2026
State officials moved pre-K and kindergarten students out of PS 372's contaminated basement annex at 219 First St. onto other floors, District 75 Superintendent Keisha McCoy told families, days before city schools open Sept. 10; July 2025 state sampling had found indoor air 'remained similar to pre-mitigation results' despite a sub-slab ventilation system running since 2024. More than 850 people signed a PTA-backed petition calling on Gov. Hochul to resign over the failed cleanup.
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