Nemasket Street Remediation

A number of ideas of what to do with the vacant lots on Nemasket St. in New Bedford were discussed Tuesday night. A meeting was held where projects  including solar panels, parking lots, basketball courts and a park were all on the table. Currently, all of the properties are vacant and surrounded by chain-link fences. The Nemasket Street lots, formerly known as the "AME site," are a piece of land once owned by the African-Methodist Episcopal Church. It is considered among the most contaminated parcels at the Parker Street waste site. The city bought the residential properties in 2008 after high levels of pcbs were discovered on the lots.  Michele Paul, director of the city's office of Environmental Stewardship, says the city is waiting to come up with a remediation plan until after there was an agreed-upon use for the properties.