With a new council in place, the City of Greensboro is taking a fresh approach to cleaning up East Greensboro’s Bingham Park. The park, built over the remains of a preregulatory landfill, has been closed for nearly two years.
Residents in the area had long hoped the city would fully remediate and revitalize the park, digging up the harmful dirt and disposing of it.
This seemed possible until October 2024. After months of deliberating whether to send the waste to the local White Street Landfill or two others much farther away with a higher price tag, the council voted for the much cheaper option: capping and covering the park.
“We’ve been duped, we’ve been backstabbed,” said Cheryl Johnson after the vote. She’s lived near Bingham Park with her family for 19 years, and served on the Bingham Park Environmental Justice Team, which was created to advocate for the park’s remediation.
When the city held a community meeting at Eastside Park Community Center late last month, Johnson had tears in her eyes again—but for a very different reason.
Nearly every seat in the room was filled; people stood in the back, some waited out in the hallway, and leaned in to hear city staff.
Since the cap-and-cover plan was announced, the city has heard through both the new council and community conversations that the plan is just “not viable,” said Kobe Riley, deputy director of the city’s Parks and Recreation department.
Instead, the park will be remediated in waves. Phase one will be a full remediation at the site of the former Hampton Elementary School and partial remediation of the outer edges of Bingham Park. It’s projected to cost $17 million. The dirt will be sent to Great Oak Landfill, where the city currently disposes of solid municipal waste, Riley said. Riley presented the new plan and answered questions alongside Richard Lovett, environmental compliance support manager with the city’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience
The abrupt about-face on the plan for the park is due to the new council members, several of whom ran on the issue.
“It’s our job,” said Councilwoman Crystal Black, who now represents District 1, where the park is located.
“I have worked really hard with other council members to try to honor the community and the ask that they have for full remediation,” said Black.
“The last council put it to bed,” said At-large Councilmember Hugh Holston. “This council woke it up.”
A New Direction
Holston is the only returning council member who voted against the original cap-and-cover plan. Mayor Pro Tempore Yvonne Johnson, who died last in December 2024, was the only other “no” vote.
Initially, the city was relying more heavily on state and federal grants for this project. The new council is willing to commit more city funding.
“This is not a race, it’s a marathon,” Black said.
Black was committed to full remediation during her campaign. A little over three months after her election, the city was ready to announce a new plan for the park.
It’s an example of how the new council—with six new members on the nine-member board—is pushing the city in a new direction, working to follow through on promises made on the campaign trail.
During the council’s March 2 meeting, Black thanked the whole council for how they’ve “rallied” with her in support of a full remediation plan.
“Your dedication to bringing quality in all communities and districts in Greensboro is reflected in the way that you have championed with me,” Black said.
Councilmember April Parker, who represents District 3, also credited city management and staff.
“It is because of the rigor and the standard and everybody coming together that we are now looking decades into the future,” Parker said.
What’s Next?
The city has submitted its remedial action work plan to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for review, and there will be a public comment period and meeting led by the agency in early April. The city council will authorize work contracts in June. Teams will start working in September, and are projected to complete the first phase in February 2028. They intend to plant native species in the park and have plans for a walking trail.
Since the park’s dirt contains dangerous compounds, the city will closely monitor air and control dust while they work, and wash off tires to reduce contamination.
It will take years to fully remediate the park under the incremental plan. Each phase will take around five months to remove and cost between $5-7 million. The city anticipates it will be complete in February 2030. This will allow 100 percent of the park to be accessed, Riley said.
“It hasn’t looked like this in over 100 years,” Riley said, pointing to slides showing the cleanup plans.
Resident Neeko Williams attended last month’s public meeting with his partner, Candace, and their young son, who sat on her lap. Williams said that the meeting answered his questions.
Still, many residents had questions and expressed distrust. V Holmes was worried about the part of the park that would be capped and covered; Cheryl Johnson had concerns about transparency.
“I don’t want anybody to get complacent,” Johnson told The Assembly, “And forget that we still need them to clean it up.”
But this is hopeful news, too, said Johnson’s daughter, Courtney Ullah.
The city is hosting another meeting on Monday, March 16, at 6 p.m. at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 306 S. English St.
“I’m looking forward to these next meetings,” Ullah said. “I think people will be really encouraged to attend and speak up.”
“The change is going to happen,” she said.
“This is where you lay your heads,” Holston said, “And so it’s imperative that we do this right.”