Exclusive | Parents at NYC school near toxic Gowanus Canal demand Hochul resign for endangering kids

Furious Brooklyn parents are demanding Gov.Kathy Hochul resign, accusing her administration of forcing their special needs elementary students to breathe in cancer-causing chemicals near the notorious Gowanus Canal for more than two years.The PTA at PS 372 is in an uproar over the state’s lackluster efforts to mitigate contaminated air, which recent samples found is filled with cancer-causing compounds such as benzene and xylene — and seeping into the basement of the school’s annex building at 219 First St.With the start of the school year less than three weeks away, they are terrified about their children’s safety. “We are outraged that New York State agencies under your leadership have failed to safeguard the school community from documented toxic chemical threats in our indoor air for two and a half years, even though those same agencies determined that soil vapor intrusion mitigation was mandated,” parents addressed Hochul in the growing petition, that as of Friday, had more than 400 signatures.“If you cannot protect the children, faculty and staff of PS 372, you do not deserve to be Governor of New York State,” parents said in the petition.The state’s Department of Conservation and Department of Health have been tasked with handling the cleanup at PS 372, which has roughly 450 students.

Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive and a Republican running for New York governor, said it’s appalling that Hochul completely disregarded the children’s health.  “It is horrifying that Kathy Hochul has forced pre-K and kindergarten children to breathe air contaminated with cancer-causing toxins for over two years while state agencies sat on their hands,” Blakeman said. “Leaving our youngest, most vulnerable children in a toxic basement is an unforgivable betrayal.”The DEC vowed to address the problem in March 2024, when air and soil sampling revealed alarming levels of toxic compounds seeping into the school.A sub-slab depressurization s...