asmine Lawrence remembers spending her childhood summers in Addisleigh Park at her grandfather’s house, and seeing a jazz pianist’s daughter walk down the block. Her grandfather moved into the neighborhood in the 1950s, joining a community of prominent jazz musicians and athletes who helped make this corner of Southeast Queens a historic Black enclave that has since gained landmark status.
She was shocked to learn last summer that a large battery storage site was set to start building on a former gas station steps from the home she owns.
“My house is only about 10 feet from the area,” she said. She mentioned she was concerned because there have been fires at other battery storage facilities in the nation.
“How do you lay your kid’s head down knowing that there’s potential danger, deadly danger 10 feet away? That’s not OK.”
In an effort to meet New York state’s clean-energy mandate, the city has approved battery storage facilities across the five boroughs. NineDot Energy, the developer behind this 4.9-megawatt site, stores renewable energy in lithium-ion batteries for use when the city’s grid needs a boost. The proposed project, at 179-21 Linden Blvd., is adjacent to multiple homes and across the street from the St. Albans VA Medical Center.