The construction of a new Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer care facility on the Upper East Side might be exposing youngsters to carcinogens and other toxic materials, enraged parents say.
The planned 31-story cancer care pavilion on York Avenue between East 66th and 67th streets in Manhattan’s Lenox Hill neighborhood has stirred parents into a frenzy in recent weeks, sparking a Change.org petition claiming demolition – including asbestos and lead-based paint removal – will put nearby schoolchildren at risk of hazard exposure.
“The main point of the petition is to have an impartial third party monitoring the situation and assuring us that they’re doing what they need to,” Anat Rosenberg, co-founder of the grassroots organization behind the petition, told The Post.
Documents filed over two decades ago by MSK regarding the blocks between First and York avenues and East 66th and 69th streets reveal the “potential for adverse impacts” during construction due to “the presence of chemical and radioactive products, hazardous waste, petroleum storage tanks, asbestos-containing materials, PCB-containing materials, and lead-based paint.”
“Construction activities could disturb hazardous materials and increase pathways for human exposure,” the documents add.
An MSK rep told The Post that “most of the buildings from that time period have asbestos,” and the cancer center, which is estimated to be completed in 2030, is following all protocols required by the state and city to ensure safety in and around the site.
Asbestos concerns aren’t unheard of in the neighborhood. As recently as Aug. 1, a steam pipe leak sent Upper East Siders indoors and shuttering their windows on Park Avenue.
The coalition of parents behind the petition – Lenox Hill Families Advocating for Children to Thrive (FACT) – is demanding MSK hire an environmental pediatrician to act as an independent advocate.
They also want to reduce the height of the pavilion due to shadows projected to be cast on the P.S. 183 Robert L. Stevenson yard and the school’s southeastern windows.
Rosenberg, 49, who is the mother of two P.S. 183 children, said parents were only formally notified of the plans for the new center from the school in April – and argued not all community voices are being heard with many families out of town for the summer.
The cancer care center didn’t provide “sufficient assurances” to parents when gathering community feedback about the plans, reads the FACT petition, which had 272 signatures as of Wednesday, and is seeking to reach 500.
“Despite claiming they have been in constant contact with P.S. 183 administration, the first and only time MSK engaged with the general parent population was the final PTA meeting of the year, June 14th, 2024, traditionally poorly attended,” Lenox Hill FACT member Yasmina Caleo told The Post.
“It was at this meeting that they blithely confirmed presence of asbestos in the residential building slated to be demolished to make way for the Pavilion … many parents in attendance felt blindsided,” Caleo added.
Upper East Siders sounded off Tuesday afternoon near the demolition site, voicing similar concerns as the group of local parents about toxic hazards in the air.
“It would be ironic if they were sloppy about asbestos and they’re a cancer hospital,” said Upper East Side resident Alida Camp, 69.
“They’re the world leader in cancer research and expansion is a good thing if it leads to saving more lives, but I can’t help but worry that this will cost lives as well,” Linda Cho, 43, added. “I have three young children, and often it takes years after breathing asbestos that cancer hits … I almost feel like I need to quarantine at home until the demolition is finished.”
MSK maintains it has worked for “years” with the community by attending local meetings, working with Council Member Julie Menin’s office and uploading all application documents to its website.
Air quality monitoring conducted by a third-party firm is already ongoing, MSK said. That firm is required to be independent of all other firms involved in the project.
MSK’s plan to provide air quality data to the public is still in the works with Menin’s office, the cancer care center said – despite asbestos abatement scheduled to begin Monday.
“We will simply not accept putting the community at risk,” Menin told The Post. “I have made it crystal clear to MSK that nonnegotiable measures must include air quality monitoring with 24/7 online public tracking, stringent asbestos abatement, sound mitigation walls and other noise abatement measures.”
Similar concerns were raised by Community Board 8 last summer, which called on MSK to coordinate with P.S. 183 on reducing noise and construction impacts as part of a final task force resolution.
The office of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine in June recommended that, among a bevy of other advice, MSK work with P.S. 183 to reduce noise and study the impacts of the tower’s shadow over the school.
Other concerns include traffic congestion, such as “logistical issues regarding drop off and pick up,” according to the petition – and MSK doesn’t necessarily disagree.
According to May 2024 presentation documents provided by MSK, a draft environmental impact statement identified “significant adverse impacts” regarding shadows, construction traffic and construction noise.
MSK is continuing to “listen to community stakeholders to determine whether independent consultants would be appropriate to involve in the project,” the spokesperson said.
MSK is also working with Menin’s office regarding possible noise reduction techniques – such as using sound buffers on equipment to reduce noise and relocating rocks from the site, the rep said.
Construction hazards may also be reduced by washing all vehicles exiting the site, enforcing low speed limits and implementing HVAC filters in adjacent buildings.
Three other civic groups – Friends of the Upper East Side, CIVITAS and Carnegie Hill Neighbors – have already disavowed the MSK Pavilion plans due to its gargantuan size, The Post previously reported.
As a result of the pavilion project, P.S. 183 must now reassess fire drills and dismissal patterns as construction vehicles have already started to block parts of the street, Rosenberg said.
“What’s going to happen if they determine that the air quality is poor, are they going to shut down the school?” Rosenberg asked. “We don’t have contingency plans for that. At this point, everyone keeps trying to assure us that they’re working on it – but we’re three weeks away from school starting, and we haven’t received any information.
“It’s a lack of communication, lack of transparency, and really, lack of consideration for the families who live here who are sending their kids to the school,” Rosenberg added.
The current 336-unit residence at 1233 York Avenue – which used to house hospital staff and doctoral students – is slated to be converted into 28 operating suites and about 200 inpatient beds under the current proposal, which will connect to the main hospital building via skybridge.
During the task force meeting last summer, the local community board encouraged MSK to replace all housing that would be lost at the current tower — but MSK argues the dorm-style housing has never been available to the public.
Demolition of the existing building is “expected to worsen the affordable housing crisis in the UES,” according to the Friends of the Upper East Side civic group.
To provide additional housing for staff in the coming years, MSK has purchased units in a building on Roosevelt Island, the cancer center rep said.
The City Planning Commission voted in favor of the massive rezoning needed for the 900,000-square-foot site in June — on the same day as a fifth grade graduation at the school, Rosenberg said.
A public meeting will be held on Aug. 27 before the New York City Council for approval ahead of the mayor’s review.
Regardless of approvals, MSK says the tower’s controversial height is critical, as the size of the planned pavilion is in conjunction with what would be needed to serve the community given increased cancer rates — especially among young people and the aging local population.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that, by 2050, the number of annual cancer cases in the US will nearly double, MSK pointed out.
