Chemical fumes near Brooklyn’s P.S. 372 remain in the air even after a state-installed fix, raising fresh worries for families before school starts.
Chemical fumes near Brooklyn’s P.S. 372 have continued to turn up inside the school’s annex more than two years after state officials promised to address the problem. Families at the special-needs elementary school are now asking how much risk their children faced and whether the building will be safe when classes resume.
The annex at 219 First St., near the Gowanus Canal, serves about 450 young children. It houses pre-K and kindergarten classrooms, while gym, science and specialty classes for all grades are also taught there. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation installed an air-filtration system in 2025, but later testing showed it did not adequately clean the contaminated air. State officials said traces of potentially cancer-causing vapors and other hazardous substances were still detected, including benzene and xylene, which they said are above levels typically found in indoor air.
According to a joint statement from the DEC and the State Health Department, the substances were still “determined not to pose an increased health risk.” The agencies also said they were not sure whether the contamination was coming from the polluted canal itself or from “unknown secondary sources.” Principal Rosa Amato and Father Orlando Ruiz of Our Lady of Peace Church, which owns the school’s buildings, were told of the findings last month. Parents said they only learned last week that testing had continued for two years while officials worked on the building.
Julia Finnegan, whose two children are entering fifth grade and pre-K at the school, said she had been told the chemicals would take a lifetime of exposure to create health risks. She said that reassurance now feels hollow for families with very young children who spend years in the annex. Finnegan also said parents believed the filter system was already working, only to later learn that testing had kept finding chemicals and vapors in the air even with the system running.
“Chemical fumes near Brooklyn’s P.S. 372 remain in the air even after a state-installed fix, raising fresh worries for families before school starts.”
The concerns go back to March 2024, when the DEC took air and soil samples from both PS 372 buildings. Records show dangerous compounds were found at both sites, but state officials decided only the annex required intervention. No work has been done at the main building on Carroll Street. Officials suspected the contamination could be linked to a leaking underground fuel tank or a nearby Con Edison facility on Third Avenue that has a long history of environmental problems.
A sub-slab depressurization system, which uses pipes and fans to pull gases from beneath a building and vent them outside, was not installed until a year later. By July 2025, state testing found the air results remained similar to the pre-mitigation readings. More tests in November 2025 showed no secondary source of soil vapor intrusion, but the system was operating as designed. Even so, the agencies said they are now developing a plan for additional mitigation steps to reduce volatile organic compounds in indoor air from unknown secondary sources.
One of those steps may be a heat recovery ventilator system for the annex basement, which would replace indoor air with fresh air from outside. The Land Use Committee of the Gowanus Community Advisory Group has demanded an explanation and a health-risk evaluation for the children before the school year begins. In a July 31 letter to the DEC, the committee asked for a response within 15 days. Environmental Health Research Group President Walter Hang called the depressurization approach inadequate from the start and said it could never remove all of the toxics beneath or around the school. He argued the state has failed to protect students, staff and faculty in the Gowanus area, where another elementary school, PS 32 on Union Street, also sits near the canal.
A city Department of Education spokesperson said the agency is committed to keeping schools safe for staff and families and is working with the state to improve the air quality. The fight over P.S. 372 shows how long-running contamination near the Gowanus Canal can spill into daily life for Brooklyn families — and why parents will be watching every new test and repair before the first bell rings. In plain terms, this matters because parents want proof that their children can breathe safely in school.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the contamination concern centered?
The issue is at the P.S. 372 annex at 219 First St. in Brooklyn, near the Gowanus Canal.
What chemicals were detected?
Officials said traces included benzene and xylene, along with other hazardous substances.
What did the state do to address the problem?
The DEC installed a filtration approach and later a sub-slab depressurization system, and officials are now considering more ventilation improvements.
What are parents asking for now?
The community wants an explanation, transparency about the mitigation efforts, and a health-risk evaluation for the children before school starts.
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