RED HOOK — Residents anxious to learn the fate of four Red Hook ball fields closed due to lead contamination will get an update Monday, parks officials said.
Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey and Councilman Carlos Menchaca will host a meeting to discuss baseball fields 1, 2, 3, and 4 and soccer fields 3, 4, and 5 on Monday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Red Hook Recreation Center at 155 Bay St.
Earlier this year, officials announced that ball fields 5, 6, 7 and 8 - near Hicks, Bay, Clinton and Lorraine streets - would remain closed while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducts a cleanup of the affected areas.
"NYC Parks is committed to making sure all parks are safe and healthy environments. Parks is continuing to work with EPA as they test the Redhook Ballfields for contamination," a Parks spokeswoman said in a statement.
"In the interim, we expect softball/baseball fields 5, 6, 7 and 8 will be closed until a clean-up plan is completed, and soccer fields 1, 2, 6 and 9 will be tested further."
The agencies have not provided a date for when the fields would be reopened.
An investigation at the fields found significantly high levels of lead in the soil. Officials blamed the contamination on the presence of a former smelting and refining facility that occupied the site decades ago but said it did not pose an imminent health threat to the public.
In a July presentation, the EPA determined that a cleanup would also be required at field 9. However, that field would remain open until fields 5 to 8 were resolved.
