A Good Corporate Citizen Traditional Cache
New York Admin: I regret to report that the cache owner has not responded to the prior note about this disabled cache. I'm archiving it opening the area up to others.
Thanks,
New York Admin
Geocaching.com Volunteer Cache Reviewer
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is a lock and lock capable of holding travel bugs and small items.
It is located at one of the larger distribution hubs for NYC. During the holiday season more than 200,000 packages flow through this facility which has undergone many renovations over the years and was originally constructed back in the 1960s.
This area of Maspeth is very industrialized and just across the street is the famous or infamous Newtown Creek. The area you are standing on particularly across the creek was a huge industrial boom of chemical and petrolium businesses in the 1800s.
Petroleum refiners first began operating along Newtown Creek in the 1860's and their numbers proliferated rapidly in the ensuing decades. In 1892, the majority of these refineries were purchased and consolidated into the Standard Oil Trust. In the mid 1800s the petroleum was refined for kerosean and parafin (waxes), the byproduct such as gasoline etc was placed into tanks many without bottoms to leach into the soil or directly into the creek. Standard Oil’s distilleries were good for the economy, but they also spewed on average 30,000 gallons of industrial effluent each week, most of it directly into the creek.
At noon on October 5th, 1950 a reinforced concrete sewer exploded in the heart of Greenpoint blowing manhole covers three stories high, shattering shop windows, injuring three persons, and ripping open a ten foot section of pavement at the intersection of Manhattan Ave. and Huron. Unbeknownst to investigators at the time, the explosion was the first indication of the massive oil spill lurking under Greenpoint. The full dimensions of the spill would remain a mystery until 1978, when during a routine patrol the Coast Guard noted an enormous plume of oil streaming down Newtown Creek from the end of Meeker Avenue. Subsequent study would pin the oil spill at between 17 and 30 million gallons. (an amount at least 50% bigger than the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill) 25 feet thick in some places, and just a few feet below the surface in others.
Since 1978, approximately 8.8 million gallons of oil and oil products have been recovered from the soils beneath Greenpoint and the waters of Newtown Creek. According to the oil companies responsible for cleanup, no more than 70% of the oil can be recovered and even that will take another 20+ years.
Environmental regulation did not exist until the 20th century and much of the original companies have changed hands many times over. Amazing was the lack of understanding of the environmental impacts 150 years ago. What don't we understand today? What are we polluting and destroying that our grandchildren will discover?
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
N ybar fbyqvre ng gur tngrf bs gur rarzl