New York City Brownfield Partnership Latest News

House Environment Subcommittee Brownfield Hearing on Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Laura Senkevitch — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:46:24 GMT

House Environment Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Draft Brownfield Bills – March 4, 2026

The House Environment Subcommittee of the Energy & Commerce Committee will hold a legislative hearing this Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 2:00 PM to consider four draft brownfield bills. In addition to reauthorizing EPA’s brownfields program, the proposals include a range of additional policy changes. Notably, the draft legislation does not include the brownfields tax deduction.

This hearing is separate from the bipartisan Senate reauthorization bill passed last year, which focused more narrowly on continuing EPA’s existing brownfields program.

You can read more about the hearing announcement from the House Energy & Commerce Committee here:
https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/chairmen-guthrie-and-palmer-announce-legislative-hearing-to-discuss-the-potential-of-america-s-brownfields-sites

NYSDEC Finalizes Important Amendments to Its Brownfield and Superfund Regulations

Laura Senkevitch — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 20:24:09 GMT

New York City Brownfield Partnership Board Member Matthew J. Sinkman and Emeritus Board Member David J. Freeman of FBT Gibbons authored a concise blog post examining recent amendments by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to the regulations governing its remedial programs, including the Brownfield Cleanup Program and the State Superfund Program.

You can read the full post here

Regulatory Alert: NYSDEC Adopts Final Part 375 Amendments

Laura Senkevitch — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:54:40 GMT

Please read the New York City Brownfield Partnership's assessment of NYSDEC's Part 375 Amendments:

Letterhead_ Regulatory Alert on Final Part 375 Changes (NYCBP 01-12-2026).pdf

Building a Legacy Through Collaboration and Innovation

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 17:25:06 GMT

By Ezgi Karayel, President, NYC Brownfield Partnership

As I look ahead to stepping down as President of the NYC Brownfield Partnership in two short months, I have been reflecting on the impact this organization has had on me—and the legacy I hope to leave behind. For me, that legacy is embodied in the Innovative Development Summit. This Summit represents not just a program, but a vision: a space where practitioners, policymakers, and community leaders come together to think differently, exchange ideas, and shape the future of redevelopment in New York City and beyond.

I could not have pursued this vision without the extraordinary support of my colleagues. The NYC Brownfield Partnership is a uniquely collaborative organization. It has been my honor to work alongside Victoria Whelan, whose leadership as co-chair of the Summit has been invaluable. I am equally grateful to the Board of Directors and the Summit Committee—Michael Bogin, George Duke, Matt Sinkman, Elizabeth Burgess, and Mindy Horowitz—for their insight, energy, and commitment to advancing our mission. Your dedication, wisdom, and collaborative spirit have brought this ambitious initiative to life.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency for their longstanding contributions to the Partnership and their active involvement with the Summit. Their leadership, expertise, and partnership continue to play a vital role in shaping the policies, programs, and collaborations that drive brownfield redevelopment across the city.

The Summit is just one example of what makes this organization special. Over the past several years, I have been proud to see the Scholarship Program grow, providing meaningful support to the next generation of environmental professionals. Our committees continue to expand the Partnership’s reach, whether it’s through educational programming, advocacy, or community engagement. There is always more to do, and I encourage anyone who has been inspired by our work to volunteer your time and talents—you will find that the rewards are greater than you can imagine.

Personally, this role has offered me opportunities I never thought I would be a part of, from representing the Partnership in meetings with government officials during the renewal of the Brownfield Cleanup Program, to helping shape conversations that influence the very fabric of urban redevelopment. These experiences underscored how critical it is to ensure New York’s redevelopment is equitable, sustainable, and forward-looking.

Above all, I am thankful for the people I’ve met along the way. Through the NYC Brownfield Partnership, I have found mentors, colleagues, and lifelong friends I know will remain a part of my life well beyond my tenure as President. I am especially grateful to Mary Manto and Susan Boyle, whose mentorship and encouragement have profoundly shaped my leadership. That, more than any single initiative, is the gift of service I will carry with me.

Thank you for allowing me to serve. As I prepare to pass the torch, I do so with immense gratitude and confidence. The NYC Brownfield Partnership will continue to thrive, building a city where redevelopment is not only possible but transformative.

Regards,

Ezgi Karayel

The new framework - EPA Issues Updated Guidance to Expedite Brownfield Cleanups

Laura Senkevitch — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 18:43:22 GMT

EPA updates lead guidance to accelerate cleanup: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-updates-lead-guidance-accelerate-cleanup-superfund-hazardous-waste-sites-across

Additional coverage: https://www.cdrecycler.com/news/us-epa-superfund-brownfield-lead-demolition-soil-remediation-cleanup-guidance/

Article: Recent Amendments to New York State’s Superfund Law, The New York Environmental Lawyer, by Raymond N. Pomeroy II and Matthew J. Sinkman.

Laura Senkevitch — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:14:34 GMT

Recent Amendments to New York State’s Superfund Law - New York State Bar Association

Notice of Public Comment Hearing on DEC’s Revised Part 375 Regulations

Laura Senkevitch — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 00:33:48 GMT

Members of the NYC Brownfield Partnership should be aware that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has scheduled a virtual public comment hearing on its proposed revisions to 6 NYCRR Part 375, Environmental Remediation Programs.

Public Hearing Details

Date: October 1, 2025
Time: 3:30 P.M.
Format: WebEx webinar, accessible to persons with impaired mobility
Registration Link: Register here

Background

DEC published a Notice of Revised Rule Making on July 2, 2025, to amend Part 375, which governs the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), the State Superfund Program (SSF), and the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). The amendments also update soil cleanup objectives (SCOs) and incorporate modifications developed from the first decade of BCP implementation.

This rulemaking follows proposals issued in 2024, with prior public comments considered and addressed in the Assessment of Public Comments (October 16, 2024) and the Revised Assessment of Public Comments.

Public Comment Deadline

Written comments on the revised rule must be submitted by October 7, 2025.

For more information and access to the full rulemaking package, visit DEC’s page on Proposed, Emergency, and Recently Adopted Regulations.

Joint Letter Urging Governor Hochul to Veto Senate S5868-B and Assembly A7491-B

Laura Senkevitch — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:35:19 GMT

We're proud to join forces with over a dozen organizations, united in urging Governor Hochul to veto Senate S5868-B and Assembly A7491-B.

This bill risks diminishing environmental justice impacts, limiting economic growth, and increasing costs through the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP)—one of New York's most effective programs for revitalizing contaminated sites and promoting affordable housing and sustainable development.

The undersigned include:

New York City Brownfield Partnership
REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York)
National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF)(MWBE)
Associated Builders and Contractors Empire State Chapter
Richmond County Black and Minority Chamber of Commerce(MWBE)
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

…and many more dedicated to ensuring the BCP remains accessible and impactful.

We’re advocating for policies that continue to empower MWBE businesses, promote sustainable development, and protect New York’s commitment to environmental justice and affordable housing.

Our collective message: Protect New York’s communities, affordable housing goals, and green development by preserving the BCP’s success without added strain. We stand together to foster economic growth, environmental protection, and community resilience across New York.

NYCBP et al. - Ltr to Gov re Prev Wage bill - 11-08-2024 (rev).pdf

Adams Administration has Cleaned Land for 12,000 Affordable Housing Unites, 16 Schools, 2.9 Million SqFt of Community Space

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 20:52:44 GMT

Since January 2022, Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation Has Remediated 165 Acres of Polluted Land, Focusing on Environmental Justice Communities

In 16-Year Existence, OER Has Completed More Than 1,000 Cleanups

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that since the start of his administration, and through the efforts of the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER), the city has successfully cleaned 165 acres of contaminated land. The remediated land has been redeveloped into new uses, including 28,000 units of housing — 12,000 of which are affordable — as well as 16 new schools, 2.9 million square feet of community space, and 6.1 million square feet of commercial space.

“New York City’s most valuable resource is our land — and our Office of Environmental Remediation does incredible work to make sure we can use every square foot safely and in a healthy manner,” said Mayor Adams. “The 165 acres we’ve cleaned up have allowed us to house tens of thousands of our neighbors, put thousands of students in school seats, and build new plazas, parks, and open spaces across the city. I’m grateful to the tireless public servants and hardworking New Yorkers who have turned these spaces into the gems they are today.”

“The milestone of 1,000 cleanups is a fantastic achievement – the most of any municipal program in the country,” said Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation Acting Director Shaminder Chawla. “New York City is working to address centuries of land pollution, one property at a time. We make sites ready for redevelopment, which brings housing, jobs, and millions in tax revenue for our city. I’m especially proud of OER’s hard work in environmental justice communities where the impacts of pollution and land vacancy hit hardest.”

Established in 2008 as part of New York City’s PlaNYC sustainability plan, OER designs and operates municipal programs to promote cleanup and redevelopment of vacant contaminated land. Nearly 70 percent of OER’s projects are in environmental justice areas. After the cleanups are completed, projects are eligible for a Green Property Plaque, indicating that the site’s successful cleanup protects public health and the environment, and the building is safe to work and/or live in.

Projects recently completed include:

Mt. Hope Walton Apartments

Mt. Hope Walton Apartments at 1761 Walton Avenue in the Bronx completed cleanup earlier this year. The vacant property was redeveloped into a new 14-story building with 103 affordable units, 15 percent of which were set aside for formerly homeless households. The new building also includes a 9,900 square-foot community gymnasium with a regulation-size basketball court and fitness center. To make the building safe for occupants, the development team implemented an OER-approved remedy that included excavation and removal of contaminated soil.

Rheingold Affordable Senior Residences

Rheingold Affordable Senior Residences at 11–23 Montieth Street in Williamsburg worked with OER to address soil contamination before constructing a new eight-story, 93-unit supportive housing development for seniors. The new building includes supportive services, food pantry, and a rooftop garden. Given the property’s history of manufacturing and automotive uses, the developer worked with OER to excavate and remove contaminated soil and install a vapor barrier and engineered system to ensure the site remains protected.

Tommie L. Agee Educational Campus

111-10 Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst was developed into the Tommy L. Agee Educational Campus, a 646-seat school that serves students from grades six through eight. The development team worked with OER to remove contaminated soil and install a depressurization system to protect students, teachers, and staff from any residual contaminants.

River Avenue

1169 River Avenue in the Bronx is one of the city’s largest supportive housing developments, with 245 affordable units for formerly homeless individuals and families. The project includes 148 total supportive units, and the rest are set aside for low-income families. The building also hosts a specialized District 75 school. OER oversaw the developer’s excavation and removal of contaminated soil, as well as community air monitoring.

Other completed projects include The Eliza in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, which includes 174 units of affordable housing, a fully redeveloped public library, an extensive community learning center, and more. OER also remediated land under the 14-story, 145-affordable-unit Halletts Point Building 7 in Queens, a new building within the New York City Housing Authority Astoria Housing Campus that provides housing for low-income families and the formerly homeless.

“Remediating our polluted land is critical for a sustainable future and opens a wealth of opportunities for developing vital housing and infrastructure,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “Today, we celebrate a historic milestone of over 1,000 cleanups remediating 165 acres — the equivalent of over 120 football fields. This has freed up space for us to build 12,000 much-needed affordable housing units, 16 schools for our children, and 2.9 million square feet for community space. I am proud of my work with Mayor Adams to produce this infrastructure faster, passing legislation to expedite the contracting process and co-sponsoring the bill authorizing progressive design build. Together, we will utilize every square inch of land and implement every policy to produce the infrastructure we need in a New York Minute.”

“I'm thrilled with the progress the Office of Environmental Remediation has made in cleaning up contaminated land,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “The OER has helped make the city a better place by removing dangerous contaminants and enabling the redevelopment of formerly contaminated land for important and beneficial uses. Let's continue this important work to create a cleaner, healthier, and more vibrant city.”

“This project is not only paving the way for a greener New York City, it is also enhancing our neighborhoods with valuable resources,” said New York City Councilmember James F. Gennaro, chair, Committee on Environmental Protection, Resiliency, and Waterfronts. “Transforming 165 acres of contaminated land into 28,000 units of housing, 16 new schools, and 2.9 million square feet of community space is a true testament to what we can accomplish when we prioritize smart and sustainable development in our communities.”

“Kudos to the Office of Environmental Remediation on the monumental achievement of completing their 1000th cleanup project,” said Ezgi Karayel, president, NYC Brownfield Partnership. “As a steadfast partner to the NYC Brownfield Partnership, the OER team has been instrumental in advocating for the cleanup and revitalization of our city. The Clean Soil Bank, as the only municipally operated program of its kind, is a testament to OER’s innovative approach to supporting sustainable development. On behalf of the NYC Brownfield Partnership, we thank you for your dedication to building a more resilient New York City.”

###

Posted December 11, 2024

2024 NYCBP Accomplishments

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 16:48:17 GMT

Dear NYCBP Members,

As we wrap up a year of remarkable accomplishments at the NYC Brownfield Partnership (click here for our Annual Meeting highlights), I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for your dedication and highlight some of the milestones we achieved in 2024.

2024 Accomplishments:

Innovative Development Summit: We hosted our largest event to date, generating $33,000 from sponsors and registrants, with 28 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) issued. We’re excited to continue building on this success and make it an annual tradition.
Scholarships for the Next Generation: This year, we awarded 8 scholarships totaling $18,000, supporting students with amounts ranging from $1,000 to $3,000.
Legislative and Policy Work: Our Legislative Committee was instrumental in providing guidance on critical legislative items, including advocating for the veto of Senate Bill S5868-B and Assembly Bill A7491-B, alongside supporting revisions to soil cleanup and vapor intrusion guidance to enhance site safety.
Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABAs): The Events Committee organized a highly successful event at The Racket. With nearly double the attendance from last year, it raised $37,000 and honored seven exemplary projects. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Lee Ilan for exceptional contributions.

We are also pleased to welcome William Fitchett from GEI to our Board of Directors. We look forward to his contributions as we plan for an impactful 2025.

As we expand our efforts, we seek leadership from our members to help drive our MWBE, education, and scholarship work. We’re currently seeking to fill two board seats in 2025, and we encourage those passionate about our mission to consider taking on leadership roles to advance these efforts.

As we look forward to another year of growth, we encourage you to renew your membership and continue supporting our mission.

Thank you all for your commitment to safe and healthy brownfield redevelopment. Let’s build on this momentum as we work towards another successful year!

Warm regards,

Laura Senkevitch
Executive Director, NYC Brownfield Partnership

Brownfield Development – Paving the Way for a Greener New York

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:37:18 GMT

As New York City races to meet ambitious sustainability and housing goals, innovative approaches to redevelopment are crucial. Last Monday, September 9, 2024, the New York City Brownfield Partnership’s Innovative Development Summit brought together industry development leaders, policymakers, environmental consultants, engineers, scientists, and environmental advocates to discuss specific methods and tools to address the challenges and opportunities of brownfield sites.

The summit explored how cutting-edge remediation techniques, renewable energy integration, and community engagement can be used to transform brownfield sites into vibrant, sustainable developments. With discussions ranging from regulatory updates deep diving into the most recent legislative updates to environmental construction permitting, the event inspired and informed stakeholders about the future of urban revitalization.

One standout session covered New York's Local Law 97, which imposes aggressive carbon reduction targets for NYC. Another session’s presenters discussed environmental concerns and financial incentives for renewable energy projects and showcased specific examples as to how brownfield redevelopment can align with the City’s clean energy goals for the future.

Evelyn Hussey, Jared Donaldson, and Brianna Scharf with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) traveled from Albany to present on tracking and reporting metrics of the Department’s new Green and Sustainable Remediation (GSR) initiative, which is aimed at integrating environmentally responsible practices into the cleanup of contaminated sites. This initiative promotes the use of sustainable technologies and approaches in remediation projects, minimizing environmental impact while maximizing efficiency and long-term effectiveness.

Keynote speaker Ariel Iglesias of EPA Region 2 emphasized federal priorities in land and chemical management, reinforcing the government’s role in shaping sustainable redevelopment. This highlights the collaborative spirit necessary to overcome the challenges posed by New York’s unique urban fabric.

In the afternoon, attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER). Acting Director Shaminder Chawla, and Assistant Directors Maurizio Bertini and Zach Schreiber provided a technical overview of OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, Noise and Air Quality Work Plans, and the first-ever city-operated Clean Soil Bank and Stockpile Program, a novel initiative that facilitates the transfer of clean soil between construction sites. The Clean Soil Bank has already reduced CO2 emissions by 4,800 metric tons and shortened truck trips by 2.2 million miles, helping lead the way to reducing the carbon footprint of the built environment in NYC.

What set this conference apart was its focus on real-world solutions—demonstrating how private and public partnerships can successfully transform environmental liabilities into community assets. Brownfield redevelopment is no longer just a legal or technical issue; it's an opportunity to foster equity, build resilience, and drive economic growth. As New York strives to become greener and more inclusive, the conversations at this summit will be pivotal in steering us toward a sustainable urban future.

All proceeds from the conference were allocated to the NYC Brownfield Partnership’s Scholarship Program. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank all attendees and our generous sponsors for their support, and we look forward to seeing you at future events.

Ezgi Karayel	George Duke
President, NYCBP	Vice President, NYCBP
Principal, vEKtor Consultants	Partner, Connell Foley

Treasurer: Michele Rogers, Blue World Construction

Secretary: Mari Cate Conlon, Haley & Aldrich of New York

Elizabeth Burgess, Langan

Erik Dreijer, PVE

Joel Rogers, Factor Group

Matt Carroll, Tenen Environmental, LLC

Matthew J. Sinkman, Gibbons P.C.

Mindy Horowitz, Matrix New World Engineering

Victoria Whelan, GZA

Executive Director: Laura Senkevitch, FIURN LLC

Save the Date: Innovative Development Summit

Laura Senkevitch — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:54:27 GMT

Join us for an insightful and impactful event dedicated to the future of New York City’s environmental and construction landscape. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with industry leaders, engage in meaningful discussions, and gain valuable insights into sustainable practices and regulatory updates.

Event Details:

Date: September 9, 2024
Time: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Location: NYC Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY

Why Attend? The event will cover key themes such as the latest developments in environmental regulations, innovative sustainable remediation techniques, and effective community engagement strategies. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore case studies, participate in Q&A sessions with expert panelists, and network with professionals from both the public and private sectors. Discussions will also focus on New York State's green and sustainable remediation and climate resilience efforts, including offshore wind projects and the implementation of Local Law 97 for sustainable buildings.

Professional Education Credits: NYS Professional Engineer and Professional Geologist credits will be available for attendees, providing an excellent opportunity to enhance your knowledge and professional development in the field.

Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details on registration and speakers. We look forward to seeing you there!

New: NYC Brownfield Partnership's Comments on Proposed Part 375

Laura Senkevitch — Wed, 22 May 2024 19:27:50 GMT

Earlier this year, NYSDEC circulated its proposed amendments to 6 NYCRR Part 375 to conform to the 2015 Amendments to the DEC regulations with respect to the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP).

On May 20, 2024, NYCBP Vice President, George Duke of Connell Foley, shared NYCBP's comments on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Proposed Part 375 Revisions. They can be accessed: Here.

Thank you to our many members who have collaborated with us for this review and submission.

Ode to the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 20:54:59 GMT

A Poem by Lee Ilan in honor of National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 18th)

When you enroll in the VCP
You’re doing what is right
And when you finish cleaning up
Get a Green Plaque for your site

Removing contaminated soil
And containing harmful vapors
Can bring kudos at the BABA awards
(Versus jeers in all the papers)

Benefits and regulations
Will be explained by OER
And once you get your building up
You’ll be a brownfields star!

Abbey Duncan Scholarship Recipients - A Glimpse into the Future; NYC Brownfield Future Appears Bright

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 15:38:07 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Mohammed Wara, an undergraduate student at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate, fondly reminisces about late-night cab rides with his father. These unforgettable experiences ignited his passion for and aspiration to pursue a career in brownfield redevelopment. Mohammed is eager to embark on this career in the near future, and his selection as one of the eight 2023 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program recipients will further facilitate and expedite his journey. This annual program aims to provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in New York City brownfields.

"I used to join my father during his night shifts," Mohammed recalls. "It was our version of 'take your son to work' day. He showed me Manhattan's iconic high-rise architecture from the roads, bridges, and tunnels connecting the five boroughs. It's challenging for me to express the wonder I have for the city's real estate—it has been ingrained in me since childhood," he says.

Samuel Syrop, a student at the City College of New York/The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, developed his curiosity about environmental issues at a young age. "Throughout the early 2000s, my mother was actively involved in protesting the Indian Point nuclear site near our home in Westchester County. I remember pondering the issues at hand: the health of the soil, water, and the overall ecosystem. The impact our modern culture can have on the environment is significant, as is its role in local economies and job creation," says Samuel.

As a current MLA student at Spitzer, Samuel is forming his own opinions about prioritizing these issues, especially within the city's boundaries. "Brownfield remediation serves as a particularly compelling focal point for addressing urban inequality while supporting local ecology. Transforming a site too toxic for development into a place where people can contribute to a healthy community can be an exceptionally meaningful process. I couldn't think of a better mission to dedicate one's career," Samuel articulates.

Nicholas Russell, a student at CUNY/Queens College, contemplates a career in environmental science. He emphasizes the importance of his membership in the Newtown Creek Superfund Community Advisory Group. Since 2020, Nick has witnessed firsthand the significance of integrating state Brownfield sites into remedial and redevelopment planning on a watershed scale.

"Brownfield sites are numerous, and the groundwater transport of contaminants, such as PCBs, PFAS, and heavy metals, transforms a hydrological network of point sources into a diffuse groundwater transport system of contaminants at the watershed scale. The EPA is currently conducting a lateral groundwater study at Newtown Creek to develop a model of upland source contaminant transport into the Creek. This necessitates access and cooperation from both Primary Responsible Parties in the Federal Superfund process, as well as cooperation from State Superfund and Brownfield sites," explains Nick.

He also notes the overlap between data and methods used by the DEC and EPA. However, Nick highlights the challenge of integrating upland Brownfield sites into the Newtown Creek Superfund conceptual site model, which has become clear to him through years of community meetings with the EPA. Nick emphasizes the need for a collaborative process between DEC and EPA to inform expeditious remedial action and advance Brownfield planning and redevelopment.

These three ambitious rising professionals are joined by five others in receiving the Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship, a program named in honor of Ms. Duncan, an avid environmentalist, talented dancer, and tireless community supporter who passed away several years ago, inspiring many along the way.

Other recipients include Brenda Lau, a Master's Candidate in Urban Planning at Hunter College; Danielle Gartenberg, Hunter College; Kevin Orlic, CUNY; Benjamin Kalmanowitz, City College of New York; and Srisubrahmanya Nandula, New York University.

Several scholarship recipients recently shared their life experiences that inspired them to pursue careers in brownfield redevelopment, the significance of the Abbey Duncan Scholarship in advancing their careers, and their specific career aspirations. Undoubtedly, there are numerous diverse opportunities to contribute to the brownfield redevelopment spectrum.

Fueled By Life's Experiences

For Srisubrahmanya Nandula, growing up as a hearing-impaired individual meant becoming a "visual learner." He explains, "I used my sight to learn about the world around me. Cities have always intrigued me. As a child, I spent hours sitting on my parents' balcony in India, watching the hustle and bustle of people, rickshaws, and cars. I memorized city maps, including the locations of streets, bus stations, and city landmarks to learn more about the cities that I love."

This passion led him to pursue Geography, GIS, and Environmental Science during his undergraduate studies. "As a GIS Specialist at the New York City Parks Department, I've worked on numerous projects, including a physical census of the city's trees. Trees play a vital role in purifying our air, cooling urban areas, and minimizing floods. Designing and building effective parks, which include smart water retention ponds, can help combat the impacts of climate change."

The Master's in Urban Planning program at New York University is a "critical step in helping me achieve my dreams. I am formally training and gaining exposure to disciplines such as finance and public policy. I'm learning the fundamentals of urban development, including land use law, environmental zoning, environmental sustainability, and community engagement. Thus far, the program has helped me build a multidisciplinary perspective, allowing me to think critically about cause and effect."

Srisubrahmanya emphasizes that these learnings are critical as he works with his agency to build natural spaces and restore brownfields into parks, benefiting both the community and the climate.

At Hunter College, Brenda Lau believes that "mission-driven development, whether for the manufacturing or affordable housing sector, is pertinent to my values as a planner and community steward."

Brenda continues, "Through my work in project management at a non-profit industrial developer, I partner with community development entities (CDEs) to identify public investment financing streams, such as historic preservation tax credits, for the redevelopment of dilapidated industrial buildings into multi-tenanted manufacturing spaces."

She remains "hopeful that leveraging these private funding streams for public investment may provide avenues to disrupt, or at least interrupt, patterns of inequitable development that pervade New York City."

**Each scholarship recipient has been profoundly inspired by some life lesson—or lessons—as well as personal experiences.**

From his earliest memories, Benjamin Kalmanowitz (City College of New York) harbored an "enduring affection for the natural world." He recalls the days of constructing "rudimentary forts in my backyard and embarking on adventurous camping journeys during my adolescence."

He explains, "The outdoors always bestowed upon me a profound sense of tranquility, an escape from the noise of daily life. However, it's become evident that not everyone shares this deep connection to nature, and that's where my journey takes a turn."

Recognizing the disparity in attitudes towards the environment prompted Benjamin to align his passion "with purpose. As I entered college, I sought to weave together my love for scientific exploration and mathematical analysis with a commitment to preserving the environment," he says. "This led me to the realm of environmental engineering. In this academic pursuit, I've embraced the role of a staunch advocate against pollution, particularly as it pertains to polluted brownfield sites. These sites stand as stark reminders of the ecological consequences of human activity."

As a college student, Benjamin believes he's assuming the role of an environmental engineer who "ardently opposes the degradation of our planet. With a fusion of scientific knowledge and a resolute environmental consciousness, I'm driven to address one of the most pressing challenges of our time: The fight against pollution, especially in neglected sites, fuels my determination to bridge the gap between awareness and action. It's about channeling my passion for the outdoors and my academic journey into a tangible force for positive change."

Scholarship Accelerates Career Timetable

The economic assistance provided by the Abbey Duncan Scholarship is helping the eight recipients in several unique ways. For Srisubrahmanya Nandula, it removes a substantial financial barrier as he pursues a master's degree. "I am very grateful for this as it empowers me, as a hearing-impaired individual, to gain additional confidence—and see a way that I can make an impact in my community. This scholarship provides the opportunity to gain exposure to a new community of professionals, research, and collaboration."

Brenda Lau is grateful to the NYC Brownfield Partnership for supporting her through her fourth and final year in the MUP program at Hunter College. "To cap off my graduate studies, I am hoping to complete an independent study on how public benefit financing mechanisms, such as brownfield remediation tax credits, can alleviate economic stressors for vulnerable communities in the midst of gentrifying neighborhoods," Brenda says.

Mohammed Wara, responsible for funding his education as his father is the sole earner of the household, sees the scholarship helping pay for housing during the Fall 2023 semester and to buy essentials, such as groceries. "I am entering my senior year and want to meet professionals in the industry. With new connections and knowledge, I can work to be a contributing member of brownfield development projects," he says.

Other recipients cited similar sentiments about the magnitude of the Duncan scholarship. Samuel sees every dollar of assistance making a compelling difference, especially in New York City. "It's reassuring to know that there are people and organizations out there that support students interested in the brownfield redevelopment industry," he says.

Nick is a "non-traditional" (i.e., older) student with a family who returned to school to make a career transition to urban coastal and watershed science. The Abbey Duncan scholarship is "a weight off my shoulders—one that anyone in my position can immediately understand. I am truly humbled and grateful."

Nick believes the scholarship is "perfectly in line with my educational trajectory. I really did go back to the drawing board when I enrolled in the Environmental Science program at LaGuardia Community College, which I can say without reservation, was a life-changing experience. My academic and research interests have evolved at every juncture, and the support provided by this scholarship will give me room to breathe, concentrate, and take my next step in the journey toward a career as an environmental scientist," Nick states.

As for Benjamin, the scholarship carries the potential to alleviate significant burdens from his family's shoulders. One of the most invaluable aspects of the scholarship lies in its ability to shield him from the weight of student loans, and thus "pursue my studies without distractions. As a sophomore, its impact resonates far beyond the realm of financial relief but empowers me to dedicate myself entirely to my educational journey," he says.

Looking Forward

As the recipients look ahead, all have unique visions that are ambitious, if not altruistic. With a degree in Urban Planning, Srisubrahmanya's dream is helping New York City and other cities in the United States and around the world develop and utilize their natural spaces to counter the impacts of climate change.

"I strongly believe that trees and parks are one of the most important tools we have in preserving our communities. Brownfield spaces are an excellent source and opportunity to redevelop natural spaces and revitalize communities. I hope to be a strong champion for the redevelopment of brownfield spaces within the New York City government," he says.

Brenda Lau, a part-time graduate student and full-time Assistant Project Manager at a non-profit industrial developer, has been able to combine her professional pursuits in equitable economic development with academic interests in environmental justice and community advocacy.

"I consistently ask how we can sustain local economies and create opportunities for inclusive participatory design—design meaning both physical infrastructure and grounding community principles. I am interested in continuing to pursue work in community-controlled real estate development, such as social housing financing initiatives or community land trust ownership models," she says.

As Benjamin looks ahead and sizes up the intricate world of brownfield redevelopment, he's particularly drawn to addressing the complex challenges associated with soil contaminants. He notes that an environmental engineer can play a pivotal role in revitalizing abandoned or polluted lands—transforming them into safe and vibrant community spaces. Within this context, "I envision myself engaging in cutting-edge research to develop innovative technologies for soil remediation. I'm driven to explore advanced techniques such as phytoremediation and bioremediation, thereby harnessing the power of nature and science to restore contaminated soils efficiently and ecologically."

"As I think about my future in landscape and crafting and building spaces, I like to think about where my efforts may have the greatest impact," says Samuel. "It's one thing to take a good place and make something great of it, but it's an entirely different thing to take something toxic or off-limits and revive it into a functional space, both ecologically speaking as well as socially."

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 14:02:56 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Big Apple Brownfield Awards. You can download a pdf of the award flyer here.

Important News Regarding Proposed Bill S5868 and NYCBP's Commentary

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 19:41:27 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership serves as a primary resource for information on brownfields and brownfields redevelopment in New York City and beyond. The New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) has been instrumental in offering a robust environmental cleanup program by incentivizing private sector remediation and redevelopment efforts.

However, a challenge has arisen with Proposed Bill S5868. This bill links certain tax credits, site acceptance, and ongoing participation in the BCP to prevailing wage compliance – a link that may have a severe detrimental effect on the functioning of the BCP. We acknowledge the intention behind prevailing wage but question the effectiveness of its inclusion in this bill and believe that reconsideration of this requirement is warranted to ensure alignment with the BCP’s initial legislative goals.

To better understand our concerns and proposed alternatives, the Partnership offers a detailed commentary on the bill, which is available here.

Please review the commentary to grasp the potential implications and challenges posed by this bill to the BCP and its stakeholders. The Partnership remains committed to excellence in responsible brownfield redevelopment and fostering collaboration among developers, government agencies, and community groups.

Posted June 2, 2023

Boyle Embarks Upon New Chapter With No Regrets, Boatload of Fond Partnership Recollections

Mon, 08 May 2023 16:09:37 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

This is a narrative about a professional life well lived. About steadfast—and effective—service to two not-for-profit brownfield entities.

Susan Boyle is retiring, doing it “cold turkey-style,” resting comfortably so that as she passes the batons, “all the pieces are in place” for brighter futures.

Sue, first and foremost, is retiring from her “day job” as an environmental remediation leader at GEI Consultants Inc. But that retirement has a domino effect, as she’s also stepping aside from her dual roles as contracted executive director of the New York City Brownfield Partnership and Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE).

These affiliations lasted longer than Sue had originally anticipated. After working 27 years on the public side of the environmental remediation sector with the New Jersey Hazardous Waste Facilities Siting Commission and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Sue entered the private sector in 2008 when she joined GEI Consultants.

Summing up the career ride, Sue told me that she’s tinged with a “bittersweet sentiment because I love running organizations. But there are other things in life,” that Sue can’t wait to start pursuing.

“I plan to go ‘cold turkey’ and totally step away for at least six months. I can’t wait to not have to set an alarm clock—and I’m thrilled about the idea of drinking a cup of coffee before it gets cold!”

Read ahead for a recent conversation with Sue on the past, present and future.

Q: Take us back to the beginning and your recollection of joining the Partnership?

SB: I was not around when the Partnership started in 2006—I came on board in 2008, and applied to become a board member. As I became involved, it became clear to me that the Partnership some contracted staff—it had originally been operated by New York City’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) staff. That was a lot to take on and effectively deliver on expectations to support and grow the organization. We had the Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABAs) and Brownfield Scholarship Program to plan and execute. No doubt, they needed external help, so I talked to the Partnership Board about hiring me an executive director. It was a very part-time role, but one that was necessary for the organization. On the BCONE front, I helped shape the mission, bylaws, policies and procedure—I had a voice in that from the outset, whereas the Partnership had already established that. Regarding both organizations, it was important to implement such polices as board term limits so we could hear form new professionals, and give them a seat at the table. Former Board Member, Mary Manto of Tenen Environmental was the champion of that effort for the Partnership.

Q: What was the early reception of non-for-profit brownfields organizations among brownfield professionals in the region?

SB: I think it was well received. The bylaws that were promulgated by The Partnership [and BCONE] were clear and had a solid vision. One thing we were eager to have was a blending of both public and private professionals involved, to establish an eclectic balance across all professional capacities—this would include environmental consultants, attorneys, environmental insurance, lenders, architects, and others. It’s been an ongoing mission—and challenge—to engage with and bring in some of these professional capacities to a greater degree outside of the core consultant and environmental attorney world. The Partnership [and BCONE] has made great strides along these lines.

Q: At the outset of your affiliations with the Partnership, and even into 2023, what are some areas you’d like to see improved upon?

SB: One of the frustrations I’ve always cited is that we offered excellent pro bono services to both public and private sectors—it was very frustrating that more organizations didn’t take advantage of those services. It was a question of, how do we reach them in the first place?

At BCONE, what has been challenging is getting information out—spreading the word—about successful redevelopment projects that go live. We have so many environmental consultants who are involved on the front end of a project cycle, but unfortunately many are long gone by the time redevelopments go live. We want to shine a light on so many of the success stories, but need a better mechanism to do so. At the Partnership, the BABAs serve as a great vehicle to help shine a light on the ‘success stories.’ With BCONE, one vital stride that needs to occur is growing membership rolls—I think it’s experienced slower growth than we had anticipated. BCONE has such a large geographic footprint that the question is ‘how can we offer services to states from Maine to Maryland ? And, both organizations have long been environmental consultant-heavy in representation, so we’ve always strived to branch out to be more inclusive.

Q: What are some of the professional aspects about new Partnership executive director Laura Senkevitch that allows you to step way confident about the future—and also as it relates to BCONE executive director Anne Lazo?

SB: They both know their respective organizations very well. Take Laura: she knows so much about taking non-profits forward, having held leadership roles in both fundraising and program development at Human Rights First and Fortune Society. She has significant experience across such areas as donor cultivation, program development, strategic partnership management, non-profit board governance, and more. She’ll work extremely well with the Partnership leadership team of [President] Ezgi [Karayel], [Vice President] George [Duke], [Treasurer] Michele [Rogers] and [Secretary] MariCate [Conlon]. She knows and understands the board, having served as a board member. Laura is also an excellent networker. Anne Lazo has been BCONE’s webmaster for quite a while, and has literally read every word about BCONE—she’s probably the only person besides me who has. Anne knows the group and knows the people. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the BCONE organization. She also has many years of experience consulting with businesses and non-profit organizations. I’m also very heartened that both BCONE and the Partnership have hired administrative assistants in Michele Hurley [BCONE] and Marianne Leone [Partnership]. I think we have grown the professional services area to where you have the right mix of staff—and that all the piece are in place.

Q: What do you plan to do with all this newfound free time on your hands?

SB: I plan to go ‘cold turkey’ and totally step away for at least six months from Partnership activities. I can’t wait to not have to set an alarm clock anymore—and I’m thrilled about the idea of drinking a cup of coffee before it gets cold!

Posted May 8, 2023

Laser-Focused Vision on Display

Mon, 01 May 2023 23:10:54 GMT

Becoming new Partnership Executive Director a true "joy" for Senkevitch

By Steve Dwyer

Calling it “an easy and natural fit,” Laura Senkevitch took over as Executive Director of the New York City Brownfield Partnership, effective May 1.

In succeeding retiring executive Susan Boyle, Senkevitch is armed with a laser-sharp focus that is sure to impact Partnership goals and objectives in 2023 and beyond. In taking over the post, Senkevitch relinquishes her board seat as Vice President to George Duke.

Senkevitch is also armed with a double-edged advantage of comprehensively grasping the dynamics underpinning NYC and state-wide brownfields since joining the Partnership more than a decade ago. In addition, she boasts a significant amount of experience within the not-for-profit sector, having held leadership roles in both fundraising and program development at organizations such as, currently, Human Rights First and the Fortune Society.

Holding a Master of Science degree from Pratt Institute in environmental systems management, Senkevitch brings 15 years of experience to the table anchored in donor cultivation, program development, strategic partnership management, and non-profit board governance.

She is eager to work in lock step with the Partnership leadership team of President Ezgi Karayel, Vice President Duke, Treasurer Michele Rogers and Secretary Mari Cate Conlon.

Stepping aside from the board post was not a relatively hard decision for Senkevitch because, over six-plus years as a board member, she believes she’s helped wring effective results from that seat. Walking into the new role actually serves as her “new destiny,” she says. “I love the Partnership, and I can’t wait to get started. I’ve been affiliated with the organization for more than a decade, and was eventually appointed a board member in 2016. The bottom line is that I know and understand the non-profit sector very well. This is a meaningful opportunity to me.”

Senkevitch spoke about several front- and back-burner priorities she’s most eager to tackle within the brownfield redevelopment realm as this new organizational chapter commences, including:

Legislation. Chiefly, the continued funding of the State’s Brownfield tax credit program and New York City’s Voluntary Cleanup Programs, to ensure that formerly contaminated properties are appropriately remediated for new uses and with the protection of human and environmental health the top priority. “We need to keep finger to the pulse on the continued future and evolution of these key and essential programs. One solution to this is for those with a stake in the VCP and state tax credit programs to understand what is at stake: we need to cut through the legalese and articulate the key benefits of these programs—doing so by providing both Partnership members and even those on the outside looking in—perhaps would-be Partnership members—with easy and digestible content about both programs so they can fully grasp the opportunities in front of them,” she says.

Diversity & Outreach. Laura is a big proponent for the concept of promoting and creating training opportunities to open doors to anyone eager to break into and thrive in this work, including the next generation of brownfield practitioners. How do we do it best? Provide the most effective tools so they can better thrive in the brownfield sector.” Speaking about “outreach,” Laura says that it’s incumbent upon the membership to leverage their skills and knowledge more holistically. “That means taking more leadership positions within the confines of the Partnership, but also externally as they engage with other professionals. They key is to not be ‘siloed.’”

More on Training/Development/Professional Recruitment. “I have a soft spot for professional development and training. I got my chops in this area in 2012, with the Fortune Society overseeing the green job initiatives—that’s where my affiliation with the Partnership commenced. I’m eager to see the Partnership endorse, even sponsor, the concept of professional training and development curriculums geared to formerly incarcerated individuals, for example, as well as individuals from all educational backgrounds. The Partnership has already made inroads in this area, but it would be great to elevate and amplify that advocacy.
I also see it vital to recruit more experts, across disciplines such as developers, engineers, policy advocates, architects, and more—bring them into the brownfield fold. They may not have an affinity for our industry, but that’s the point—bring them in through better outreach, via workshops, social events, events. Many don’t realize the opportunities they have within this context.”

On any conflicting feelings about relinquishing her board seat. “Not at all. Since we have a game plan for succession planning, I realized that being on the board was not a ‘forever thing,’ so I was mentally prepared to step away from the board. My tenure traces to 2016 when
I became secretary, and eventually VP in 2021. I had a sustained board tenure of about seven years, so I guess you could say that I was willingly kicked out.”

How BABAs can acknowledge not only winners but non-winning projects. “I think it’s important to celebrate the impact all these projects have on the community—they’re not isolated incidents by any stretch, but the end results of these projects is that they foster and facilitate public health, quality of neighborhoods, and more. I think it behooves us to show and demonstrate how all BABA-nominated projects fit into the bigger picture—more than winning an award or not. It’s about the long-term impacts they deliver.”

Environmental justice. Community input and overall public-private transparency—building bridges not walls—all are touchstones to practicing EJ. Laura says that preventing residential displacement and anything that begets gentrification is Job 1. “This goes back to the fact we need to look at the bigger picture—the so-called 30,000-foot view.”

Continued growth, evolution of Abbey Duncan Scholarship program (for undergrad and grad students in the NYC region). Student-recipients know how valuable the financial and network opportunities can be for them to pursue careers in environmental science, geology, engineering.
“It’s not about making the Scholarship program ‘better’ so much as continuing on the path of growth. It’s about giving back and promoting the next generation. If we could get more capitalization to support the program, I would love to see it—to increase the scholarship sum to scholarship recipients and expand opportunities for the student-recipients. It’s all part of seeing the bigger picture.”

Industry events both in-person and remotely. “I’m so happy for regular and ongoing in-person events—there’s so much attendees can get out of them. Experimentation had to be done, obviously, during the pandemic. We found that professional development training done remotely allowed more people to access events as they were easier to organize. In certain cases, remote webinars are the way to go. But with in-person events the most compelling benefit is being able to mingle with like-minded professionals—all things you can’t accomplish on a Zoom. In person, I can now introduce other people to one another, link one professional to another. It binds them.”

On taking the ED baton from Sue. “While I don’t think I’ll need ‘training wheels’ for this position, it will nevertheless be bittersweet…because Sue is not there, and it will be at first hard to adjust to that. I think about all the ‘wrangling’ Sue has done over the years. Let’s put it this way: I will be essentially missing her in the room.”

THE SENKEVITCH FILE: Prior to joining Human Rights First, Laura served as the Associate Vice President of Education and Employment Services at The Fortune Society, a human services and advocacy organization that holistically serves justice-involved individuals and their families, where she created, and raised funds for data-driven high-impact programming, including an EPA-funded course.

As a member of the New York City Brownfield Partnership for more than a decade, Laura has served on their board of directors since 2016. She has advised on annual awards ceremony, industry education programming, grant-giving initiatives, and scholarship fundraising activities. Laura holds a Master of Science degree in Urban Environmental Systems Management from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor degree in Environmental Studies from Pace University.

Posted May 1, 2023

Sustainable remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 15:21:05 GMT

by Deyi Hou et al, Nature

Abstract

Widespread pollution from industrial activities has driven land degradation with detrimental human health effects, especially in urban areas. Remediation and redevelopment of the estimated 5 million brownfield sites globally is needed to support the sustainable transition and increase urban ecosystem services, but many traditional strategies are often environmentally harmful. In this Review, we outline sustainable remediation strategies for the clean-up of contaminated soil and groundwater at brownfield sites. Conventional remediation strategies, such as dig and haul, or pump and treat, ignore secondary environmental burdens and socioeconomic impacts; over their life cycle, some strategies are more detrimental than taking no action. Sustainable remediation technologies, such as sustainable immobilization, low-impact bioremediation, new forms of in-situ chemical treatment and innovative passive barriers, can substantially reduce the environmental footprint of remediation and maximize overall net benefits. Compared with traditional methods, they can typically reduce the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by ~50–80%. Integrating remediation with redevelopment through nature-based solutions and sustainable energy systems could further increase the socioeconomic benefit, while providing carbon sequestration or green energy. The long-term resilience of these systems still needs to be understood, and ethics and equality must be quantified, to ensure that these systems are robust and just.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-023-00404-1

Posted April 4, 2023

New 50-Story Affordable Housing Tower to Rise After Brownfield Cleanup Ends

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 15:19:05 GMT

A Miami real estate developer paid $89 million for the lot and plans to erect a 50 story affordable housing tower on the financial district site near the WTC–but first needs to clear the brownfield site of pollutants left behind by past commercial occupants. That work is just getting underway.

KAY BONTEMPO, Our Town (Downtown New York City)

A new 50-story, 400-unit affordable housing development is a step closer to reality now that the cleanup of a brownfield site has begun with plans to wrap it up before the end of the year.

The contaminated brownfield site of the former Kasser Scrap Metal and Rector Cleaners is finally being cleaned up. The location at 111-121 Washington Street, (a.k.a. 8 Carlisle Street), is located two blocks north of the World Trade Center and comprises a 11,255-square-foot vacant lot (just over a quarter-acre.) The developer Carlisle New York Apartments, LLC, purchased the lot in 2021 for $89 million from the Ohebshalom family, which was involved in a bitter family feud pitting father against son that ultimately was resolved with the son buying out the father’s stake.

The Miami-based developer plans to start construction on the quarter acre plot once the cleanup is completed, expected in seven to eight months.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.otdowntown.com/news/new-50-story-affordable-housing-tower-to-rise-after-brownfield-cleanup-ends-BH2458254

Posted April 4, 2023

Developer Wants to Build Lux Condos on E. 78th St, but DEC Says: Clean Up Brownfield Before Building 35 Story Tower

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 20:19:28 GMT

A West Coast real estate developer bought the nearly quarter acre plot at the corner of E. 78th St. and First Ave. for $73.5 million late last year with plans to build a luxury condo complex but first the NYS Department of Environment Conservation said containments of groundwater and soil must be cleaned up and is now seeking public input on a proposed plan.

by Keith J. Kelly, Westside Spirit (NY)

A San Francisco real estate developer bought the quarter acre lot at E. 78th St. and First Ave. for $73.5 million late last year with plans to erect a luxury condo apartment complex on the site that could stretch up to 35 stories high–but before any work can begin the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says soil and grondwater contaminants must be cleared first.

Carmel Partners has big plans for the site. According to linecity, a blog which tracks real estate filings, the company has already filed plans with the building department for a 24 story, 209-foot-tall development that will total 195,299 square feet and include 182,020 square feet of residential space and of 13,279 square feet of commercial space. “The average size of an apartment, based on gross numbers, will be a very robust 1,936 square feet,” according to linecity, which said the developer is calling for 94 units.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.westsidespirit.com/news/developer-wants-to-build-lux-condos-on-e-78th-st-but-dec-says-clean-up-brownfield-before-building-35-story-tower-YM2394890

Posted February 15, 2023

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $84 Million to Help New York Communities Address Emerging Contaminants in Drinking Water

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 19:18:16 GMT

Contact: Barbara Khan, (212) 637-3675, khan.barbara@epa.gov

NEW YORK (Feb. 13, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more than $83.7 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants, like Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), in drinking water in New York. This investment, which is allocated to states and territories, will be made available to communities as grants through EPA’s Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program and will promote access to safe and clean water in small, rural and disadvantaged communities while supporting local economies. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the availability of $2 billion.

“Too many American communities, especially those that are small, rural, or underserved, are suffering from exposure to PFAS and other harmful contaminants in their drinking water,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we are investing in America and providing unprecedented resources to strengthen our nation’s water infrastructure while safeguarding people’s health and boosting local economies. These grants build on EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and will help protect our smallest and most vulnerable communities from these persistent and dangerous chemicals.”

"This funding is part of the once-in-a lifetime investments we are making to transform infrastructure under the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S. EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “EPA is working with our state partners to deliver clean water to communities, protect public health, and advance environmental justice across New York State and the nation.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion over five years to help communities that are on the frontlines of PFAS contamination reduce PFAS in drinking water. EPA announced the funds for New York as part of an allotment of $2 billion to states and territories that can be used to prioritize infrastructure and source water treatment for pollutants, like PFAS and other emerging contaminants, and to conduct water quality testing.

Senator Charles Schumer said, “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law I fought to pass, communities across New York will finally have access to the funding they need to clean-up toxic PFAS pollution and ensure safe and clean drinking water. These federal funds will jumpstart critical projects and help communities big and small on the frontlines of PFAS contamination, all while creating good paying jobs to stimulating the local economy. I am proud to deliver over $83 million for New York to directly tack the issue of emerging contaminants and PFAS and I will keep pushing for speedy cleanups across New York: from Long Island to Newburgh and Niagara.”

“This is a historic investment that will help clean up some of the most dangerous and widespread contaminants in our drinking water,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I’m proud to have fought to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to provide this funding to small and disadvantaged communities across New York and I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration to protect the environment and fight PFAS contamination.”

EPA is also releasing the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Implementation document. The implementation document provides states and communities with the information necessary to use this funding to address local water quality and public health challenges. These grants will enable communities to improve local water infrastructure and reduce emerging contaminants in drinking water by implementing solutions such as installing necessary treatment solutions.

Today’s actions represent a significant milestone within the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitments to combat PFAS pollution and safeguard drinking water, and specifically EPA’s October 2021 PFAS Strategic Roadmap. Under the Roadmap, EPA is working across the agency to protect the public from the health impacts of PFAS. EPA has taken a number of actions to deliver progress on PFAS including:

Proposing to designate two PFAS as CERCLA hazardous substances. If finalized, this will be a critical step toward increasing transparency around releases of PFAS and holding polluters accountable for cleaning up their contamination.
Releasing drinking water health advisories. Acting in accordance with EPA’s mission to protect public health and keep communities and public health authorities informed when new science becomes available, the Agency issued drinking water health advisories for four PFAS.
Laying the foundation to enhance data on PFAS. This included an order under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy requiring companies to conduct PFAS testing, and nationwide sampling through the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule for 29 PFAS in public drinking water systems .
Expanding the scientific understanding of PFAS. The Agency issued more than 30 scientific publications by EPA researchers and released EPA’s PFAS Thermal Treatment Database.
Translating the latest science into EPA’s cross-agency PFAS efforts. This included updating EPA’s contaminated site cleanup tables, developing new PFAS methods and conducting toxicity assessments, and issuing draft national recommended water quality criteria to protect aquatic life.
Continuing engagement with the public. EPA’s PFAS work was informed by public webinars, stakeholder meetings, Congressional testimony, and engagement with EPA’s federal advisory committees.

In addition to this new grant, EPA is also working to propose a PFAS NPDWR in the coming weeks. The draft proposed rule is currently undergoing interagency review and EPA will issue the proposed rule for public comment when it clears the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The agency anticipates finalizing the rule by the end of 2023. Together, with today’s announcement, these actions highlight EPA’s commitments outlined in the PFAS Strategic Roadmap to protect public health and the environment from the impacts of PFAS. They also illustrate the benefits of investing in water—protecting public health and the environment, addressing key challenges facing communities, and creating jobs.

To learn more about EPA’s roadmap laying out a whole-of-agency approach to addressing PFAS, visit EPA’s PFAS web page.

To learn more about New York’s PFAS efforts, visit its PFAS web site.

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter and visit our Facebook page. For more information about EPA Region 2, visit our website.

Posted February 14, 2023

Meet New Partnership Board Members

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:11:51 GMT

New members have lofty goals to continue helping organization build and grow

By Steve Dwyer

The new Partnership Board members all have unique skills, ones sure to breath additional adrenalin into what’s already a build-and-growth-oriented organization with an eye on the future.

As new board members take their seat in 2023, the continually evolving vison to advocate for best-practices in brownfield redevelopment across New York City’s urban infill is sure to become more resounding.

The Partnership executive board of directors—starting with President Ezgi Karayel, Vice President George Duke, Treasurer Michele Rogers and Secretary Mari Cate Conlon—is excited to work with the new board members.

The newly minted board members are all poised to add firepower to the organization’s progressive-driven tapestry. Three of the four members recently shared their front-burner goals for 2023, challenges they’re most concerned about, and how they believe they’ll complement the skill sets of the entire board.

From left to right - Elizabeth Burgess, Lisa Bloodgood, Erik Draijer and Joel Rogers

Not available to shed light for this posting was newly minted board member Elizabeth Burgess, PE, Project Engineer at Langan Engineering & Environmental Services and holding a Master of Engineering/Systems Engineering form Cornell University. (We plan to catch up with Elizabeth in a subsequent blog post.)

Three board appointees recently chimed in about their goals: Lisa Bloodgood, Joel Rogers and Erik Draijer.

Bloodgood has navigated enormous changes in rezoning, land use and development. Bloodgood, an Adjunct Lecturer at Brooklyn College and former interim Executive Director for North Brooklyn Neighbors (formerly NAG), says she’s “thrilled to join the NYCBP board of directors,” and fully understands “how critical the State’s Brownfield and the City’s Voluntary Cleanup Programs can be to ensure that formerly contaminated properties are appropriately remediated for new uses and with the protection of human and environmental health as a top priority.”

Draijer, Project Manager for PVE Engineering LLC, New York, and a member of the BABA selection committee, is eager to “kickstart in-person events.” About the BABA’s, Erik says fellow committee members Victoria Whelan and Mari Cate Conlon have “passed the torch to me on event planning, and I’m eager to enhance the event—to show off to those involved and also those on the outside what the Partnership organization does so well.”

Rogers, who was persistent in bringing the Redevelopment Roundtable to the NYCBP, says “running and growing my company [President of Factor Group Inc.] is a full-time job. Most of the work we do is tied in some way to brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. I’m excited about stepping into a board-member role and the time I carve out for that will be focused on educating myself, my staff and the industry on brownfield redevelopment issues, and helping to advance meaningful advocacy goals of the Partnership.”

Brings New Perspective, Clear Voice

Bloodgood intimates that she “hopes my experience in community work brings a new perspective and a clear voice to the board amplifying the community experience, questions and needs throughout these processes,” she comments.

Much of the work of the brownfield community “is unknown to most residents. In the coming year I would like to support efforts to proactively and effectively share information between the board and a broad spectrum of New Yorkers.”

“I am also eager to join with other board members in supporting the Abbey Duncan Scholarships for undergrad and grad students in the NYC region. I was a recipient as an undergrad and know firsthand how valuable the financial and network opportunities can be to students pursuing careers in environmental science, geology, engineering and the like.”

Bloodgood also is eager to bring insight gained from her work on the Board “to my students at Brooklyn College where I teach courses in Urban Sustainability,” she says.

COVID Interrupted Plans

With PVE, Draijer had become the first project manager with the company to have a significant stake in growing its New York City network. “I continue to learn the industry, and the Partnership was a real easy way to enable that—learning from competitors and colleagues,” he says. “In 2019 I started to attend as many Partnership Roundtables as I could. I connected with Mary Cate [Conlon] and signed up to get involved across several committee levels. Then Covid hit and squashed those plans temporarily. I was able to resume involvement in later 2021 and into 2022.”

When asked what stood out about last year’s BABA projects, Draijer says from “it’s clear that the global pandemic had an effect on local brownfield redevelopment. As the industry was able to progress through COVID’s impacts, it was clear that plenty of new opportunities were created in commercial real estate. Reviewing the nominations and awarding these projects is yet another tool for our industry and community to understand if and how the pandemic has changed the market,” comments Draijer.

He emphasized that one aspect that hasn’t changed is the desire on the part of everyone involved in these projects “to produce a positive impact for the community, economy and environment. It’s truly a pleasure to be involved and to experience that desire from fellow mentors, clients, competitors, and colleagues.”

Draijer says that more brownfield developers need to know about their eligibility for project funding across the spectrum of grants, loans and tax credits. Having a greater number of Partnership events, both in-person and remotely, can help developers get a grasp about what they’re eligible for—unbeknownst to them.

“It’s not always easy for them to see the benefits of the voluntary cleanup program [VCP]—many take a cautious approach. We want to spread the knowledge to developers who are not ‘in the know’ about how they can use the brownfield tax credit money and not view it as a ‘catch,’” Erik states.

Draijer notes that it has been “impressive to learn about projects that create state-of-the-art logistics centers and industrial assets from underutilized, contaminated land. Affordable housing, along with green space, has been a focus since I became involved. There may have been an increase in affordable housing projects [in 2022] as NYC’s 421-a tax exemption program expired [June 2022]. We could see the carry-over through 2024 as these projects continue towards completion, but it’ll be interesting to see if and how it changes the industry moving forward.”

Grasp All Moving Parts

Rogers says this time “is arguably one of the most dynamic periods in brownfield redevelopment history, as key environmental and brownfield regulations and guidance are in the process of being revised—and not just in New York.”

Joel says that changes range from technical implementation, to new regulations around emerging contaminants, to funding and tax credits, to renewal and authorization of brownfield related laws. “The challenge is to understand the implications of all the individual moving parts and how they affect the overall success of brownfield policies in New York City and beyond, and then to use our platform and advocacy to push for meaningful change where it is needed,” he says.

Speaking about working with new and existing NYCBP board members—how they complement his skills from a professional standpoint—Rogers states that he appreciates the Partnership’s diverse group of experts with backgrounds in environmental consulting, engineering, law, property development, tax credits, affordable housing, regulatory agency work, and public policy.

“No matter what our individual areas of focus, brownfields issues tend to dovetail across other areas, and you need that deep bench of experience to holistically understand and address challenges as brownfields policy and implementation evolves,” he says. “I started in the mid-90s as an environmental engineer, and refocused later in my career on brownfield redevelopment, environmental waste management and beneficial reuse of regulated soils. Interestingly that often involves managing removal of contaminated waste streams from brownfield cleanup sites, and beneficially reusing them on former industrial properties undergoing brownfield redevelopment. I hope to continue to contribute niche, multi-state, real world experience to the team.”

Joining NYCBP around a decade ago, Joel suggested the Partnership look at hosting a regular roundtable-style event where expert presenters could share and discuss ideas, news and regulatory changes with membership of industry professionals.

“It wasn’t a novel concept: CIANJ’s Environmental Business Council invented the model in New Jersey. But it wasn’t being done anywhere in New York, and it seemed like a great idea. We let the EBC know that we were going to borrow from its success and invited them to the first NYC Roundtable”

That’s when NYCBP Executive Director Sue Boyle, who never forgot about the idea, “nudged me over the years until we finally put together the three time a year NYCBP Redevelopment Roundtable series. As the Solid & Hazardous Waste Committee co-chair and presenter, I have stayed involved with that since inception and won over many skeptics. It's a great event.”

Posted February 7, 2023

Now Accepting Applications for the 2023 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:31:09 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership is happy to announce we are accepting applications for the 2023 Big Apple Brownfield Awards! Winners will be notified in the Spring.

The Big Apple Brownfield Awards were created by the New York City Brownfield Partnership to highlight the most remarkable brownfield projects in New York City and the success of practitioners in the City’s brownfield industry each year. Please review the newly developed award categories for this year’s nominations here.

The awards continue to celebrate and bring public attention to the most successful brownfield redevelopment projects, such as those that have used innovative remediation techniques, engaged the community positively, and demonstrated ingenuity in sustainability and green construction.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is now accepting applications for these prestigious industry awards. To submit an application, go here: https://form.jotform.com/230164910058147

The deadline for submission has been extended. All applications are now due by Friday, March 10, 2022. No late submissions will be accepted.

In order to be eligible for the 2023 Big Apple Brownfield Award, the project must:

Be located within the five boroughs of New York City;
Have been impacted by an environmental contamination issue;
Have participated in an environmental remediation regulatory program; and
Have received final regulatory signoff by December 31, 2022. Examples of final regulatory signoff include: Notice of Satisfaction, Notice of Completion, Certificate of Completion, Declaration of Covenant Not to Sue, or “No Further Action” letter.

EPA announced its final rule concerning the new ASTM Phase I ESA Process

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 18:02:26 GMT

It was only a matter of time before EPA announced its final rule concerning the new ASTM Phase I ESA Process and it’s designation as being compliant with CERCLA AAI.

The final rule was published today in the Federal Register (see link below) and it has an effective date of February 13, 2023.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/15/2022-27044/standards-and-practices-for-all-appropriate-inquiries

Posted December 19, 2022

NYCBP Member, David J. Freeman and Matthew J. Sinkman to Chair Panels at Upcoming Superfund/Brownfield Program Update 2022

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 18:44:35 GMT

By: Matthew J. Sinkman and David J. Freeman in Development/Redevelopment on 11/08/2022

David J. Freeman and Matthew J. Sinkman of the Gibbons Environmental Group will serve as Panel Chairs at the upcoming annual Superfund/Brownfield Program Update 2022, presented by the Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association.

The program will take place virtually on December 7, 2022. Mr. Freeman, Co-Chair of the conference, will moderate a panel regarding developments in the federal Superfund program over the past year. Mr. Sinkman will moderate a panel regarding renewable energy issues and the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP).

An outstanding faculty of government officials, attorneys, and consultants will participate on these panels as well as panels regarding statutory amendments to the BCP and proposed changes to BCP regulations, affordable housing issues, and a case law update. Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and NYLCV Education Fund, will be the Keynote Speaker and discuss the results of the 2022 elections and what they mean for New York’s environmental agenda.

You can register for this timely program by clicking here.

Click Here to View Full Blog Post

Dramatic Skies, Good Beer and Food, Great Networking Equals Another Successful NYCBP Scholarship Fundraiser

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 20:02:12 GMT

Thanks to the generosity of the venue and event main sponsor, PVE LLC, and all of the event sponsors and attendees on the evening of September 22, 2022, the NYCBP scholarship fund now has an additional $5000 for 2023 scholarships. Thank you all. Over 30 Partnership members enjoyed pleasant temperatures and a lovely sunset, splendid food from DISH NYC, and craft beers.

Thank You to Our Event Sponsors:

PVE - Premiere Event Sponsor
Eagle Soars Consulting - Event Sponsor
Integral Consulting, Inc. - Event Sponsor
Law Offices of Wanda Chin Monahan - Event Sponsor

Community Advocacy Once Again Serves As Underpinning Theme For 2022 BABAs

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 16:05:11 GMT

“It’s great to have standouts and to award them accordingly. It’s even better to have as many finalists as possible, because the community still wins.”

By Steve Dwyer

One of the highlights of the 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABA) distribution process—presented to nine worthy projects and sponsored by the New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP)—was a trend for “community support services,” which saw two recipients this year.

In fact, the term “community” is considered a North star for what the Partnership’s priorities are and what it continues to strive to accomplish.

Highlighting the 2022 BABA were projects recognized for such associated community-driven categories as community space, community outreach and community advocacy and engagement.

They joined the remainder of the honorees for their advocacy for open space, economic development, innovative remediation and environmental responsibility. But, the emphasis on community is no news flash for an organization that has long advocated for and championed it over its existence.

“The ‘community’ is the easy buzzword to throw around these projects, because it is almost always the focus of the Partnership,” says Erik Draijer, Project Manager for PVE Engineering LLC, New York and member of the BABA selection committee.

When asked what stood out with this year’s projects compared to the past, Draijer told me that while he wasn’t as heavily involved in the past as currently, from his “limited sample size it’s clear that the global pandemic had an effect on local brownfield redevelopment. As the industry was able to progress through COVID’s impacts, it was clear this year that plenty of new opportunities were created in commercial real estate. Reviewing the nominations and awarding these projects is yet another tool for our industry and community to understand if and how the pandemic has changed the market,” comments Draijer.

He emphasized that what “hasn’t changed” is the desire from everyone involved in these projects “to produce a positive impact on the community, economy and environment. It’s truly a pleasure to be involved and to experience that desire from fellow mentors, clients, competitors, and colleagues.”

Promoting excellence in brownfield redevelopment by honoring successful brownfield projects in New York City, the BABAs recognize both brownfield clean-up and redevelopment projects that have had positive effects on the community, and have demonstrated excellence in the following areas: Supportive and Affordable Housing, Brownfield Opportunity Area Connectivity, Collaboration, Community Outreach, Economic Development, Environmental Protection, Green Building, Innovation, Open Space and Sustainable Remediation.

In addition to recognizing Brownfield projects, the Partnership also recognizes individuals who have made a significant impact on brownfield redevelopment in NYC through its Distinguished Service Award.

This year’s content had a decided accent on fostering community betterment. The winners included: Northeast Towers Annex Apartments won for community outreach; Lincoln at Bankside for its open space strategy; Terminal Logistics Center for economic development; The Smile for community advocacy and engagement; Harriet Tubman Building for community space; Archer Green for environmental responsible building; Estela for innovative remediation; and both The Corden and New Covenant House Headquarters for community support services.

The community underpinning was indeed a key pillar. For the community space award, The Harriet Tubman Building, located at 1403 Gateway Blvd. in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, was honored as an affordable residence that placed an accent on its expansive shared amenities, including a 1,200-square-foot community room, a children’s play room featuring art installations by nonprofit SugarLift and a 2,000-square-foot public playground, which enrich the lives of residents and people living in the neighborhood.

The 75,049-ft. residence features 63 units of 100% supportive housing, providing residents access to tailored social services by Win (formerly Women in Need), the largest provider of supportive housing for families in New York City.

The residence’s on-site programs address individual medical and clinical needs, such as mental and behavioral health services, counseling targeted to support the youngest residents, educational opportunities, job and career readiness development programs and more, as many residents have come from temporary homeless shelters run by Win.

The project team was comprised of Greenport Affordable Housing LLC, Tenen Environmental, MHG Architects, and Women in Need (WIN). The 19,400 ft site was developed prior 1912 with a residential building. The building was demolished before 1980 and then utilized as a parking lot and playground.

Part of The NYC Brownfield Partnership’s mission is to help New York City’s development community understand how to safely redevelop brownfields, but also effectively with a sustainable mission.

During the redevelopment process of The Harriet Tubman Building, a total of 5,600 tons of soil/fill were excavated and removed from the vacant site and contributed 1,780 tons of clean soil to the NYC Clean Soil Bank, which redirected it to clean soil stockpiles and construction sites throughout the city. A Track 1 unrestricted use cleanup was achieved.

In addition to the supportive housing units, the development also includes a 1,200 ft. community room and 2,000-ft. public playground. WIN provides safe housing, critical services and programs needed for families to succeed on their own. The building is staffed with case workers and support staff to provide counseling, educational and employment services as well as skill-building and recreational activities.

All units have set aside income limits of 60% of Area Median Income (AMI) with 10% of the units set aside at 40% of AMI. Tenants were referred by the City Department of Homeless Services and many came from WIN’s temporary homeless shelters.

Another project that was tied to community was an innovative community outreach BABA presented to Northeastern Towers Annex, a 10-story apartment building that includes 159 apartments affordable to extremely- and very-low-income senior households, including 35% formerly homeless, on a brownfield site remediated through the New York City Voluntary Cleanup Program.

It was overseen by the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation (NYC OER), and developed by the Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), a nonprofit Community Development Corp. that partners with Northeastern Conference HDFC (NECHDFC) and Mega Contracting.

The effort entailed a host of meetings with the local Civic Association that lead to local resident involvement in the design of the property open space, garden area, fencing, parking lot and grounds lighting and the set aside of 5 parking spaces for a local school.

FAC and NECHDFC also met with the Queens Community Board 12 (QCB12) District Manager and Land Use and Executive Committees who provided input on local property management companies and spoke with Mega regarding local job training/placement/readiness programs for site construction jobs.

FAC also met with local elected officials. In addition to lending their support they also provided additional funding to enable the installation of a solar canopy, furniture and planting on the roof deck, a front desk and pedestrian pathways through the landscaped areas.

FAC and NECHDFC spoke with local senior center directors and seniors at local churches and those living in adjacent senior housing built in the 1970’s for programming suggestions. Northeastern Towers Annex was designed specifically to meet the needs of the seniors, with a focus to enable “aging in place,” as two thirds of the apartments enable caregivers to live in the unit while maintaining the residence privacy.

The building has double the required percentage of fully accessible apartments for those with mobility, hearing and/or visual impairments. Common areas include a Community Room with audio visual equipment, a computer room, an exercise room, and a space for visiting health care providers. The 2nd through 9th floors each have a laundry room adjacent to a resident lounge to encourage socialization.

The building also includes an enclosed all windowed area on the ground floor and a 5th floor landscaped/fenced roof deck to enable seniors who might otherwise become disoriented or lost to have a usable outdoor space.

Community Advocacy and Engagement was aptly handed to The Smile, a redevelopment project located at 146 East 126th St. in the East Harlem section of Manhattan. The project team was comprised of Blumenfeld Development Group, Ltd., FPM, and the Bjarke Ingels Group.

This site was developed prior to 1896 with multiple buildings. Past uses of the site include a police precinct, a furniture storage building, retail, a printing store, a theater, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and residential space. Immediately prior to redevelopment, the site contained a 123,000 ft2 mixed use building with retail, office space and a parking lot.

Remediation efforts included a total of 18,350 tons of soil/fill excavated and removed from the property, as well as the installation of an engineered composite cover system, vapor barrier system, and a sub-surface ventilated garage which features an air exchange system. A Track 2 Residential cleanup was achieved. Additionally, air and noise mitigation eorts were incorporated into the project to avoid any potential significant adverse air quality impacts and ensure an acceptable interior noise environment.

Asking Erik Draijer if there were any “nuanced trends” that stood out with the ’22 BABA’s, he told me that that one was “infrastructure. A handful of nominated projects addressed the industrial supply chain congestion to resolve local infrastructure deficiencies, with the hopes it would reach a global influence,” he says.

He notes that it was “impressive to learn about projects that created state-of-the-art logistics centers and industrial assets from underutilized, contaminated land. Affordable housing, along with green space, has been a focus since I became involved. There may have been an increase in affordable housing projects over the last year and beyond as NYC’s 421-a tax exemption program expired in June of this year. We will see the carry-over through 2024 as these projects continue towards completion, but it’ll be interesting to see if and how it changes the industry moving forward.”

Erik commented that the other trend to follow is how NYC’s 2020 Energy Conservation Code is implemented into redevelopment—"which solutions developers choose and how beneficial green space may be for this Act and Local Law.”

Among the nine winners, I asked Erik about some of the worthy projects that didn’t win but came close. “The nominee turnout was great this year, with the Community Advocacy and Engagement Award originally generating 14 total nominees. That made the selection process very difficult. Luckily, the fabulous event committee collectively made a decision to award several projects as winners, as well as altering the award into more specific community-based award categories.”

Indeed, this was unique for this year, but was not the first occurrence in the history of the BABAs, he says. “The Community Advocacy Award category was subdivided into Community Support Services, Community Outreach, Community Advocacy and Community Space Awards, and still had several winners in a few categories. Sincerely, all projects were worthy finalists for these awards. It is great to have standouts and to award them accordingly. It’s even better to have as many finalists as possible, because the community still wins.”

NYCBP's Comments on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Proposed Part 360 Revisions

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 18:36:07 GMT

The NYCBP created a Legislative/Regulatory Committee Part 360 Task Force (the “Task Force”) to comment on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (the “NYSDEC” or “Department”) Revised Proposed Regulations for Solid Waste Management Facilities (the “Proposed Regulations”). Those comments can be read here.

Women in Brownfields: 2022 Edition

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 19:20:54 GMT

The attendance numbers were amazing. Members of the NYC Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP) and Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) were there! Can you pick them out of the photo?

The brainstorming session produced this action plan: many of the topics will sound familiar to attendees of the Women in Environmental Professions sessions held by BCONE, NYCBP, SWEP and LSRPA.

Get to the microphone;
Get on Boards;
Promote each other;
Send up flares and ask for help;
Stay focused;
Delegate;
Be the community voice;
Value women;
Youth to rise up;
Get the most out of formal professional organizations: write articles; post on social media; mentor; join the leadership.

Our next Women in Environmental Professions virtual event is being held on November 1, 2022. Join us.

NYCBP, BCONE and LSRPA Executive Director Writes Letter on behalf of SoBro Economic Development

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:41:37 GMT

Sue Boyle recently submitted a letter on behalf of the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporations’ (SoBro’s) application for an EPA Brownfields Job Training grant. SoBro is proposing to train 125 unemployed and underemployed residents 18-years and older from the South Bronx over the five-year life of the grant. You can read the letter here.

NYCBP Executive Director Supports St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development Center's EPA Proposal

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 17:39:22 GMT

The NYCBP Executive Director, Sue Boyle, recently wrote a letter in support of St. Nicks Alliance Workforce Development Center’s proposal for the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. The letter can be viewed here.

NYCBP Executive Director Writes Letter of Support for City College of NY 2023-2028 Brownfields Job Training Program

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 16:40:21 GMT

Executive Director for the New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP), Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE), and the Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA) writes to enthusiastically endorse on their behalf the movement of the CCNY 2023-2028 Brownfields Job Training Program from work in the Bronx to a focused attention on Harlem populations and sites. This letter can be read here.

Successful Summer Redevelopment Roundtable

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 18:26:57 GMT

Sixty-five environmental professionals spent the second day of summer 2022 soaking in information on known or projected changes to the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program, changes to the NYSDEC proposed Part 360 regulations, and speculating on the future of environmental litigation, insurance, and remediation as related to “forever chemicals.” The NYC Brownfield Partnership was pleased to welcome guests from ten M/WBE firms to introduce them to Partnership members in need of their services and to introduce the Roundtable as a rapid way to obtain all the recent information for remediation practitioners in the NYC area. The next Roundtable is scheduled for December 13, 2022, but please watch your emails for an announcement of a fall Roundtable if needed or topic-specific webinars that are time critical, such as the implementation of new regulations.

Posted June 22, 2022

Congratulations to the 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Award Winners

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 19:52:35 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership would like to congratulate the winners of the 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Awards. To download a pdf of the following images, please click here.

Schack Institute Spotlight: Graduating Student Series – Viquar Chaudhry

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 14:23:05 GMT

Viquar Chaudhry has assisted NYCBP with the analysis of the NYS BCP and tax credits.

Viquar Chaudhry is a candidate for the MS in Real Estate Development at the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate. He will graduate on May 19 and will serve as flag bearer during the Convocation ceremony. While at the Schack Institute of Real Estate, he collaborated with Professor Barry Hersh on the New York State Brownfield Partnership to analyze the Brownfield Cleanup Program. He also authored numerous articles on real estate, sustainability, tech, and the metaverse. Licensed in real estate since he was 18 years old, Chaudhry focuses on luxury real estate. He worked with prominent teams in the industry before venturing to start his own development brand.

What has been your favorite Schack Institute of Real Estate experience?

One of the best parts about the NYU SPS experience is the access to professional events, such as Schack’s Capital Markets Conference, Women in Real Estate Conference, and REIT Symposium, which has allowed me to meet industry leaders. I have always looked up to Larry Silverstein, Sam Zell, and Stephen Ross; these conferences offered a wonderful opportunity to see them in person!

Posted June 2, 2022

NYCBP's comments on NY State DEC's Proposed Part 375 Revisions

Thu, 05 May 2022 13:22:50 GMT

George Duke, from Brown Duke & Fogel, shared NYCBP's comments on on New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Proposed Part 375 Revisions. They can be accessed here.

Posted May 5, 2022

EPA Withdraws Final Rule That Would Have Recognized ASTM E1527-21 While Continuing To Recognize ASTM E1527-13

Thu, 05 May 2022 13:04:38 GMT

NYCBP Member, Larry Schnapf, weighs in on this recent decision by the EPA.

As we prediced, EPA received numerous negative comments to its Direct Final Rule that would have recognized that the new ASTM E1527-21 phase 1 standard may be used to comply with the All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) rule for asserting certain landowner liability defenses and qualify for brownfield grants.

All of the comments criticized EPA’s plan to allow the obsolete E1527-13 to continue to be used to comply with AAI. The commenters uniformly objected to EPA’s approach because they believed it would cause confusion in the marketplace and create a loophole that would allow substandard phase 1 providers to undercut the market. None of the comments posted on the EPA website for the rulemaking supported this dual approach. I submitted negative comments which can be read

Posted May 5, 2022

Wanted: Active Participation Within Partnership Board, Rank-And-File Membership

Mon, 02 May 2022 19:07:50 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Rolling up her sleeves and getting to work, Ezgi Karayel has established a crystalized multi-year vision to push the needle forward on brownfield redevelopment within the Partnership’s operating footprint.

The mission that she’s accepted will come about based on various X-factors: better leveraging of experience across the organization to wring greater results; higher involvement by firms to oversee programs; more accessibility to the Partnership thanks to revised by-laws, and a more powerful commitment to fostering the causes of the Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)

Those are just a handful of Karayel’s objectives.

The founder and principal of vEKtor Consultants, the new President also believes that although this “new normal” of the post-pandemic “seems very usual right now, it really wasn’t the case two years ago.”

That period of time was the most compelling example of lessons learned as NYCBP was able to remain relevant during tough pandemic times, scheduling more than 20 virtual panels and programs since spring of 2020. It all came off splendidly thank to the many volunteers that stepped up to make events a success. That’s the key: volunteers to make things work.

From pre-acquisition to post-development, vEKtor Consultants provides full scope engineering consulting services. The New York State and New York City Small Business Services Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) environmental consulting firm works with major real estate developers and shareholders in forging strategic approaches to the environmental challenges of complex real estate transactions and brownfield redevelopment.

Karayel holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from University at Buffalo, and serves on the Advisory Board of Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast. She is the chair of the Partnership’s Scholarship Program and works closely with committee members to support the education and training of students who are pursuing environmental careers.

And, Karayel’s tenure is being christened during a groundbreaking juncture: Currently, the entire Partnership Executive Board consists of women: She joins Vice President Laura Senkevitch (Human Rights First), Treasurer Michele Rogers (Blue World Construction) and Secretary Mari Cate Conlon (Haley & Aldrich of New York).

Read ahead for a conversation with the new President on a wide range of pertinent topics.

Q: As president of NYCBP, what is the three- to five-year vision you have outlined pertaining to the organization as a whole?

A: Last year, the board of directors revised the by-laws of the NYCBP. As a result of the revisions, a board member can now only serve for two consecutive terms [each term is two years]. Therefore, we will be seeing new members on the board in the near future. There are many firms contributing to the redevelopment of brownfield properties in NYC. It only makes sense to leverage one another’s experience to enhance the NYCBP programs. I suggest firms to be more involved with the NYCBP and create potential gateways to serve on the board. We want to make sure that new board members are actively involved.

Q: In the months, now year(s), following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, how has the Partnership operating vision been re-focused, re-calibrated during a “new normal” phase where priorities have inevitably been shifting?

A: We had to adapt to the consequences of the pandemic fairly quickly. We have been hosting either standalone or joint virtual events with likeminded organizations almost every month. We held 23 virtual panels and programs since March or April 2020. I would like to use this opportunity to thank all the amazing people who volunteered to make these events possible. Attendance at the joint virtual events appears to be higher than in-person meetings. The convenience of not traveling for over an hour and not having to take time off work are definitely plusses.

Q: Can you discuss the magnitude of how this industry has evolved—maybe a seismic shift—to where a die-in-the-wool organization like the Partnership is now led by an all-female board of directors?

A: Great question. Let me begin by saying having an all-female executive board was not a coincidence. All four of us have served on different committees of the NYCBP for a very long time. Each of us brought something valuable to the table. I think the first time I was involved with the scholarship committee was in 2012 or 2013, and I was appointed to the board in 2018. To put it another way, the all-female executive board did not emerge out of thin air. As I mentioned before, with the revised by-laws, the NYCBP is now more accessible. We recently started a new virtual event series: Women in AEEC (Architecture, Environment, Engineering, and Construction) Professions. Originally, the event was planned around women in environmental professions when we kicked it off last month in honor of International Women’s Day. Little did we know that this would turn into an inaugural event. The 90-minute session was so motivating that all attendees asked for it to be a quarterly event! I’m beyond pleased to see more and more women in our industry needless to say.

Q: Following up on the repercussions of COVID-19, can you talk about how things might change in the context of NYCBP-sponsored events and workshops?

A: I’m happy to announce we will be hosting an in-person BABAs this year. It will be a different concept than the previous years but we would like to acknowledge the recipients and their successful projects as well as provide an opportunity to some of our sponsors to have face time with their clients. Unfortunately, the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic is not helping to plan events ahead of time. Hence, the different concept at a different borough for the first time ever! I won’t reveal more about it but an announcement will be made soon.

Q: When you think about the Big Apple Awards and the Duncan scholarship, what would you do to strengthen both of these initiatives to power them up from an equity standpoint?

A: There is an amazing group of volunteers behind both programs who make these programs look effortless. Big Apple Brownfield Awards have always been a success. We almost always receive over fifteen applications. We changed things up a little bit this year with a few new categories. We recently had our committee meeting to vote on this year’s applications and the quality of the projects applying for the award has significantly increased. I find it very rewarding to see all these brownfield sites being remediated and creation of job opportunities, and to address community needs. I have no doubt that the BABAs will only continue to thrive in the upcoming years.

Q: How easy, or hard, has it been to get applicants for the scholarship program?

A: It has always been a challenge. There is an ongoing trend when students start their applications on the day they hear about the program but then only a handful of them actually end up finalizing the applications. We have an inside joke to call their parents and ask, why would you not want free money! Although we had a breakthrough last year when we received 21 final applications. The application process is short and painless. With our online presence through the virtual events and fundraisers, we most definitely strengthened the scholarship program.

Q: As founder and Principal of vEKtor Consultants, how much does your professional career bleed into what happens with the Partnership from an operational standpoint?

A: Short answer is a lot. At vEKtor, we focus on brownfield redevelopment projects across the NY metropolitan area. Having firsthand experience on these projects and working closely with developers and lenders on a daily basis helps me to advocate on their behalf. 2022 has been an extremely busy year in the brownfield industry. The Brownfield Cleanup Program was scheduled to sunset in December 2022. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation issued a Notice of Rulemaking to amend the current Part 375 regulations. We also have a new Governor with a new State budget. The NYCBP has been working tirelessly to address all these almost concurrently progressing proposals.

Q: Can you discuss areas such as funding New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate and joining the statewide BCP extension coalition led by the New York League of Conservation Voters?

A: Funding [New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate] was done to update their original 2014 study, which was first updated in 2015 analyzing the impact of the NYSBCP on the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York State. Joining a statewide BCP extension coalition led by the New York League of Conservation Voters ensures that the BCP and Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Program are extended and strengthened.

Now that the Governor’s State budget has been finalized, we are pleased to see the 10-year extension of the BCP, meaning the NYSDEC will continue to accept applications through December 31, 2032. However, we are disappointed with the addition of a $50,000 non-refundable application fee, which will be payable upon receipt of acceptance into the Program. From a practitioner standpoint, I’m concerned this high fee will discourage small developers, non-for-profit and MWBE groups from participating in the program, thus resulting in less cleanup and redevelopment throughout NYS.

Q: Can you discuss details about NYCBP establishing a committee to review and comment on the NYSDEC’s proposed Part 375 revisions?

A: We have been meeting on a bi-weekly basis and focusing on top 10 big revisions that would affect implementation of the Program. I should also mention, the recently established small business committee consisting of private consultants and engineers, specifically focusing on one proposed revision [§375-1.6(c)(4)(ii-iii) – Final Engineering Report]. We are very concerned that requiring the field staff to work for the same as the certifying professional engineers would adversely impact many firms in NYS. Small environmental consulting firms have successfully completed thousands of New York State and New York City-regulated Brownfield cleanup projects under the current regulations by collaborating with engineering firms or sole practitioner professional engineers. The proposed revisions adversely impact consulting engineers, geologists, qualified environmental professionals (QEPs) who have been effectively conducting environmental investigation and remediation projects for decades throughout New York State.

Posted May 2, 2022

How beneficial reuse of soil from construction can reduce your project costs and your carbon footprint

Mon, 02 May 2022 18:53:24 GMT

The following is an an article written by Kevin McCarty and shared on GEI's website. Kevin is a Board member of the NYC Brownfield Partnership and runs the NYC clean soil program with the Mayor’s office.

It is virtually impossible to build a structure, a building, or almost any type of fixed facility, without excavating ground and removing soil and fill material. Many projects require significant excavation for foundations, support structures, utilities, and ground improvements. It is also very common for the construction site to not have room to stage, store, or reuse material right away. This almost always necessitates off-site removal of all, or most of, the excavated material. If you have ever had a project that required moving a lot of dirt you know that, in many cases, the contractors you hire don’t put a lot of thought into how to handle it, they simply truck it out. But you will pay for that removal, which often includes tipping fees on the tonnage as well as high transportation costs when soil is moved out of State. Is there a way that soil can be reused? The answer is yes, and it could save hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars while, at the same time, improve sustainability. It just takes a little forethought and planning to make it happen. Let’s explore how.

In many areas, the regulations on moving dirt from a project site were written decades ago and have not been updated to account for the increased focus on sustainability and beneficial use. But those values have been filtering in. And as we strive for increased sustainability, the issue of beneficial reuse is gradually coming to the forefront.

Let’s consider a typical project. You have a design and your project specs have been determined. Unless directed otherwise, the contractor typically bids the job to include trucking away the excess dirt. At this point an engineer may take notice that if you test the soil, you might find it could be reused on another project. But the contractor isn’t invested in beneficial reuse because it wasn’t accounted for in the original job specs.

When beneficial soil reuse is built into the design, and the project specs are written accordingly, the owner gains the savings and the sustainability

In some cases, a consultant might be brought in to test the soil. But, too often, because this consultant was engaged after the design process, he or she will have little to no connection to the project. If the consultant doesn’t account for the parameters of the project (such as how deep will the excavation be?) the result is a generic report.

When this happens, you’re left without accurate data on the nature of the material to be excavated. Without that data, the engineer must guess at the quantities. And, if these estimated quantities are wrong, the contractor ends up issuing a change order. Enter the “dirt brokers.” In the states of New York and New Jersey, an entire organization of dirt brokers has popped up over the past 10-15 years. They parse out the dirt and are experts at controlling the flow of material to different locations and facilities, which makes justification for change orders much more effective. The cost and liability are then passed on to the owner.

So, what’s the solution to this wasteful, often convoluted process? We need to change how we think about the planning phase of the design process. When beneficial reuse is built into the design, and the project specs are written accordingly, the owner gains the savings and the sustainability.

Step 1: At the beginning of the design process, the environmental consultant, who will typically come in to assess the in-ground conditions that will inform the specifications and design, sits down with the landscape architect to gather the details. The environmental consultant will ask: What are you building? What will be excavated? Can any of this be retained for reuse on the project or is there no room for staging? How deep is the excavation? Once the consultant knows these details, or at least what the current version of the plan is, it’s easier for them to get some samples to determine what the fill layers are, where the natural material is, and then compare this to the existing criteria. The result? No wasted time on testing that doesn’t provide useful data. The consultant, now with inside knowledge of the project, can provide recommendations, including details on where fill begins and ends, as well as potential hazards. This information is very powerful and puts the owner in control of the process, rather than leaving it for the contractor during construction.

Step 2: Provide this accurate information to the engineer writing your project specs. Now you have precise data early, and the engineers can use this data rather than relying on guesswork. The result is that now the engineer can decide if the materials can be beneficially reused or if they need to be properly disposed of at facilities. You gain the advantage of the beneficial reuse simply by writing it into the specs, because that’s how the contractor bids it – no change orders necessary, and no environment harmed.

It’s a simple change to the process of thinking, really, with benefits all around. A process through which owners can save money and their sustainability teams can quantify the carbon savings is a win-win. When you account for the life of a construction project, these changes can save millions of pounds of carbon in just 4-6 months. And the cumulative sustainable carbon footprint reduction is astronomical when looking at dirt. The bottom line is this: When the owner has the specs written correctly, everyone wins.

March: Known for March Madness, Spring Flowers, and the Start of an Exciting New Event Series: “Women in Environmental Professions”

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 17:47:51 GMT

by Lina Rivetti, NJDEP Part-Time Employee

How did you spend your afternoon on Tuesday, March 29, 2022? Were you one of over 60 women environmental professionals and a handful of male allies who joined us virtually for the inaugural “Women in Environmental Professions” Event put on collaboratively by the NYC Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP), the NJ Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals (NJSWEP), the NJ Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA), and the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE)? Eighty-eight percent of attendees were members of at least one of the sponsoring organizations, and members of the audience joined us enthusiastically for an interactive and uplifting session.

This program was a success because of its moderator and wonderful speakers. Lina Rivetti, a student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and recipient of an NJSWEP scholarship was masterful as a moderator. Superstar panelists Schenine Mitchell of USEPA Region 2; Ezgi Karayel, owner of vEKtor Consultants and President of the NYCBP; Candace Baker of Langan Engineers and VP of the LSRPA; and Linda Shaw, Esq., owner of Knauf Shaw and President of the Environmental Section of the NYS Bar discussed inherent qualities of all strong leaders, self-advocacy as women in the workforce, shifting career trajectories, obtaining a work-life balance, differences between the public and private sector, the importance of mentorship and marketing, as well as inspirational advice for current and future women aspiring to achieve more prominent roles in the environmental industry.

A few quotes from the speakers that really resonated with the audience include:

“You are more valuable than you think;”
“When it is meant to be yours, it will be yours,“ along with “ask for what you want” and “show up, but also speak up;” and
“Powerful women empower women!”

We weren’t aware that this would be the “inaugural event” until it was clear that the 90-minute session was so energizing and informative that all attendees asked for it to be a quarterly event! High praise. Some of the topics we look to explore further while keeping up the conversation in upcoming virtual gatherings are:

How to handle inappropriate behavior or harassment on job sites.
What can we do as a group to specifically encourage and recruit more girls/women of color to join environmental professions?
How to effectively and respectfully set boundaries

For the 88% of attendees who are members of at least one of the sponsoring organizations, look for eblasts and web posting for the date, time, and registration information for the next session. Please encourage others to join the conversation.

Many thanks to event sponsors Athenica Environmental Services; vEKtor Consultants; Knauf Shaw; HydroTech Environmental; Liberty Environmental, Inc; and Gallagher Bassett Technical Services. They were joined by the highest level sponsors of both the NYCBP and BCONE.

EPA Releases Final Strategic Plan to Protect Public Health, Address Climate Change, and Advance Environmental Justice and Equity

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:29:40 GMT

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency published its final Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan to accompany EPA's FY 2023 President’s Budget. The Strategic Plan provides a roadmap to achieve EPA’s and the Biden-Harris Administration’s environmental priorities over the next four years.

This Strategic Plan furthers the agency's commitment to protecting human health and the environment for all people, with an emphasis on historically overburdened and underserved communities. For the first time, EPA’s final Plan includes a strategic goal focused exclusively on addressing climate change, as well as an unprecedented strategic goal to advance environmental justice and civil rights. At the foundation of the Plan is a renewed commitment to the three principles articulated by EPA’s first Administrator, William Ruckelshaus — follow the science, follow the law, and be transparent – while adding an additional fourth principle: advance justice and equity.

“This final strategic plan is the result of tireless work across EPA to develop a comprehensive strategy that delivers on our mission to protect all people from pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I’m confident that our plan meets the moment. Our solutions are designed to confront the challenges in front of us, where achieving justice and equity are central to addressing climate change and environmental protection.”

The Strategic Plan outlines seven goals and four cross-agency strategies. The strategies articulate essential ways of working to accomplish EPA’s goals and mission outcomes. The Plan also includes a suite of measures that will help the Agency monitor progress and ensure accountability for achieving its priorities to protect human health and the environment for all Americans.

More information on EPA’s Strategic Plans can be found at: Strategic Plan.

Letter to Governor Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:27:01 GMT

Letter to Governor Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins from The Building & Realty Institute of Westchester & the Mid-Hudson Region, Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast, The Business Council of Westchester, Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Local Development Corporation of East New York, Long Island Builders Institute, The New York Building Congress, New York City Brownfield Partnership, New York League of Conservation Voters, Real Estate Board of New York, SoBro, Center for Creative Land Recycling, USGBC Long Island, New York State Association for Affordable Housing, Sullivan County Partnership, Upstate United.

We want to thank you for your commitment to the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program (BOA) and urge the reauthorization of the BCP and additional improvements to these programs in the FY ’23 budget that you are in the process of finalizing.

The BCP is working in New York. Since its inception, over 502 projects have been completed statewide, with 50% of the projects in economically distressed En-Zones and many in Environmental Justice and Brownfield Opportunity Areas. The program has created over 6,000 affordable housing units and $17.61 billion in private investments, cleaned up contaminated sites which may not otherwise have been remediated, and is increasing public health benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving climate and air quality, which furthers environmental justice goals to promote healthier communities.

Expect Adverse Comments as EPA Drops Ball on ASTM Recognition

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 17:54:45 GMT

From NYCBP Member, By Larry Schnapf

In our prior blog, we announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) would publish a proposed rule and direct final rule proposing to amend and amending the All Appropriate Inquiries rule (“AAI”) to reference the revised ASTM E1527-21 ‘‘Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process’’ (“E1527-21”) and allowing it to be used to satisfy the AAI requirements.

Posted March 28, 2022

BCONE and NYCBP Member, Lawrence Schnapf, Publishes Article on Implications of the New ASTM Phase 1 Standard

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 17:41:54 GMT

The article was published in The Practical Real Estate Lawyer with an acknowledgement to Chemmie Sokolic (The Falcon Real Estate Group) for his assistance on the industry issues.

According to Schnapf, "In mid-November, ASTM International (ASTM) published the updated version of its “Standard Practice for Environmental Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” (E1527-21). The new standard replaces the 2013 version (E1527-13), which ASTM now considers a “historical standard.” However, E1527-13 may continue to be used until EPA formally recognizes the latest version." Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Posted March 28, 2022

Cleanup Continues at Nuhart Plastics Site Ahead of New Mixed-Use Construction

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 19:06:33 GMT

By Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper (NY)

Cleanup is moving along at the former NuHart Plastic Manufacturing plant in Greenpoint as a developer prepares to build two mixed-use buildings on the heavily contaminated lot.

The western half of the 1-acre site, located between Dupont, Franklin, and Clay streets, was named to the state Superfund list in 2010 after potentially-hazardous chemicals were discovered in the soil, left over from nearly 50 years of plastic and vinyl production at the NuHart factory, which closed in 2004. Last year, Madison Realty Capital started taking ownership of the plot after its old owner filed for bankruptcy protection. Taking over NuHart West also means taking responsibility for the Superfund activities deemed necessary by the state, and Madison also applied for and began a Brownfield cleanup of NuHart East.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.brooklynpaper.com/cleanup-nuhart-plastics-ahead-new-construction/

Posted March 18, 2022

Interesting information from Recent NY Times Article on how some developers are revitalizing landscapes by recreating habitats like tidal pools and salt marshes

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 18:56:43 GMT

Article entitled, “Restoring Nature While Building” by Patrick Sisson appeared in the Square Feet column on in the Commercial Real Estate page of the March 16, 2022 New York Times.

This caught our eye: “People don’t have to use the word ‘sustainability” anymore because it’s expected, said Charles A. Birnbaum, founder and president of the Cultural Landscapes Foundation, and education and advocacy group. “People expect a level of performance from their landscapes. There is a power of place there waiting to be unlocked.”

This information appealed to us because we have been looking for data on the positive financial impacts of green space on developments. “A series of trends have made these projects more valuable, said Matt Norris, director of the Building Healthy Places Initiative at the Urban Land Institute. For residents, the health benefits of outdoor access are more apparent, especially in the pandemic. For developers, offices and homes next to parks can accrue up to 20 percent more value, and added green space can help projects earn community support and even unlock zoning incentives.”

Posted March 18, 2022

First NYC Redevelopment Roundtable of 2022

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:51:08 GMT

Well over 50 people attended the March 15, 2022, NYC Brownfield Partnership Redevelopment Roundtable. As one attendee wrote us “We're in a critical moment on a variety of fronts right now.”

If you missed the Roundtable, here is what is critical:

Extension of NYS’s Brownfield Cleanup Act and the tax credit extender Included in Governor Hochul’s FY 2023 Executive Budget and currently being negotiated with both legislative houses. Includes options for length of extension (5 vs. 10 years), whether and how much of a fee will be included;
Part 375 Regulations: comments due in April, 2022. The NYCBP committee is actively working to complete comments, which will be shared with other members of the BCP Coalition. There is a direct impact on affordable housing.
USEPA has released a pre-publication copy of its proposed and direct final rule to recognize ASTM E1527-21 as a method for complying with its All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Rule. The NYCBP will be commenting on the need to focus on use of one method and not multiples.

The Partnership’s comments on regulations and the AAI pre-publication will be posted on the website for members to review.

Attendees received a presentation on the new Soil Cleanup Objectives. USEPA Region 2 gave an update regarding the positive impacts of federal infrastructure funding. OER provided information of Mayor Adams’ office organization and OER’s place in the organization, an update on the soil stockpile, and a report that city agencies are streamlining their processes to meet the April, 2022 deadline for 421a applications. The Partnership was pleased that at least four M/WBE firms attended today’s Roundtable.

Big thank you to the event sponsors for the Spring 2022 Roundtable: Athenica Environmental Services; Knauf Shaw; vEKtor consultants; Bousquet Holstein; Hydrotech Environmental Engineering; and Liberty Environmental Inc. The two newest annual sponsors of the Partnership, Capitol Environmental Services, Inc. and Tenen Environmental had the opportunity to introduce themselves to all attendees.

N.Y. can’t squander this shot at environmental justice

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 18:03:26 GMT

By Bill Wilkins, New York Daily News

Thirty-two years ago, my wife and I made the decision to buy a home and raise our family in East New York — a community where she grew up, at the time considered a low-income area with not much hope of economic revival or prosperity. Since then, we have raised three great kids, two of whom have earned graduate degrees from top universities. And as the director of economic development and housing for the local development corporation serving the area’s industrial base, I’ve seen how a thriving local economy can lift nearby families and move a community from poverty to prosperity — but only after the remnants of past pollution have been removed from the area.

March 10, 2022

The Editorial Board: $50,000 fee in proposed extension of the state’s successful brownfield program is a killer

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 19:24:35 GMT

by John Kickey, The Buffalo News

New York State needs to renew its brownfield cleanup program, an environmental reclamation effort that has prepared the ground for millions of dollars’ worth of development in Western New York and across the state. What is not needed is an onerous application fee.

Gov. Kathy Hochul smartly included a 10-year extension of the brownfield program in her proposed budget, but the language includes a proposed $50,000 application fee. The existing law imposes no such expense.

Statewide Coalition Applauds the Inclusion of Brownfields Cleanup Program and Brownfield Opportunity Areas in Governor Hochul's Budget

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 15:52:26 GMT

Upon Reauthorization and Renewal, These Two Programs will Continue to Address Environmental Justice, Economic Development, and Affordable Housing in Communities Across the State

A statewide coalition representing environmental advocates, environmental justice organizations, economic development organizations, and business groups released a statement in support of Governor Hochul’s inclusion of the Brownfields Cleanup Program and the Brownfields Opportunity Area program in her proposed budget. The coalition applauds Governor Hochul for making a long-term commitment to this program by proposing an extension of the program for 10 years. Additionally, the reforms that are included to provide additional resources to projects in disadvantaged communities and encourage renewable energy development on brownfield sites goes a long way to address environmental justice issues, combatting neighborhood blight, and providing thousands of homes statewide for New Yorkers who need it the most.

Since reauthorization of the Brownfields Cleanup Program (BCP) in 2015, over 400 sites have participated in every county of the state. The program has generated more than $17 billion in economic development and created more than 6,000 units of affordable housing. With this longterm extension of the program, more New Yorkers will benefit from much-needed housing in disadvantaged communities. The proposed language will build upon the 2015 reforms of the BCP and provide further transparency. The BCP does more than clean up pollution—this program goes a long way to address the environmental justice issues in disadvantaged communities.

Additionally, strengthening the Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) Program will bring added benefits to the designated BOAs in disadvantaged and urban communities, while a new focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing environmental justice in BOAs will help New York achieve the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

"The New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program not only promotes the cleanup of contaminated and underutilized properties throughout the State but also generates much-needed job opportunities for local communities during and after redevelopment. The proposed extension of tax credit incentives will continue to encourage developers to invest in brownfield sites and elevate economic development in New York. The Partnership’s members are appreciative of the Program’s proposed extension and look forward to their enactment," said Ezgi Karayel, President of the NYC Brownfield Partnership.

“The success of the New York State BCP is a model for all the states in the northeastern United States. Its impact on producing environmentally protective, high quality redevelopment projects in environmental justice areas is impressive as is the increase in creation of more affordable housing and industrial projects on formerly contaminated properties throughout New York State, said Rick Shoyer, President of the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast. “The fact that New York State’s tax credits are at a sustainable level and are more supportive of the costs of high-quality cleanups and less on development costs is a model for other states in our region."

“We would like to thank Governor Hochul for her leadership on the vital issue of brownfield remediation,” said Jolie Milstein, President and CEO of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. “The Brownfields Cleanup Program is a critical tool for building affordable housing in historically disadvantaged communities, and our members enthusiastically support its 10-year extension. We look forward to engaging with the State on the details of the program and the accompanying regulations.”

"The coalition was pleased to see the Governor’s commitment to these programs and believe the language is an important first step in enhancing these critical programs. We are concerned that certain aspects of the proposal and the accompanying regulations will prevent some projects from moving forward and therefore look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature to address these concerns," said Patrick McClellan of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

The coalition again applauds Governor Hochul’s leadership as her administration continues to lead our state’s economy forward and help New York communities sustainably recover. Reauthorization and reform of the Brownfields Cleanup Program and strengthening the Brownfield Opportunity Areas program is the path forward for everyone working to achieve environmental justice, expand affordable housing, and invest in New York’s renewal.

The coalition looks forward to working with Governor Hochul and the leaders in the New York State Assembly and Senate to enact these proposals that will benefit all New Yorkers.

Real Estate Board of New York

New York League of Conservation Voters

New York State Association for Affordable Housing

NYC Brownfield Partnership

Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast

Long Island Builders Institute

The Building & Realty Institute (BRI) of Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region

Mayor Adams Announces Appointments of Climate Leadership Team, Streamlines Multiple City Environmental Agencies Into One

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:03:52 GMT

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced the appointments of his climate leadership team that will focus on environmental protection and environmental justice across New York City. Mayor Adams appointed Rohit T. Aggarwala as chief climate officer and commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Vincent Sapienza as chief operations officer of DEP, and Kizzy Charles-Guzman as executive director of the new Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) — which consolidates multiple city agencies into one. Mayor Adams highlighted these accomplished environmentalists’ proven track record of promoting cleaner air, advancing climate resiliency, and protecting New Yorkers.

New York environmental justice leaders propose new definition for "disadvantaged communities"

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 15:02:08 GMT

In 2019, New York State passed a historic law to cut greenhouse gas emissions from every part of its economy. But for some, the most significant part of the legislation was its focus on environmental justice and equity. The law, titled the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, required that 35 to 40 percent of future benefits of state investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, housing, workforce development, transportation, and pollution reductions would have to serve “disadvantaged communities.”

Partnership Annual Meeting: Charting A Game Plan For ‘22

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 14:56:40 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

The Partnership’s Fall 2021 Annual Meeting saw outgoing President Ernie Rossano stating that “this is the last time I get to do this.” One centerpiece item on the meeting’s agenda was the pending legislation regarding the continuation of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program —plus Partnership efforts to support the environmental section of New York state bar association on the continuation and improvement of the current BCP legislation.

One meeting highlight was recognizing David J. Freeman, Esq., Gibbons P. C., as the 2021 NYCBP Distinguished Service Award recipient. Freeman told the group: “I’ve enjoyed very much working with all of you, and I’ve enjoyed learning from you and your camaraderie. Last but not least, I have enjoyed the enrichment of the [Partnership] programming, because, we do very important programming that allows all of us to understand better the very complex area that we’re practicing in.”

Freeman has worked over several decades to represent buyers, sellers and developers of contaminated properties as well as both plaintiffs and defendants on Superfund sites. He was recently responsible for the formation of the New York State Bar Association’s environmental law section of the Federal Environmental Policy Task Force.

What follows are some of the pertinent meeting highlights:

Championing Minority & Women Business Development. In addition to noting that the Partnership’s 2022 Executive Team members are all women who have risen through the Partnership’s committee structure, Kevin McCarty, with GEI Consultants, said that “one thing the Partnership has been involved in since its inception is working very closely with the City of New York. And one of the goals is to award a significant increase of contracting opportunities [in the billions of dollars] to MWBE [Minority & Women Business Development] by the year 2025, which is pretty much right around the corner. Our opportunity is to try to take the Partnership ‘vehicle’, the exposure and the connections, and expand our knowledge and understanding of how to work within the city system, so we can bring in opportunity for smaller minority and woman-owned business firms.”

McCarty said this would be “a big lift.” Creating connections via community-based organizations in something the Partnership is seeking to cultivate as much as we can. The goal will be to identify and bring in smaller firms that don’t have the same level of marketing and business development departments [that the Partnership larger-size members have]. “Contracting is a complicated effort for those of us that do it a lot.” He added that one achievement would be to expand on the Partnership’s pro bono counseling effort.

Pro bono counseling initiative. Gary Rozmus, also with GEI Consultants, shed light on the Partnership’s pro bono committee, where the goal is providing free assistance of up to five hours of brownfield-related consultation. “We stand ready to assist people in answering these questions. Part of what we do is to provide and refresh a referral list, maintaining this list of people who are willing to provide pro bono services. And, set up a waiver that insulates the committee from issues surrounding liability. We don’t provide written documentation but meet and listen to people, perhaps review reports they might have and then we'll give them verbal guidance and advice.”

Often, the process simply means offering consultation on the phone for those seeking counsel, and explaining certain aspects of the brownfield cleanup program—how to navigate the program and the differences and interactions between the City and State programs.

To generate more involvement and beef up the referral list, Rozmus encourages people to email him to express interest grozmus@geiconsultants.com.

Social media. New board member Mari Cate Conlon said that 2021 was “another really strong year with the expansion of social media. It’s great to see that we’re continuing on a path of strengthening this presence,” which prior to 2020 had needed to be capitalized upon. The result has been doubling the number of followers on LinkedIn from this time last year, with most of the followers [about 75%] located in the New York City area. “We have also reach with Philadelphia, Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse, the greater Boston area and Maryland.”

The committee is making a concerted effort to post relevant information on various brownfield-related trends and developments that occur on a regular basis. “We continue to work hard on our LinkedIn presence, and are looking to increase our marketing efforts in the next year. I think that a lot is probably going to come from the outreach we do on social media.”

Evolution of NYC/NYS cleanup program. Freeman made a compelling point when he said: “I have seen the NYC brownfield cleanup program grow from a dream in [Dr.] Dan Walsh’s eye to the vibrant and important organization that it is today.” (Walsh was founding Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, the nation’s first municipal brownfield cleanup program.)

“It’s really quite important for people, particularly new people, to understand the background and the context because this is all part of an overall continuing saga of brownfields development in New York,” he said.

Freeman spoke about the studies that have been executed over time and prepared by the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate—done with funding by the Partnership. The third study in the series was completed recently. Citing two earlier studies—one tracing back to 2012 and another to 2015—saw each result in a “snapshot of where brownfields in New York are. The Partnership funded studies are the only actual tracking of the progress of this program over time,” says Freeman. “There’s very little independent evaluation of whether it’s working. It’s important, obviously, for all of us and our clients but it’s also important when we go to the legislature to extend and improve the program.”

That’s because the State legislature will inevitably ask, “‘well, how do we know it’s working?’ All we have are the stories about major developments that received a significant level of brownfield credits which generated an even more significant level of investment. “You have to fight people’s biases, and you only can fight them with data. These studies have really been important in the Brownfield redevelopment realm.” Freeman believes one of the most significant things that the Partnership has done has been putting funding dollars behind these results-driven studies.

Renewal of the BCP would, in the short term, extend the deadlines for both entry into the program and for securing tax credits: Currently, sites have to be accepted by December 31, 2022. The proposed bill would extend this for 10 years, to December 2032, and would extend the time for an applicant to obtain their COC from March 2026 to December 2036. An applicant would add an additional five years to claim tangibles from 10 to 15 years after the [certificate of completion] COC is issued.

The legislation would also extend the BCP to what Freeman called “very important additional areas, including environmental justice. This would be a significant expansion of the number of sites to now qualify for benefits, and would expand the ability for brownfield opportunity area (BOA) sites to qualify for credits. Additionally, it would increase incentives for renewable energy, “which is crucial now,” he said.

Freeman also broached the topic of “underutilized sites.” The Partnership has “fought for two years over what constitutes an “underutilized site.” Defining what those sites are is “almost impossible to follow,” says Freeman. “I think only three sites in the last six years, in the entire five boroughs, qualified as ‘underutilized.’ So we would expand the definition to [include] what we think the legislature probably intended.”

The NYC Brownfield Partnership Presents Infographic on NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP)

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 15:30:15 GMT

The following infographic summarizes the findings of the 2021 study conducted by the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate with support from the New York City Brownfield Partnership.

ASTM E 1527 Revisions: How Will Due Diligence Change Under the Updated ASTM Standard

Fri, 21 Jan 2022 16:38:24 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP), the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE), the NJ Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (NJ LSRPA), and the NJ Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals (NJ SWEP), collaborated on one of the largest webinars on January 19, 2022, that any of those organizations has hosted in several years. What was the topic that drew the attention of 200+ participants? Changes to the ASTM Due Diligence standard from the experts who participated in the design of the revised standard that resulted from over 75 meetings.

Moderated by Kathi Stetser and Michelle Martin, both LSRPs from GEI Consulting, with content provided and presented by Chemmie Sokolic, Falcon Real Estate Group; Chris Martell, ESA Environmental Consultants, and Larry Schnapf, Esq. of Schnapf LLC, attendees heard about the ASTM standards update process; new and revised definitions; records review and “The Big 4” property records; emerging contaminants and how they are handled under the updated standard; shelf life of thestandards and of the documents prepared; and important new appendices.

If you missed the webinar, here is our gift to you: these are “The Big 4” property records: i) aerial photographs, ii) fire insurance maps, iii) local street directories, and iv) historical topographic maps.

The session was recorded; the Boards of Directors of the four organizations are discussing the release process. If interested, contact sboyle@geiconsultants.com for further information.

NYCBP Now Accepting Applications for 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:50:37 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership is happy to announce we are accepting applications for the 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Awards! Winners will be notified in the Spring.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is now accepting applications for these prestigious industry awards. To submit an application, go here: https://form.jotform.com/220135007984149

All applications are due by Friday, February 25, 2022. No late submissions will be accepted.

In order to be eligible for the 2022 Big Apple Brownfield Award, the project must:

Be located within the five boroughs of New York City;
Have been impacted by an environmental contamination issue;
Have participated in an environmental remediation regulatory program; and
Have received final regulatory signoff by December 31, 2021. Examples of final regulatory signoff include: Notice of Satisfaction, Notice of Completion, Certificate of Completion, Declaration of Covenant Not to Sue, or “No Further Action” letter.

Partnership’s October, 2021 Report on NYS State Brownfield Cleanup Program and Tax Credits

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 19:51:49 GMT

Provides Substantial Data for Letter to NYS Governor

The NYCBP joined with eleven other environmental, business, and social justice organizations from throughout NYS to inform Gov. Hochul of the importance pf a long-term reauthorization of the Brownfields Cleanup Program. You can find the letter here. All of these important organizations are relying on the Partnership’s report, which quantifies the number of cleanups under the program and the on-site rate of return ratio of $6.63 in private development for every $1 of tax credits. For the entirety of the BCP, $17.61 billion in private investment has resulted from $2.77billion in tax credits.

NJDEP's Dirty Dirt Law

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 15:17:50 GMT

We thank our member at AWT Environmental for this information.

As many of you know, the NJDEP has expanded the reach of the A901 program to include the management of recyclable soil and fill materials that were previously handled outside of the hauler licensing requirement. The law was signed by the Governor on January 20, 2020, with a recent Compliance Advisory Update on September 10, 2021. The law requires companies and persons engaging in the act of hauling or brokering “dirty dirt” to obtain an A901 license in order to continue engaging in these activities. The LSRPA and other organizations are actively working with the Department to receive clarifications on the applicability of this requirement as well as exemptions for certain persons and activities. The program continues to develop as we speak.

While it is beyond AWT’s scope to interpret the law and its applicability to any certain person or organization, here are a few resources for your review to help guide you with determining how it might affect your business:

Doling Out Diversity: ’21 Duncan Scholarship Recipients Provide Broad NYC-area Representation

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 19:39:30 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

They hail from four campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY): Baruch College, York College, City College of New York (CCNY), and the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health, and from New York University (NYU) and Columbia University.

They are the recipients of the 2021 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program, an annual event designed to provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in the brownfield industry in New York City.

The program was so named in honor of the avid environmentalist, talented dancer and tireless community supporter who passed years ago.

Administered by the NYC Brownfield Partnership, the scholarships are one-time awards of up to $5,000, where funds are disbursed directly to the college at which the student is enrolled in coordination with the school’s financial aid office.

And this year—perhaps more than some other years—local college/university diversity reigned supreme. In fact, not only were most all institutions represented but the recipients all harbor vast and diverse callings within the redevelopment industry.

The 2021 recipients included: Taylor Hard, CUNY; Vivian Chan, in her final year at Baruch College with a career emphasis in public administration; Gurwinder Sahota, CUNY York College, a geology major working as an assistant site supervisor; Trent Strachan, CCNY, holding an interested in indoor air quality and brownfield cleanups; Eva Grunblatt, Columbia University graduate, eager to work in brownfields and currently working on her senior design thesis; and Michelle Ren, a student at NYU with an eye on brownfields.

In September, the Partnership board members scheduled a Zoom call that included outgoing president Ernie Rossano, incoming president and current vp Ezgi Karayel, treasurer Michele Rogers, secretary Laura Senkevitch, executive director Susan Boyle, and board members Mari Cate Conlon, Mary Manto and Keith Brodock.

The Partnership members used the 1-hour Zoom conference to allow scholarship recipients to showcase their skills and promote themselves; to remind them that since they’re all students they qualify to become NYCBP members at no cost; and to inquire about how they have been coping within the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Repeat Recipient Ascending

Taylor Hard, a project manager at the NYC Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) where she manages brownfield redevelopment project, is what you call a “seasoned veteran” of brownfields: not only due to holding a position within a high-profile New York City office but Taylor has notched the Duncan scholarship two years consecutively. It’s proof positive that she read the fine print about eligibility (see below) and also showed a dogged determination to vie for it a second time.

Attending the CUNY School of Public Health, Taylor had worked in the private environmental consulting sector for a couple of years, studying geology as her undergrad. In May 2022, she will be graduating from the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy with an MPH in community health. “I write a lot about environmental justice, building conditions, renter’s rights and more. I've also been part of the Partnership for pretty much the entire five years that I've been here at OER, and had a lot of really great experiences going to their events,” she says.

During the Zoom, Taylor encouraged her fellow recipients to scout for paid internships—something she once took advantage of. Taylor says that OER, in the future, might be reviving its paid internship program…and they should keep an eye out for the opportunity.

Other first-time recipients might want to tap into some big-time inspiration from Taylor Hard’s story. One might be 2021 recipient Michelle Ren, a junior majoring in civil engineering at New York University—and also minoring in environmental engineering.

Vivian Chan enters her final graduate school year at Baruch, studying in the public administrator track. “My interests are in sustainability, health care and housing. I'm really grateful for the scholarship because it actually allowed me to pursue my interest in this field,” she says. “I love the networking part of it, and want to know about how to receive emails to be alerted to news.”

(Editor’s Note: As a member of the Partnership, you receive all of the email blasts. Student membership is free of charge).

Meantime, Trent Straughn is studying in the Environmental Engineering program at City College of New York. “I'm interested in indoor air quality and [am intrigued by] brownfields, the cleanup of brownfields. I'm grateful for this opportunity and thank you for the scholarship,” he told those on the call.

Eva Grunblat, a recent graduate at Columbia U, is currently “on the job hunt,” and hoping to work within the brownfields space. “I am specifically studying peripheral alcohols as part of senior design thesis,” she says.

The Zoom conference was getting close to wrapping up its hour when Ricardo Sheler, a student at NYU and a scholarship recipient, came on the call to share his own future career sentiments. “I am studying sustainable urban environmental [a food security intern] with Gov Lab,” he says. “I am eager to work on projects to solve public problems, and this includes [initiatives advocating for] public space and green space, plus brownfield development.”

Sage Advice Dispensed

In addition to being able to showcase themselves on the Zoom call and use it as fuel for future opportunities with Partnership members/companies plus more, the students had a chance to listen to brownfield professionals on the call provide advice for making their job searches easier.

Mary Manto. Board Member, told the group that “for entry level people in this industry in New York, you can expect to spend a lot of time outside conducting air monitoring and screening at construction sites. In New York City, a huge amount work is Hazmat environmental work, which, of course, segues nicely into brownfields. It is not uncommon to spend a lot of time outdoors doing this kind of work,” says Manto.

Board Member Mari Cate Conlon encouraged students to capitalize on LinkedIn regularly to network. “It’s a very important tool to have a conversation and get your foot in the door. Contract hiring and internships are ways to blossom—you can shine that way, and LinkedIn is a facilitator to it.”

Sue Boyle, the Partnership’s executive director, told the students that the key is “putting yourself in front of people who can either provide advice or mentoring. If Partnership members see people consistently at events, this demonstrates commitment to working in this industry,” says Boyle. “Have a cup of coffee and come to events: The Partnership is an organization that is happy to share knowledge, and one you can bounce ideas off. Get your name out there because it’s a great way to promote yourself—don’t hesitate.”

Boyle also spoke about the differences between public and private sector job opportunities. “If you work in government, it provides a real good opportunity to work in new programs, which is exciting because you can help develop these programs.” She said that sustainability and alternative energy are “still new initiatives, and great places to be.”

Keith Brodock, Partnership member, advised the group that if they opt to join smaller firms, it allows them to take on very broad, horizontal oversight of projects—dabble across multiple disciplines. This way, they can then decide what capacity they want to focus on. “Some folks who want a lot of responsibility right away might be happier in a smaller firm, where people are going to throw a lot more things at you,” he says.

For those having a hard time figuring out exactly where to start the process, Partnership members encouraged recipients to log onto the NYCBP membership page to find where all members are listed.

The Partnership plans to stay in touch with the scholarship recipients, who, once again, were encouraged to not “be shy about coming to events/virtual events. Keep an eye out for events on the ‘events’ section of the website and sign up for the email list.”

Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program Eligibility

Scholarship recipients will be selected on a competitive basis. In order to be eligible for the award, students must be:

Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at colleges in the New York Metropolitan Area;
Enrolled in at least one course during the 2021 academic year; and
Pursuing studies related to brownfield redevelopment, such as environmental engineering, environmental or geosciences, geology or hydrogeology, environmental policy, environmental planning, environmental justice, environmental law, real estate, sustainable development or industrial hygiene.

State announces completion of Starbuck Island in Green Island

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 19:37:50 GMT

Troy Record

Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the completion of the Starbuck Island redevelopment project, a $65 million investment that transformed more than 11-acres of contaminated oil storage brownfield into a high-density, vibrant waterfront community in the Village of Green Island, Albany County.

Starbuck Island connects Green Island to downtown Troy and is now home to nearly 270 residential units, a salon, a restaurant and parking.

“The transformation of Starbuck Island into a new engaging waterfront neighborhood is a testament to the state’s brownfield cleanup program and economic development incentives,” Hochul said. “With the project now complete, residents and visitors to the newest community on the Hudson River can enjoy the many amenities, spectacular views, and local businesses, spurring additional investments to the region.”

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.troyrecord.com/2021/11/28/state-announces-completion-of-starbuck-island-in-green-island/

Reading List from NYCBP's and BCONE's Joint Event on COVID Impacts

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 20:12:48 GMT

On November 18th, we had a joint event with the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast on the impacts of COVID. This was Part 4 of an ongoing series we have been holding.

Based on this event, we have some suggested reading material for all those who are interested:

Student Brownfield Research Update: Fall 2021

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:47:29 GMT

In keeping with the Partnership’s mission of supporting the education and training of brownfield professionals, workers, and students, we are pleased to share with you the Fall 2021 Issue 2 of Blueprint, the student-led publication of NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate (view here). We call your attention to the article about the research by Viquar Chaudhry entitled NY Brownfield Cleanup Program and Tax Credit Analysis. It's found on page 19 of the publication linked above.

Sound familiar to members of the NYCBP? It should! Mr. Chaudhry is the NYU graduate student who worked alongside Professor Barry Hersh of the NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate under contract to the New York City Brownfield Partnership on the update to the groundbreaking analysis of the NYS Brownfield Tax credits and their importance to remediation and redevelopment throughout the state. If you attended the Annual Membership Meeting of the Partnership on October 28, 2021, you heard both Mr. Chaudhry and Professor Hersh present the results of the analysis. You have access to the report on the Partnership’s website (https://nycbrownfieldpartnership.org/nycbp-industry-news/11911863).

The Partnership has shared the report with the NYS Bar Association, REBNY, other like-minded real estate and environmental professional organizations, government officials and others interested in the continued success of the New York State Brownfield Program (NYS BCP) and Tax Credits. The Partnership’s report is the only in-depth look at the three generations the NYS BCP and clearly shows that the program has become a “more targeted and effective redevelopment tool across the state. Formerly contaminated industrial sites have been remediated and redeveloped, especially benefitting upstate communities. In NYC, the BCP has made a significant contribution to housing, including affordable housing.”

New York State Bar Association Endorses Amendment and Extension of State Brownfield Cleanup Act

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:44:02 GMT

New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP) Board Member Emeritus David J. Freeman , Esq. shared this recent article From Gibbons P.C. regarding the New York State Bar Association’s endorsement of a proposed bill amending and extending the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Act.

NYCBP is collaborating with the New York State Bar Association and other interested organizations throughout the State on this important topic. The Partnership provided crucial support to the effort to extend the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Act by providing extensive data analysis to document the program’s remediation and redevelopment successes throughout New York State. The NYCBP’s recently released 2021 study (see copy here) is the second update to its groundbreaking 2014 study; all three reports were authored under contract to the NYCPB by New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

Please go to this link https://www.gibbonslawalert.com/2021/11/04/new-york-state-bar-association-endorses-amendment-and-extension-of-state-brownfield-cleanup-act/ to read the Gibbons P.C. article in its entirety, including important links to the proposed bill and explanatory reports and detailed analysis.

A quick summary of the bill:

Extends, from December 31, 2022 to December 31, 2032, the deadline for sites to be accepted into the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and qualify for tax credits. Additional time would also be provided for sites to obtain their Certificates of Completion (COCs), claim site preparation tax credits, and obtain tangible property credits after issuance of COCs.
Expands the ability for sites in Potential Environmental Justice Areas and Brownfield Opportunity Areas to qualify for enhanced tax credits.
Increases the incentives for renewable energy projects on BCP sites.
Expands the effectiveness of the BCP in addressing soil vapor issues, including clarification of the types of soil vapor-related expenditures that qualify for tax credits.

Victoria Whelan joins Partnership board with a goal of adding fresh eyes, new perspectives to the organization, industry

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 14:33:11 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Want to know the secret formula of becoming a new Partnership board member?

If this past year is any indication, it starts with volunteer involvement with the Partnership, often through the Scholarship or Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABA) Committees. This volunteerism then immerses you in the group for a couple years and can lead to consideration as a board member. And once the new member is on board, what comes next is a host of visionary ideas about how to make the organization stronger for the future—with a broadened membership inclusion at the apex of the vision.

This is the course Victoria Whelan charted when she was named a Partnership board member in October, 2021. She is bringing new perspectives to the time-honored organization, providing a fresh infusion of ideas bound to serve the Partnership well as it evolves further to best represent the ever-changing New York City brownfield industry.

Ms. Whelan has served as a nomination committee volunteer in the vetting and selection of the BABA awards and became a co-chair of the BABA initiative.

Ms. Whelan, a NYS licensed PG, is Senior Associate at Preferred Environmental Services (Preferred), North Merrick, N.Y She joined Preferred out of her desire to be part of a small environmental organization especially a Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) environmental consulting firm such as Preferred.

Preferred has become a “go-to” WBE subconsultant of choice to deliver resilient, efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions for clients in the NYC area for brownfield redevelopment. Preferred’ s extensive experience in environmental consulting, compliance and risk management has been gained from numerous new large scale construction projects in Metro New York for agencies such as the NYCDEP, NYC MTA, NYCEDC and NYCDDC.

This firm has broad experience in all phases of environmental assessment activities, focusing on due diligence, property transfer, environmental claims handling, construction support and environmental restoration. “We run a tight ship. We strive to be efficient for our clients to keep costs down. What is cool about Preferred is that we are NYS Licensed Professional Geologists at and a woman owned firm - true environmental professionals”

Working for 13 years for another small environmental firm, Whelan “took a break for a while” to work on the contractor side of the business. “I learned a lot about time management in being part of teams with long-term goals at the forefront. People thought I was crazy to work on the contractor side, but the experience allowed me to gain a fresh perspective, and this served me well to better assess what I wanted to focus on for the next 10 years of my career.”

Volunteering In Her Blood

It’s no surprise the Whelan choose to volunteer for the BABA selection process. Outside of this industry, her passion happens to be rooted in volunteerism. She sits on a board for a non-profit that she assisted getting started up with her family. She adds: “Put good out into this world and good comes back to the world amplified—a small bit of help exponentially helps the community.” The non-profit group, ACE Family Foundation, “assists local families that are helping loved ones through life-threatening illnesses. We have a scholarship program and a gifting program aiming to shine a light by offering assistance and support.”

On BABA award involvement, the process entails reviewing application, organizing, and planning the event, which involved making up invitations and even “selecting the swag that will be given away.”

The BABA experience affords a front row seat to sorting through excellence that underpins NYC brownfield redevelopment. The relationship with the Partnership has now evolved to where Whelan envisions big things for the organization as she eases into her board seat. Championing affordable housing is front and center on her agenda.

Affordable Housing Expertise

Whelan’s “true passion” is affordable housing developments. She talked about guiding affordable housing developers through the process. “I have been doing this for more than 15 years as part of a team with affordable housing developers. One of my eternal goals is to help reduce costs for these developers within these projects—lower the overhead—and then use the savings created to pump resources back into the communities, all done to enhance the lives of the local residents.”

Looking at the roadblocks that occur with affordable housing projects, Whelan says that Federal, State and Local governing bodies can often hinder progress, and this needs to be better addressed. “I can help developers navigate the environmental hurdles”

BABA keeps Whelan quite busy from January to May. She is also working with Board Member Kevin McCarty to expand the Partnership‘s membership to include small businesses and other Certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) environmental businesses, such as Preferred.

“Some of these smaller-size firms are under the impression that becoming part of the Partnership would not be feasible for them, starting with a misconception about costs of membership.” She wants to flip that script. “I want the Partnership become more inclusive pertaining to the diversity of the member profile. The BABA process has showed me that the same ‘types’ of projects were continually getting nominated and that also needs to diversify.”

The future—2022 and beyond—looks brighter for what the Partnership can accomplish with a new breed of board member helming the navigation process. Finding prime new board members starts with volunteerism, and so much can dovetail from there. Stay tuned.

Partnership Releases Updated NYU Study on NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 14:09:06 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership, a non-profit public-private partnership promoting the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York City, has just released another update of the groundbreaking 2014 study (updated in 2015) analyzing the impact of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (NYS BCP) on the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York State. The 2014 study, the 2015 update, and the current 2021 study (see copy here) were authored by Barry F. Hersh, Clinical Associate Professor at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.

The update analyzes the overall NYS BCP with an emphasis as what has occurred since 2015, which is the third generation of the program. The key conclusions of the 2021 update include the following:

Over three generations the NYS BCP has become a more targeted and effective redevelopment tool across the state. Formerly contaminated industrial sites have been remediated and redeveloped, especially benefitting upstate communities. In NYC, the BCP has made a significant contribution to housing, including affordable housing.
The NYS BCP continues to grow; both the number of applications and the number of projects receiving Certificates of Completion (COC) continue to increase.
Both the value of private development investment and amount of tax credits also continue to grow. The on-site rate of return consistently shows a ratio of $6.63 in private development for every $1 of tax credits.
Legislative changes have resulted in fewer very large tax credits to individual projects, an increase in moderate-sized projects, more affordable housing and Environmental Zone (En-Zone) projects, and more mid-range industrial projects.
Brownfield projects have been completed in all regions across New York State and 40 counties.
NYS BCP projects in NYC have supported development of 20,000 residential units, of which 6,400 are affordable housing units.
More than half of all NYS BCP projects have been located in economically distressed En-Zones, with the proportion of projects in En-Zones increasing since 2015; many BCP projects are also in Environmental Justice and Brownfield Opportunity Areas.
As the NYS BCP has grown, Brownfield Tax Credits have become more accepted and incorporated by banks as a part of project financing.

For further information about the updated study, please contact Ernie Rossano, President of the New York City Brownfield Partnership, at (631) 756-8917, Ezgi Karayel, President-Elect of the New York City Brownfield Partnership, at (347) 871-0750) or George Duke, Chair of the Partnership’s Legislative/Policy Committee, at (646) 915-0236).

Conlon is Plugged In

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 17:03:04 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

For Mari Cate Conlon, one of the Partnership’s newest board members, involvement in the organization commenced six years ago, and in vital volunteerism role.

Conlon, a licensed New York geologist with Haley & Aldrich, a current annual sponsor of the Brownfield Partnership with more than 700 environmental and engineering consultants, began her relationship with the Partnership by volunteering in 2015 to be part of the Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABA) nomination committee, where she collaborated under the leadership of current Partnership treasurer, Michele Rogers (Blue World Construction), to help select the gold standard of NYC brownfield redevelopments. That involvement was just the tip of the iceberg as the relationship’s trajectory has been upward and onward ever since. Conlon has since co-chaired the most recent four BABAs and was elected a Partnership board member in the fall of 2020.

The BABA experience afforded Conlon a front row seat to sorting through excellence that underpins NYC brownfield redevelopment. The relationship with the Partnership has now evolved to where Conlon envisions big things for the organization as she eases into her board seat.

“I am very thankful to be involved with the Partnership—everyone on the board is unique. It is a strong and special group. I am looking to help out in any way I can,” she says.

Let us count the ways…

Conlon, who received her master’s from Boston College in geology and previously worked as an environmental geologist with other organizations prior to H&A, is getting ready to tackle two major initiatives: Bolstering the Partnership’s social media presence and recruiting a new breed of members for the future—all in an effort to make the organization more diversified.

Conlon is helping the Partnership recruit a broad-based cross-section of NYC’s finest industry participants. On diversifying membership, Conlon says “we are eager to bring in new categories of members. We know that we have a strong presence of consultants, attorneys, developers, and more. Now we want to bring in more not-for-profits, architects and others. And, to recruit this new members means leveraging our social media platforms to find them.”

Started With BABA

Conlon, who was born on Long Island and grew up in Connecticut and currently resides in northern N.J., says one takeaway from the BABA selection experience was having to “review all the applications and then try to boil down the details to select winners—and there were a lot of worthy candidates so it wasn’t easy,” she says.

Conlon says that working with Michele Rogers has produced a nice synergy, as “Michele has great people skills and can build a consensus [from the nominating committee.]” Conlon says she has her eye on candidate-projects that focus on championing green, open space, particularly where it was lacking in a specific community.”

Advocating for more affordable housing conversions is at the top of Conlon’s wish list as well, plus the conversion of brownfields into so-called “healthfields,” defined as establishing a greater number of health care centers in communities that need it most.

In taking a lead role in beefing up the Partnership’s social media platforms, Conlon plans to places an emphasis on LinkedIn and Twitter, as they offer the best bang for the buck. Cultivating a more robust LinkedIn presence allows for more precise recruitment of environmental and engineering professionals, including younger talent. “ LinkedIn enables us to post about our events, such as the BABAs. LinkedIn is a solid social media platform that allows us to fan out, appeal and reach many people, and then spread the news about what is occurring in the NYC brownfield industry,” says Conlon.

This outreach would include scouting for and reaching students who might have a vested interest in the industry—plus “we also want to reach out to local officials by activating Twitter, to enlighten them about our industry and the developments at the local levels.”

She calls the social media initiative “a group effort, and will get ideas for posts from my fellow board members.”

Professional Goals Aplenty

With Conlon’s day job at Haley & Aldrich, one of her more fervent quests is staying current on changes to environmental standards and guidance. She spoke of the PFAS guidance that “affects all our project teams: for me it’s helpful to get updates in real time, and on a consultant end about how those changes are implemented, the interactions with regulators—all while having a back and forth about staying on top of the industry.”

Of course, this industry has been significantly affected by Covid, starting with construction shutdowns occurring last year, which impacted “some of our projects, hindered them moving forward and they stalled out for a couple of months, while waiting for the ban to lift,” says Conlon, who has been a Project Manager at H&A since Nov 2018. It is in this role that she provides consulting services in environmental investigation, site remediation and engineering control design as well as expertise in navigating clients through city, state and federal regulatory programs.

“Currently, I think a lot of projects have rebounded to move full steam ahead, as we see an uptick. We’re hoping to avoid government restrictions that could potentially be imposed. In addition, to foster communications and operational efficiency at H&A throughout the pandemic, we made efforts to stay connected with our staff, and recently we’ve been slowly returning to the office

Professionally, Conlon helps clients identify the best remedies for sites with environmental impacts. “I have extensive experience providing due diligence Ph I and Ph II assessments and guiding developers through city and state environmental regulatory programs.”

Running concurrent to this capability, Conlon, on the not-for-profit level, is eager to help the Partnership identify its own “best remedies” as it moves the needle forward on fostering NYC brownfield excellence.

The Partnership is thrilled to have her on the board.

NYCBP second quarter 2021, distinguished service award

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 18:36:32 GMT

David J. Freeman: A "Bridge Builder" Whose Vision Came to Fruition

By Steve Dwyer

About 15 years ago, we saw the birth of a concept whose time had come: The launch of a New York City-based non-profit organization to advocate for best practices and to serve as a clearinghouse of information regarding brownfield development in New York City.

The germ of the vision started with a basic yet essential task of fostering information sharing around brownfields redevelopment occurring in the City. The vision evolved to become many things to many practitioners—including serving as a mechanism to enhance dialogue between public and private entities…and erase the systemic barriers that often undermine results.

Any vision starts with visionaries, and two of them were Dr. Daniel Walsh and David J. Freeman, the latter recently named the 2021 recipient of New York City Brownfield Partnership’s Distinguished Service Award. (Dr. Walsh was the recipient in a prior year).

The Award promotes excellence in brownfield redevelopment each year by honoring an individual who has made a significant impact on this industry in New York City and beyond.

Freeman, a Director in the Environmental Group of Gibbons P.C., is a founding NYCBP Board member and has been responsible for much of the organization’s structure and success.

Serving as NYCBP Board President during a critical period of the organization’s existence, Freeman helped pave the way for the Partnership’s current success, as he lent his voice to multiple committees and chaired the Legislative/Policy Committee, which has maintained a close and interactive watch over the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program.

Freeman has more than 35 years of experience representing buyers, sellers, and developers of contaminated properties, as well as both plaintiffs and defendants in Superfund and other litigation regarding the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. He is a frequent author and speaker on environmental law topics and is the recipient of a 2012 Burton Award as “an outstanding law firm author.”

He was involved with the formation of the New York State Bar Association Environmental & Energy Law Section’s Future of Federal Environmental Policy Task Force—and his extensive professional and pro bono activities include service far and wide. In fact, from a pro bono service standpoint, Freeman put his stamp on it within the Partnership’s portfolio by establishing the Partnership’s Pro Bono Referral and Pro Bone Counseling services.

These days, he continues to serve the NYCBP as an Emeritus Board Member and participant in the Redevelopment Roundtables, and remains active in advising on regulatory policy.

“Those of us who work with David at Gibbons are delighted he is being recognized for his career-long achievements in the areas of environmental law and brownfield redevelopment in New York City,” said Camille V. Otero, Chair of the firm’s Environmental Group. “His invaluable contributions to our New York based environmental practice and clients further demonstrate his commitment to excellence.”

In a recent phone conversation, Freeman recalled the inception of the Partnership, and how the organization took shape in a challenging environment. “[Dr.] Dan Walsh recognized who was active on the city and state levels. I think there was a shared sense that the City needed to better capitalize on the [New York state brownfield program, established in 2003] and adapt it to fit City needs. There was a great deal of need for change: Promoting excellence in brownfield redevelopment by honoring successful brownfield projects, supporting education and training of industry professionals, workers and students, and also fostering collaborative relationships among developers, property owners, government agencies and community groups.”

Read on for a recent conversation with David Freeman on various aspects of the Partnership and its evolutionary upward trajectory over the past 15 years.

Q: Talk about the inception of the Partnership and how it came to be—the start of a major movement?

A: I want to be modest about my role. I was there from the start, but much credit must go to Dan Walsh, who had a very keen vision—identifying the organization to be a ‘bridge’ that links the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) to the private sector. There was a great need for change regarding brownfield redevelopment. While I don’t want to diminish my role, it’s essential to credit to Dan in establishing this link between the private side and the OER. The common thread that defines the Partnership’s charter purpose is establishing common ground [among stakeholders] for the remediation of contaminated properties, and return them to productive use.

Q: What were some other—let’s call them—ancillary value-added components of the Partnership’s service portfolio?

A: We were bent on offering pro bono services, and this vision dovetailed to include the formulation of the internship program, scholarships and much more. Pro bono work, internships and scholarships demonstrated that the Partnership could serve as an ‘ambassador’ within the context of brownfields. We strived to be more community-minded and continue to cultivate effective, results-driven working relationships between the private and public sectors—both have interests that are aligned but certainly not identical.

Q: It seems like the Partnership had—and has—a great deal of bandwidth in what it can provide to brownfield stakeholders: has it been top of mind to stay keep focused on keeping the organization’s identity and purpose consistent?

A: The important thing to remember is that [brownfield] deals are being executed independently of the Partnership—the organization never ‘does deals,’ but is instrumental in providing tools and information. We spread knowledge and branched out—we became active with the New York State Bar Association and began to discuss the kinds of amendments to the law that could facilitate the development aspects, integrating the Governor’s office, State DEC and City into the mix. Dan Walsh was very anxious to get OER up and running, to make it an independent entity. Eventually the Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) was established with a memorandum of understanding between OER and DEC that the OER would function independently. This memorandum was critical to getting work done.

Q: What were some niche brownfield development areas in which the Partnership stepped in to facilitate, to champion?

A: Advocating for the renewal of disadvantaged communities is one. These communities lack leverage to effect change and achieve results on their own. It’s vital we educate and offer outreach so communities can get involved and be empowered. We started to play an important role in helping educate constituencies about the BCP functionality and how it benefits them—and this does not happen automatically. I also want to shine a light on the role of the BABA awards: the Big Apple Brownfield Awards. It has been an essential vehicle serving as a ‘recognition platform’ for outstanding brownfield redevelopment programs.

Q: Can you talk about the evolution of the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) initiative and how it matured over time to become more impactful?

A: Pertaining to neighborhood revitalization and outreach to communities, roundtables helped fuel the BOA. You have to remember that the BOA once existed on paper only; thus we had to be aggressive to push the State legislature to more concretely reward [communities]. The BOA was a part of a compromise when the Brownfield Cleanup Act was ratified. Over time, BOA moved from being a less active component to one that’s become far more important to the BCP’s mandate.

And one trend we’ve seen is a sharp focus on disadvantaged communities over the past couple years. One specific niche example has been advocating for communities of color who have been negatively affected by pollution in their backyards. This sparked a movement that was not just environmental, but encompassed economic and social justice elements, to effect change. It changed how real estate is developed in the City.

Q: What is one major task on the Partnership’s front burner in 2021?

A: We have a big hurdle in 2022 as the State brownfield tax credit provisions need to be extended by the State legislature by end of 2022. However, while it might seem like there’s time, there is much work to be done well in advance of that date [to ensure its renewal]. The intention is to not put money back into developer’s pockets, but to make the tax credit provision an agent of change for disadvantaged communities, to reap economic, environmental and social benefits. There’s a compelling need to target where tax credit distribution need is greatest. The clock is ticking.

Q: What’s ahead to continue to make inroads and effect change with the Partnership?

A: We must continue as an information resource. There are a host of complicated topics and multiple jurisdictions [OER, DEC, Dept. of Buildings, etc.] to engage with on many issues. We are eager to bring developers to the table—new ones who have interest in sustainable development. That’s very high on the list. I see it as vital to bring people together on issues where they don’t—or won’t—magically come together [to discuss]. There are contentious issues to smooth over and establish a dialogue.

People listen to the Partnership because we are the ones in the trenches…and have established credibility as an organization that objectively represents multiple constituencies in the brownfield community.

CCNY: Now Part of the Environmental Job Training Club in NYC

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 17:32:03 GMT

After facing rejection three times, CCNY Earth and Atmospheric Sciences professor secures coveted job training grant

By Steve Dwyer

Dogged determination paid off handsomely this spring for Angelo Lampousis and his team at The City College of New York (CCNY).

The Ph.D., Earth and Atmospheric Sciences lecturer at CCNY and fried of the New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP), was thrilled to learn that his department had been one of three New York City entities (among 18 applying organizations) to receive a coveted grant for environmental job training—handed out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. CCNY’s will be able to train up to 60 participants from the South Bronx starting this fall.

Job training and workforce development are an important part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities.

In addition to grants awarded to CCNY, grants were allotted to St. Nick’s Alliance of Brooklyn, another friend and member of the NYCBP, and The HOPE Program Inc. of Brooklyn and the Bronx. All three awardees received an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant (EWDJT) of or close to $200,000 for programs to create a skilled workforce in communities where brownfields assessment and cleanup activities are taking place.

“We applied for this grant three times, and the fourth time we secured the funding,” says Lampousis, before departing for Athens, Greece for a working vacation. “This [being denied grant] is typical as far as I know—you might fail but it provides time to improve your narrative and state your case. Mainly, you have to have resilience to keep trying. And we did improve our grant writing skills, honed them to make it more compelling—and we took advantage of review programs with folks in New York and other states who assist those who are seeking grants after failing.”

The grant money has a two-prong purpose: It assists non-CCNY-students who need to complete continuing education (CE) in order to find work within the engineering and environmental fields—and have chosen CCNY to complete the CE course work that might consist of a couple days of either training or re-training. Grant money benefits CCNY engineering and environmental students who are dedicated to establishing a career in brownfield remediation.

The NYCBP can play a role in the job training grant, because after the first two years of student class work, students must then progress to real-world job placement. That’s where the NYCBP and its public- and private-sector members enter the picture, says Lampousis. “The NYCBP will try to facilitate student job placement through member companies. I see their contribution and role as significant during this third-year cycle,” says Lampousis. Several member companies have successfully hired job training graduates over the years.

Transformative Impact

EPA’s brownfields job training grant program enables organizations to transform the lives of New Yorkers by providing individuals the opportunity “to gain meaningful long-term employment and a livable wage in an environmental field,” said Walter Mugdan, acting EPA Regional Administrator. “These three grantees do critical work to bring good paying jobs to communities across New York City that also help make them safer and healthier places to live and work.”

Rather than filling local jobs with contractors from distant cities, the organizations offer residents of communities historically affected by pollution, economic disinvestment and contaminated brownfields properties an opportunity to gain the skills and certifications needed to secure local environmental work in their communities.

“South Bronx residents will be able to get the CE credits now and then start working. The local income will go up. Plus, people don’t have to pay for the CE courses, which is typically not free [elsewhere]. It can cost $800 if they do it on their own. We can offer far more CE courses—and do it for those who only need perhaps one or two days of training to move forward with their environmental or engineering job pursuit,” he says.

The EPA job training grant will also help Lampousis in his effort to deliver and enhance his geosciences and engineering course, which consists of 14-week semesters—all done to prepare students to enter the workforce in these two fields, preferably as brownfield practitioners.

After having to offer the courses, “Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments,” in a remote environment due to COVID-19, Lampousis is eager to return to a live classroom setting at CCNY this fall.

Debuting in 2011, the courses were provided a bump in 2020 with a host of professional guest lecturers—many of them NYCBP Board members and staff. They were eager to volunteer their time and provide students with a snapshot and real-world advice about what it takes to be a brownfield professional. The course is typically held on Saturdays (10 am to 12 30 pm).

The course encompasses the entire process of environmental due diligence related to commercial real estate transactions and site characterization that ultimately leads to remedial evaluation and mitigation required for redevelopment of former industrial properties impacted with typical brownfield contaminants.

EPA Job Training Grant Program Mark 23 Years

Since 1998, EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) grant program has awarded more than 335 grants. With these grants, 18,541 individuals have been trained and 13,751 have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety, with an average hourly wage of over $14.

CCNY’s three-year $200,000 grant is designed to create a skilled workforce in communities where brownfields assessment and cleanup activities are taking place.

Training will cover the first two years, with job placement the primary focus of the third year—and BCONE’s will have a role in furthering that cause. Graduates will earn certification in various environmental fields, including:

• Hazardous waste operations and emergency response;

• Environmental sampling and analysis; and

• Other environmental health and safety training.

Although it targets South Bronx residents, interested individuals from the five boroughs are welcome to apply for the program. Participants should be able to commit to attend the entire training. There is no age limit.

Congratulations to our 2021 Big Apple Brownfield Award Winners!

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:49:08 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Big Apple Brownfield Awards. Click here to download the pdf file with all the details on the winning projects.

Case study: Multi-faceted solar technologies bring complex brownfield site to life in New York

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 18:46:49 GMT

Solar Power World

Amphenol Aerospace Operations, a division of Amphenol Corporation, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of interconnect products, providing the military, commercial aerospace and industrial markets with the cabling and connectors they need to operate. Located in Sidney, New York, the firm has a large presence in Delaware County, directly supporting more than 1,000 jobs in the Southern Tier region. In fall 2018, Amphenol Aerospace announced it would create a solar farm on top of a previous factory site. The resulting 6.3-MW project lowered Amphenol’s dependence on the local energy grid and turned a damaged site back into productive property.

The Amphenol land was a Department of Environmental Conservation–listed brownfield and had been a manufacturing site for 80 years. The manufacturing plant had also suffered significant damage during two major flooding events within the past decade. The flooding and environmental concerns made for a complex project, but it was one that EnterSolar was excited to take on as commercial project developer and EPC.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2021/04/case-study-multi-faceted-solar-technologies-bring-complex-brownfield-site-to-life-in-new-york/

In response to Covid Crisis, Governor Proposes to Extend Brownfield Tax Credits for Some Sites

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 18:01:11 GMT

Much like with the Great Recession of 2008, the Covid crisis has caused many brownfield projects to stall. As a result, BCP projects that received their Certificate of Completion (COCs) in 2010-11 are at risk of losing the right to claim the tangible property tax credit since the ten year period to put the property into service has or is fast expiring.

In response, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed executive budget for Fiscal Year 2022 would provide an extra two years for owners of certain brownfield projects that received COCs between March 20, 2010 through January 1, 2012 to claim the qualified tangible property tax credit. In other words, projects whose ten-year would expire between March 20, 2020 and December 31, 202 will now have an additional two years to complete their project and claim their tax credits.

The text appears in Part AA of Section VII (Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation).

Discussions continue about extending the 12/31/2022 and 03/26/2026 tax credit sunsets.

The post In response to Covid Crisis, Governor Proposes to Extend Brownfield Tax Credits for Some Sites appeared first on Schnapf LLC.

DEC may allow Niagara County to foreclose on contaminated sites without paying to clean them

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:06:41 GMT

By Thomas J. Prohaska, Buffalo News (NY)

For years, contaminated sites in Niagara County have been, in effect, exempt from property taxes, because the county wouldn't foreclose on them if the taxes went unpaid.

The reason was that taking title to a brownfield or other polluted site – or even one thought to be contaminated – would make the county liable for the costs of cleaning up the site.

Now the county says it has struck an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation under which the county can foreclose on as many as 86 contaminated or possibly contaminated sites without being stuck with the remediation cost.

…

For the entire article, see

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/dec-may-allow-niagara-county-to-foreclose-on-contaminated-sites-without-paying-to-clean-them/article_27896b2a-438e-11eb-81bb-43de6d24ce37.html

Applications are Now Open for the 2021 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:04:59 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership is happy to announce we are accepting applications for the 2021 Big Apple Brownfield Awards! Winners will be notified in the Spring and we are hoping to recognize the outstanding projects at an in person awards event in the Fall of 2021.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is now accepting applications for these prestigious industry awards. To submit an application, go here:

https://form.jotform.com/210135813679154

All applications are due by Friday, February 19, 2021. No late submissions will be accepted.

In order to be eligible for the 2021 Big Apple Brownfield Award, the project must:

Be located within the five boroughs of New York City;
Have been impacted by an environmental contamination issue;
Have participated in an environmental remediation regulatory program; and
Have received final regulatory signoff by December 31, 2020. Examples of final regulatory signoff include: Notice of Satisfaction, Notice of Completion, Certificate of Completion, Declaration of Covenant Not to Sue, or “No Further Action” letter.

Redevelopment of Former Petroleum Sites Offers World of Flexibility

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 14:34:21 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Brownfield stakeholders have learned to leverage the unique characteristics of brownfield properties contaminated with petroleum—such as former gas stations, auto body shops, industrial facilities—and convert them into beneficial new uses.

Many of these characteristics, including property size, location and prior use, give petroleum brownfields special appeal and flexibility. Just one attractive use of petroleum brownfields is considering them an interim reuses while planning for a permanent, long-term reuse.

Historically, the footprint of these sites has proven attractive through its flexibility in being considered across several practical end uses. That’s because most occupy relatively small parcels of land that are typically located along major roadways or intersections in neighborhoods. Small properties can be used for neighborhood amenities, including pocket parks (small urban parks frequently created on a single parcel), restaurants, senior housing, community centers, and more.

Properties can also be combined with other parcels to enable larger projects redevelopment strategy. Most of these redevelopment projects achieved success by:

Developing a strong vision for reuse;
Engaging the community to explore a property’s reuse potential;
Understanding and applying available financial and technical assistance resources; and
Building strong partnerships among the project team, community members and regulatory agencies throughout the entire life of the project.

Of the estimated 450,000 brownfield sites in the U.S., approximately one-half are thought to be impacted by petroleum, much of it from leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) at former gas stations. These sites blight the surrounding neighborhoods and threaten human health and the environment as petroleum contaminates groundwater.

Petroleum brownfields, such as old abandoned gas stations, are being cleaned up and reused to the benefit of communities across the country. EPA’s Office of Underground Storage Tanks (OUST) and Brownfields Program jointly focus on the cleanup and reuse of petroleum-contaminated sites. The Brownfields Program awards brownfields grants for the assessment and cleanup of petroleum brownfields (e.g., those determined to be relatively low-risk priority).

There was a time when a former retail fueling site would be re-imagined as the same reuse for future—tanks were in the ground and developers could not see doing the heavy lifting, including potential litigation, to convert them to non-fuel end use. A former fueling station was bound to become a future one as well. These times have changed with the advent of innovative cleanup practices helping change minds.

Take New York City: Dating back to 2017, NYC gas stations, targeted as development sites, saw 30 fueling stations disappear, which left only 50 open to the public in Manhattan—a number that is dwindling as bids for land grow, according to The New York Times. Numbers have not been updated but that number is sure to be even lower three years later.

Brooklyn also experienced the dwindling of retail fueling stations. In a 2017 report, the borough noted that a growing number of retail gas stations were anticipated to be lost in the coming two to three years, including fuel stops in Bushwick, Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay and Sunset Park.

Back to the Burbs? Back to the Office? The Reading List

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 14:27:42 GMT

If you missed the first Coronavirus Experiences webinar, held jointly by BCONE and the NYCBP in September and entitled Back to the Burbs? Back to the Office?, please sign up for the 2nd part of the series being held on October 23, 2020 from 10am to 12:00 p, entitled Is Your Building Safe? This webinar series will continue into 2021 to cover the growing number of topics of interest to our professions.

The speakers at the September and October webinars have created a list of recent articles on the topics (included below). Feel free to contribute to the list: if you’ve written a recent article on the topic or if you’ve read something of interest, send the link to sboyle@geiconsultants.com and we’ll keep growing the Reading List.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/residential-real-estate/looking-big-return-your-home-try-east-new-york-study-says

A CrowdRx expert in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems did not find a single arraignment court in the city that was safe to be in, the report states : https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/ny-nyc-courthouses-crowdrx-report-unsafe-conditions-coronavirus-20201001-avpvzs435jd6xkxiuvq4z5cii4-story.html Never heard of CrowdRx. They might become one of our potential speakers.

And check out piece on what some landlords are doing to make their buildings safe: https://www.nreionline.com/office/three-office-landlords-discuss-technologies-they-ve-implemented-protect-tenants-covid-19

Excerpt: “Silverstein Properties has also upgraded its ventilation systems in offices to MER-15 or 16, which is similar to what hospitals use to prevent the spread of infection and refers to the number of times recirculating air is filtered. The system also adds in fresh air from outdoors. Kerret says that an even higher ventilation standard, MER-16 or 18, has been adapted for elevators, making them safe for more than a few people at a time, as long as everyone is wearing a mask. According to the CDC, to become infected with the coronavirus, it takes time for exposure to 1,000 airborn particles. Elevators at Silverstein’s WTC properties travel at 1,600 feet per minute, so with MER-16 to 18 ventilation—similar to ventilation in operating rooms—mask-wearing passengers are unlikely to become infected as they will reach their floors within about a minute.”

KBS has “deployed technology to help tenants make a seamless, safe transition back to the office as government mandates are lifted. This includes UV light, which kills viruses and bacteria, in HVAC systems and on surfaces in common areas, as well as touchless amenities and devices in shared spaces and high-traffic areas.”

https://www.us.jll.com/en/trends-and-insights/workplace/landlords-race-to-improve-air-quality-in-buildings

https://www.propmodo.com/what-building-operators-need-to-know-about-covid-19-and-air-filtration/

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/four-considerations-architects-will-need-to-make-when-designing-post-covid-homes

https://nyrej.com/architects-and-engineers-help-schools-envision-safe-designs-for-covid-era

https://www.thecity.nyc/2020/9/28/21492252/cross-bronx-expressway-covid-19-environmental-justice-nyc

Home Sales Surge In Brooklyn: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/realestate/brooklyn-real-estate-sales.html

Vermont Covid Transplants: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/coronavirus-vermont-transplants.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-16/the-truth-about-american-migration-during-covid

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/26/escape-country-covid-exodus-britain-cities-pandemic-urban-green-space

FINANCE & INVESTMENT

Converting Malls Into Distribution Centers

Addressing the challenges of commercial property conversions.

Sep 21, 2020

Abbey Duncan Scholarship Recipients Chime In About Career Aspirations

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 14:46:18 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Kate Abazis has a stated career goal to reduce urban sprawl by turning around brownfields, and is on track to become a geologist.

Emma Garrison is a firm believer that remediation and redevelopment can spark the introduction of new green technologies in order to build a brighter and more sustainable future for cities.

Meantime, Taylor Hard advocates for brownfields as affordable housing end uses, as well as outlets to serve as emergency shelters, housing for military veterans and an overarching objective to “assist residents.”

These three young professionals are among seven of the most recent Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program recipients, an annual event designed to provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in the brownfield industry in New York City.

The scholarship was named in honor of Ms. Duncan, an avid environmentalist, talented dancer and tireless community supporter who died in 2010.

The scholarship awardees, along with three of the other four recipients, joined Partnership board members for a Zoom video conference in mid-July to discuss how the scholarship money will enable them to further their career paths as urban redevelopment change-makers—the new generation of brownfield practitioners.

On the Zoom call representing the Partnership were President Ernie Rossano, Vice President: Ezgi Karayel, Treasurer Michele Rogers, Secretary Laura Senkevitch, and Executive Director Susan Boyle.

The team asked broader questions of the recipients about their studies and how they were coping within the COVID-19 pandemic era. The conversation dovetailed into urban redevelopment and, for Kate Abazis (CUNY Queens College, Master of Science in Applied Environmental Geosciences), the region where she went to college, Broome County, N.Y., saw large employer-corporations such as IBM depart the area and also leave heavy contamination in its wake.

In the county, the city of Binghamton, N.Y. is turning a very long and twisting corner with the recent launch of a construction project that will ultimately be a $20.5-million affordable housing development at Canal Plaza. The project is poised to deliver 48 apartments and new commercial space—built on a former brownfield and answering a regional need for quality and affordable housing.

To Kate, “Broome County is a beautiful part of New York state but the economic potential of the region went unnoticed for too long. Recently Binghamton University became a recipient of the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program and several new businesses have opened nearby. I believe that remediation and redevelopment of the brownfields in Broome county are the key to revitalizing the region for the long term and reducing urban sprawl. This would also decrease the reliance on the university as the sole source of funds, building a stronger community.”

In addressing pollution and remediation of contaminants, the “transformation of brownfields is a burden on local communities that entails time, money and many agencies to fix the problem. It may be difficult to convince companies to address the issue in a community that might not have immediate economic potential.”

The trend of potential developers cutting and running is a sad narrative across the U.S. “Companies might not want to address the issue for fear of being blamed for the problem. It is imperative that these regions are cleaned up and reused instead of moving industries to greenfields where issues can expand,” Kate states.

Emma Garrison (CUNY Queens College, Earth and Environmental Sciences career path pursing a master of arts degree in geological and environmental science) talked about sites in her New York community as case studies for younger students to learn about themes such as biodiversity and green infrastructure.

Emma has a vast interest in rectifying NYC pollution that greatly impacts local organisms and ecosystems, and how these ecosystems are able to cope with the stressors of wide-ranging carbon impacts, but also how using data can help produce better resiliency in future designs.

Taylor Hard (CUNY, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, pursing a master’s degree in public health) has closely been watching the collaborative efforts between the public/private partnership to generate brownfield opportunity—with end result being projects that are cost effective and protective.

Taylor has an inside track about the process: She works for the New York City Mayor’s office within the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER), and spoke on Zoom about wanting to become more involved in tackling urban air pollution and carbon reductions, with an emphasis on mitigating lead exposure later found in children. The remedy would start with a “multi-disciplinary approach to tackling this issue,” Taylor said.

Taylor detailed solutions to reconcile the financial risks of a project and the potential rewards that can be realized. It’s a chronic issue when documenting the many projects nationwide that start but are later aborted, but then perhaps jump-started again under new development regimes.

She also talked about the State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and the way the best and most savvy developers have been able to maximize tax credits to use for remediation purposes. Drilling down further this effort was recently spotlighted as a Partnership blog and how BCP has evolved over the years, marked by better accountability and overall efficiency.

Following are snapshots of four other Abbey Duncan scholarship recipients and some insights into where they have been and where they hope to go.

Francesca King

Pursuing a degree in Applied Environmental Geoscience. She is currently employed with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in the Water Resources Group as a Public Health Sanitarian.

Francesca spoke about the legal liability of businesses for their role in contamination and about the drinking water contamination crisis. “Many businesses go to great lengths to avoid the liability, which makes the push forward counter-productive. My primary responsibility is the enforcement of the sanitary code on businesses that utilize private wells as a drinking water source. I also assist with the private well survey program, and find this work to be the most rewarding. If a potential drinking water contaminant is identified, our group goes door-to-door notifying homeowners and collecting water samples.”

Francesca finds that “one of the main challenges with brownfield site redevelopment is legal liability, especially concerning the funding for remediation. This is most evident with the controversies and lawsuits concerning emerging contaminants, such as PFOAs and 1,4-dioxane,” she said.

Michelle Ren

(New York University, pursuing a civil engineering degree)

Michelle decided to major in civil engineering because “it would allow me to have the tools and knowledge to understand impacts of structural and environmental improvements. However, I am interested in eventually becoming an environmental engineer in order to contribute to the efforts in solving pressing concerns around providing access to clean water.”

Her long-term interest lies in designing and enacting cost-efficient and practical solutions to water pollution “while also making clean water accessible to struggling communities. This also means finding ways to protect existing water resources such as groundwater, which can be contaminated if they lie under brownfields. Working as an environmental engineer would give me the opportunity to not only pursue my passions in improving the environment but also contribute to the health and living standards of my community.”

Claire Siegrist

(NYU, pursuing a master of science in Environmental Science)

As an Assistant Project Manager with GBTS, Claire has assisted in managing multiple remedial investigations and remedial actions in New York and New Jersey. “I have overseen the in-situ chemical oxidation of chlorinated volatile organic compounds, petroleum spill delineation through soil borings and laser-induced fluorescence, and the in-situ solidification/stabilization of purifier waste and coal tar contaminants at two parcels within the former Hunts Point Manufactured Gas Plant.”

Through her work at GBTS, Claire continues to expand her managerial skills and portfolio of contaminated sites. “My fascination, however, lies in the science of contaminant fate and transport and the design of cleanup actions,” she says.

Kennly Weerasinghe

(CUNY Queens College Biology, Geological and Environmental Studies)

Kennly’s goals in starting and completing the MA program “is to become well versed in hydrogeological field work, laboratory work and modelling techniques. With the acquired data, I want to be able to write and publish a thesis related to an aspect of environmental remediation with respect to water and soil contamination.”

Upon completing her graduate studies at CUNY Queens College, she plans on either continuing her education in a PhD program or pursuing a career in the private or public sector related to environmental remediation.

“Brownfield sites are impacted by the real or perceived environmental contamination present and the associated challenges with respect to remediation strategies,” she says. “These sites exhibit contamination by compounds such as lead, petroleum spills, PCBs, PAHs and VOCs. The contaminants found at these sites may pose a significant health risk to individuals through prolonged exposure and thus render brownfield sites unsuitable for residential and or commercial use in its present condition. The physical and chemical properties of the contaminants and the degree of contaminant penetration at the sites often complicate remediation efforts.”

Over the next year, we will try and stay in touch with the seven scholarship recipients as they blaze their respective trails in becoming the future spear carriers for this industry in New York City and New York State.

NYC Building Emission Standards One Year Later and the Impact of COVID-19

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:40:25 GMT

By Susan E. Golden and Hilary G. Atzrott, Venable LLP

Local Law 97 of New York City's Climate Mobilization Act requires certain buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2024. The City is moving forward to implement the law, although certain elements have been affected by the COVID-19 shutdown. Venable's prior summary of Local Law 97 is available here.

Read more...

The BCP: A Decade-long Road To Streamlined Efficiency

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 18:27:42 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

New York State brownfield stakeholders received a “report card” about the 17-year-old Brownfield Cleanup Program, a report that shone a light on the program’s tax credit distribution trends—a mechanism that developers are able to apply for and obtain to enable winning projects.

Michael Murphy, on the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation team, presented “Brownfield Cleanup Program by the Numbers” as a program presented jointly by the Environmental and Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and Environmental Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York last December. Many New York City Brownfield Partnership Board members planned and/or attended the event and wanted to share this information with our membership. We appreciate the approval from Mr. Murphy and the Section and Committee of the Bar Association to do just that.

The session provided an inside look at the State’s program, and the verdict delivered by Murphy is that the BCP, established in 2003, is “demonstrating continued strength.” New York State brownfield stakeholders on both the public and private side concur that the BCP has significantly evolved over its lifetime.

David J. Freeman, Director, Environmental Law Department, Gibbons P.C., New York City, remarks that DEC’s attitude toward the BCP program has significantly evolved over time. “DEC’s view has swung from being a big proponent of the program (immediately after its initial enactment), to viewing it as a problem and keeping sites out of it via ‘eligibility criteria,’ to having a more balanced view—being generally supportive of it but conservative as to the amount of tax creditable expenses being authorized by Decision Documents

Julia Martin, Esq., a partner with Bousquet Holstein PLLC, considers BCP a critical piece of the redevelopment tapestry in the Empire State—both across downstate New York City regions as well as upstate. A recent trend: there’s been a growing emphasis on tax credit dollars directed to developers championing Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOAs) and affordable housing projects, both powerful endgames to drive social and economic change.

Martin says the BCP has created critical resources for the brownfield redevelopment community to not just survive but to thrive. Lenders can approve loans more readily when they see that their borrower-customers can gain access to state-sponsored tax credits via ambitious, forward-thinking reimbursement templates for riskier sites. Project developers are able to more confidently throw their hat into the ring in the first place, and develop sites within the urban infill for these projects—all the while knowing they have a higher level of financial insulation.

“With each new classification of site generation [there are three classifications, Generation 1 through 3] the state has made a case to make BCP enhancement, and that’s seen through the narrowing the program focus,” comments Martin.

Martin believes that the tax credit distribution process has evolved to where stakeholders of Gen 3 sites are seeing tax credits flow their way within a restructured BCP where tax credits are commensurate with contamination levels. To wit, footprints with high incidence of contamination, and subsequent remediation work are eligible to receive tax credit allocations that match the remediation work necessary. On the flipside, lower remediation work means fewer tax credit allowances.

Inside The Numbers

During the December presentation, Murphy of DEC provided a snapshot of the BCP program, starting with a broad summary of brownfield redevelopment credits from 2005 through 2018. Drilling down, redevelopment claimed costs and credits showed total costs amassed $12.99 billion over the period while credits distribution amassed $1.98 billion, or 15.25%.

Crunching the numbers of total costs and credits for “on-site preparation” showed costs of $1.45 billion and tax credits $421 million, or 28.87%. “Tangible property component” saw costs reach $11.46 billion and tax credits of $1.54 billion, or 13.47%. “Onsite groundwater remediation” costs came to $71.5 million and credits of $16.5 million, or 23.15%.

Articulated across the nine New York State regions, Murphy said there’s a total average of $5.01 million in redevelopment credits per certificate of completion (COC). Of all regions, Region 4 (the greater Albany area) amassed $15.1 million in redevelopment credits while smaller New York State areas such as Region 6 fetched $147,000 in credits. Region 2 (New York City and the five boroughs) landed second with $7.7 million in credits.

Last December, Murphy with DEC presented data indicating that redevelopment credits per the three generations saw Generation 1 site classifications garner $1.07 billion in credits, or 13.92% of the total pie, while Generation 3 accumulated only $16.37 million of tax credits—a far smaller sum. However, while the total credit sum was smaller for Gen 3 the tax credit money registered at a higher percentage—34.39%. Gen 2 sites were in the middle, receiving $885 million in credits, or 17.06%.

The indication is that Gen 1 had historically over time received a significant amount of tax credit dollars for a fewer number of very large properties, while Gen 3 received fewer tax credit dollars spread out across far more smaller-size properties.

“Years ago, there were brownfield developments that received tens of millions of dollars where the cleanup was very minimal,” says Freeman. “This was because the initial tax credit scheme allowed tax credits as a right for all development expenses for any site that was admitted into the program.”

DEC responded with a set of “eligibility criteria” that attempted to address this issue by artificially keeping sites out of the program, says Freeman. “A series of cases, culminating in the Lighthouse Pointe decision by the Court of Appeals, ultimately struck down these criteria as not authorized by the Brownfield Cleanup Act. But the Legislature took matters into its own hands and, in both 2008 and 2015, amended that Act to limit the generosity of the tax credit scheme.”

Martin of Bousquet Holstein advises brownfield stakeholders to better comprehend the benefits of the tax credits and other economic development incentives available for brownfields. The law firm has represented redevelopment projects in New York State with an estimated construction value exceeding $5 billion, which will generate BCP tax credits well over $750 million.

Drilling down, here are some highlights pulled out of context:

Affordable housing emphasis. In May 2017, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled the landmark $20 billion, five-year plan to combat homelessness and advance construction of affordable housing in New York State, marking the largest investment in the creation and preservation of affordable housing—all underpinned by the quest to end homelessness in New York. In an “Affordable Housing Preservation” line item, $146 million had been earmarked for substantial or moderate rehabilitation of existing affordable multi-family rental housing currently under a regulatory agreement.

The line item has incentivized developers and their partners, and is accelerating at a robust level. Developers can indeed reap the benefits in championing affordable housing developments, witnessed by an accelerated tax credit outlay if they meet certain spelled-out criteria set forth in the revised BCP accord.

In Murphy of DEC’s PowerPoint presentation, a slide entitled “redevelopment credits per generation” listed three generations but also integrated BOAs and affordable housing sites as separate line items. Affordable housing projects saw total tax credits rise to $7.9 million while BOAs accumulated tax credits of $23.2 million over the period.

Martin of Bousquet Holstein says that “BOAs are designated areas where a community organization conducts a study and a redevelopment blueprint is established—a vision for the area,” Martin says. “Some BOAs could establish affordable housing as part of the blueprint. Perhaps the end use mandates a retail component, such as mall or grocery store.”

She says that some BOA guidelines expressly mandate that X percent of the overall project be set aside for affordable housing. Developers must adhere to the BOA blueprint to maximize their tax credit positions.

Cost-containment principles produce accountability. The BCP has evolved to where Gen 3 tax credit distribution is held to more stringent standards. Program accountability has been fortified, and an example is the “necessary cost” aspect—buttoning that down by proving that costs are necessary.

Regional trends. Murphy revealed that per nine New York State regions and taking into account certificates of completion (COCs), the average per COC amounted to $5 million. Across all regions sees varying levels of brownfield work taking shape. In Region 2 (NYC), tax credit outlays over the years has been significant due to the density of the metro footprint. Region 4 (the greater Albany) has also been the beneficiary of tax credit reimbursement over the years due to an aggressive push for smart growth in that area. The same applies to Region 9, which encompasses Buffalo, which has been undergoing a significant amount of brownfield work over the past few years.

Being cognizant of tax credits. A burning question is: Are developers and other stakeholder even aware they’re potentially eligible for credits? Getting the word out is paramount. In Regions such as 5 and 6, which have seen less robust tax credit allotments over the years, it could be a case of scale—fewer projects are undertaken in regions that have less square mile bandwidth. But, it could be a case of developers not being aware of the BCP tax credit program, thus they avoid pursuing projects there.

End use development trends. When taking a snapshot of the type of end uses that have been executed, the trend has seen a preponderance of “restricted residential” projects—amassing 164 in all. Simply put, these are sites where there are terms and conditions underpinning what can be developed. Commercial projects topped 130, unrestricted 56, industrial 21 and “residential” 19.

Lessons learned through experience. Industry participants have learned much over 17 years. Clearly at the outset and reflecting Generation 1 projects, developers walked away with large tax credit sum. The program has evolved where equity and balance have been implemented into the system.

Going forward, there are to date 44.7% of “active” BCP sites having received a certificate of completion. The average time from BCP application to completion is about 4.5 years, according to Murphy’s presentation. COCs that are wrapped up quicker more than likely occurred as stakeholders learned to navigate the process more nimbly.

“The average time between site admission and issuance of a COC has been calculated by DEC as 4.7 years,” says Freeman. “However, that number is likely to be inflated by some of the early sites, which took 10 or more years to obtain their COCs. A more typical time frame, particularly for more recent sites, is 2 to 3 years from admission to COC issuance.”

There were 67 sites in the DEC department pipeline awaiting COCs by the end of 2019, with 37 in the Gen 3 bucket and 27 within Gen 2, which is consistent with a trend that sees Gen 1 sites “sunsetting” over time and Gen 3 rising up and dominating the BCP landscape.

As Martin of Bousquet Holstein concludes: “The Gen 1 sites were pretty progressive [back in 2003] where developers, within the public-private partnership, were driving change within communities. From the start it was a novel approach to create more redevelopment of impoverished sites. Over time, the BCP has been greatly refined to intensify the focus on economically challenging areas.”

NYCBP Big Apple Distinguished Service Award Winner Gil Lopez: More Than An "Urban Garden" Legend -- an Environmental Visionary

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 18:25:04 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

You can’t miss the simple but powerful two-word calling card embossed on Gil Lopez’s email stamp: “In SOIL-idarity.” This speaks volumes about the way Lopez is hard wired toward championing environmental reform within the New York City urban infill.

An evangelist for all things environmental justice, Lopez, co-founder and president of Smiling Hogshead Ranch, was named the 2020 NYC Brownfield Partnership’s “Distinguished Service Award” recipient. “I moved here with determination and rigor to move the needle further on community greening,” declares Lopez. “Back then the community garden idea had really been stagnant.”

That sure has changed. The Big Apple boasts more than 450 community gardens, most a fixture of city living. There was a time they bordered on extinction. In the late 1990s, city officials, seeking revenue, planned to auction off vacant lots—including more than a hundred community gardens—to the highest bidder.

These days, every borough plays host to at least one urban farm—just two of many include GrowNYC (21,000-square-foot urban garden filled with vegetable beds made from recycled materials) and the Battery Urban Farm (one acre in the 25-acre Battery Park dedicated to growing more than 100 types of vegetables).

Nominated by NYCBP board member Laura Senkevitch, who had partnered with Gil while at Long Island City-based The Fortune Society, Lopez’s selection was unanimous—and for a host of reasons. “Gil envisions brownfields as a connector to the greater good,” says Senkevitch. “I’ve worked with him a long time and have understood his vision. He sees the urban/community garden as a future-forward concept—really a larger ‘macro’ vision and not just about brownfield environmental remediation, but about building connections for the future.”

The acclaimed environmental educator and landscape designer was the principal behind what at the time was dubbed a “guerilla urban garden” ensconced on a former railroad bed in Long Island City, and launched almost a decade ago. In that period, Lopez helped transform the green space into a bona fide community centerpiece that’s the fabric of LIC.

States Senkevitch: “Gil explained his vision for brownfield remediation and the role of the garden. He wanted to partner with community people, and over the course of 10 years so much has been accomplished—hosting interns to learn composting, establishing synergistic partnerships, engaging with students, and so much more.”

This complemented The Fortune Society well, as the community-based organization strives to strengthen the fabric of communities through education and advocacy to create a fair, humane and rehabilitative correctional system—and also trains their jobseekers in the skills needed to succeed in environmental careers.

These attributes—and others—are done as a common thread pervades the urban garden: That is, to build civic and neighborhood pride, offering LIC residents something to be proud of and to become invested in.

Multitude of Benefits

Establishing itself as a non-for-profit entity provided leverage for Lopez to generate funding and power up its engines. Today, the green space is armed with a multitude of returns: It serves as an instruction incubator for many New York City K-12 students; a job provider noted for hiring many individuals, including those who have been released from correctional facilities and crave a second chance; a vital destination for folks to compost food and other waste so waste material doesn’t see the light of landfills.

Lopez, who moved to New York City in 2010, mastered permaculture design concepts in landscape architecture school, establishing a keen interest in productive landscapes. In 2011, he along with a group of LIC neighbors established the guerilla garden concept on a set of abandoned railroad tracks—a shuttered line at the Montauk Cutoff and owned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). He negotiated with MTA to secure a garden license agreement for the property around the time his outfit secured non-profit status. Previously, there hadn’t been a framework for leasing the property, but the not-for-profit stamp helped put everything in motion.

The footprint required environmental remediation, as one could imagine on a former railroad property laced with cadmium, arsenic and other trace material. Work commenced to clear, clean, design and utilize the lot. Lopez identified trace materials on the property and established a remediation course that encompassed removal, capping, in-Situ remediation and more techniques to address the pollution—also underpinned by a green and sustainable cleanup mentality. (The efforts have been heralded in a number of forums—recently featured in the Natural Farmer publication.)

All efforts occurred with a wave of historical inspiration driving Lopez, unwavering to recognize the local pioneers of urban and community gardens tracing to the 1970s. “Their names are not recorded in our history but they championed the community garden concept, and I stand on the shoulders of these giants that came before me,” Lopez says.

He singled out Hattie Carthan, who worked tirelessly from her Hattie Carthan Food Projects in Central Brooklyn, an educational herb farm to promote use of herbs for holistic individual, communal and environmental health—all within the principle of fostering food justice.

Another was the First Community Garden in New York City helmed by Liz Christy, a local resident who with a group of gardening activists were known as the “Green Guerillas.” They planted window boxes, vacant lots with seed bombs and tree pits in the area.

The coalition saw the large rubble-strewn lot as a potential garden, and petitioned the city to find a way to gain official use of the land. In 1974, the site was approved for rental as the Bowery Houston Community Farm and Garden. Not long after, the Green Guerillas were running workshops and planting experimental plots to learn how a wide range of plants could be grown in hostile conditions. The garden became a site for many plant giveaways, where plants grown on-site, donated from nurseries and local gardeners, were bestowed to aid new gardens all over the City.

New Normal

Senkevitch of NYCBP recalls how Lopez’s ranch was armed from the outset with a multi-dimension vision that transcended brownfield remediation, because this vision was about the long play: Potential uses of sites and imagining what they could be and establishing the ranch as a model for other community garden ventures. “Gil’s company went from being a volunteer-centric entity to non-profit so it could get access to loans, grants, establish a board of directors,” she says.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way he has gone about business. In regular times, Lopez hosted “Terrific Tuesday” events, sharing pot luck dinners and scheduling spring planting events in April.

His composting effort is a prolific one to be reckoned with, as it deploys seven different composting systems. But with the COVID-19 health crisis hitting hard in March, the dynamic shifted. The NYC Compost Project was geared to provide mega-composting capability for residents and more, handling and dispersing large amounts of material.

But since March, that service was interrupted. Stepping into to try and fill the void was Lopez’ operation, which suddenly became “inundated with composted volume. It’s hard to handle this deluge of demand,” he says.

Historically the non-for-profit designation also provided his outfit with an opportunity to better partner with schools: until the pandemic hit it was known to host field trips of 40 to 50 students from local schools, where they toured the farm to see demonstrations on composting and were introduced to the idea of what makes a successful community garden.

“We are education-focused, and hosted school groups to teach them about food. Now we have had to rethink how to do that in a different way, remotely,” he says.

Lopez remarks that there’s a keen distinction between the concept of “urban agriculture” and “urban/community garden.” With his involvement in championing the latter model, urban gardens are about reclaiming space, but urban agriculture might place an emphasis on pure agriculture and output—a more rigid approach. It capitalizes on using the space but does not pay a living wage and might even export foods, he explains.

As he sums up his journey, which—as Robert Frost so eloquently wrote, has many miles before he sleeps—Lopez states the obvious: “I am part of the working class. Over the years, there has been a slow creep to the community garden paradigm.”

Gil Lopez is seeing to it that the paradigm reaches a higher level, if not the pinnacle.

Congratulations to the NYCBP's 2020 Big Apple Brownfield Award Winners

Mon, 11 May 2020 15:59:21 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 Big Apple Brownfield Awards. Click here to download the pdf file with all the details on the winning projects.

NYCBP Now Accepting Nominations for 2020 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 16:44:22 GMT

The Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABAs) promote excellence in brownfield redevelopment by honoring successful brownfield projects in New York City. To nominate your project for the 2020 BABAs, please click here. The deadline for submitting an application is Friday, February 14, 2020.

TOD Projects Are Driving a Sea Change in NYC and Beyond

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 16:21:39 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

In the fall, the New York City Council passed a $1.7 billion plan to expand protected bike lanes as part of an effort to overhaul the city’s streetscape.

The plan aims to create a comprehensive reimagining of how roads can best serve all New Yorkers navigating them. Spearheaded by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and recently backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, this follows a sharp spike in cyclist deaths this year—25 so far, a two-decade peak, and more than double the 10 recorded in 2018.

Overhauling the city streetscape and fostering a plan to promote bike transportation has a brownfield redevelopment connection, all within transportation-oriented developments, or TODs. Beyond the safety aspects, the legislation seeks to overhaul how New Yorkers bike, bus and walk through the five boroughs by requiring the city to build 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of dedicated bus lanes over a five-year period. It also calls for one million square feet of new pedestrian space within the first two years, along with new signaling technology and accessibility upgrades throughout the city.

Under the bill, the city’s Department of Transportation is required to release a plan every five years to make street safety improvements and to prioritize public transit. The city must also hit annual targets, conduct public education on the effort and issue a report on any changes to the plan each February. The first master plan is due December 2021, with the second slated for 2026. The latter is set to complete the city’s bike lane network—something transportation advocates have long demanded.

Using a broad lens, a TOD-oriented blueprint within the urban infill is continuing to gather momentum each year across many major metro areas as a growing number of people, from millennials to boomers, transition to city living—boomers after downsizing homes and millennials often to be closer to work. It’s all part of the “live-work-play” dynamic.

TODs have much upside: They are an environmental boon as it reduces the carbon footprint as fewer people are inclined to drive because it means easier navigation within the grid across bike, light rail, electric scooter and walking. People drive less when TODs are executed to the letter and it also sparks the local economy. As people get to places quicker, which include local businesses, they can spend additional disposable income and spark the local economy.

A growing number of developers, many brownfield professionals, are initiating mixed-used projects that start with perhaps an anchor multi-unit living complex that’s built minus enclosed or open-air parking. That’s the point: Build out the project to attract folks who are expressly seeking NOT to drive because they developed a propensity for alt-transportation.

New York City lawmakers that support this ambitious plan emphasize that the effort is not a push toward eliminating cars from the city, but instead is a shift away from car-centric design with safety improvements geared toward improving quality of life and safety on city streets for all.

Far from everyone is on board with the legislation, and several city lawmakers complained in late October about how the bill lacks community engagement for the changes that are coming to New Yorkers’ neighborhoods.

The de Blasio administration has completed 100 miles of protected bike lane since 2014, and in August the mayor unveiled a $58.4 million “Green Wave” plan that seeks to build safe cycling infrastructure and promote biking. The master streets plan takes the effort further with a more aggressive push toward making streets friendly to pedestrians and public transit.

This is all a testament to TOD-oriented projects, which seem to fly under the radar from a brownfield redevelopment standpoint. But they are powerful catalyst for habit-changing and to stimulate economic, environmental and social change.

This month, we’ll take a closer look at the same brand of under-the-radar brownfields—the power of urban garden programs and the bandwidth it might have for greater expansion in New York City and beyond. Stay tuned.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership announces the 2020 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 18:17:39 GMT

The Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program is an annual program designed to provide financial support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing careers in the brownfield industry in New York City.

The Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Program is administered by the NYC Brownfield Partnership, an association of member organizations involved in the brownfield industry in New York City.

2020 Scholarships will be one-time awards of up to $5,000. Funds will be disbursed directly to the college at which the student is enrolled in coordination with the school’s financial aid office.

Eligibility:

Scholarship recipients will be selected on a competitive basis. In order to be eligible for the award, students must be:

An undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at one of the colleges affiliated with CUNY and other select colleges in the New York City Metro area;
Enrolled in at least one course during the 2020 academic year; and
Pursuing studies related to brownfield redevelopment, such as environmental engineering, environmental or geosciences, geology or hydrogeology, environmental policy, environmental planning, environmental justice, environmental law, real estate, sustainable development or industrial hygiene.

To Apply:

All application materials are found online at:

https://nycbrownfieldpartnership.org/abbey-duncan-scholarship-program

All applications must be received by March 25, 2020

Please contact scholarships@nycbrownfieldpartnership.org with any questions.

A Taxing Matter: USEPA Seeks IRS Help to Push Investors to Brownfields… How NYC and the Empire State Can Benefit

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 18:15:39 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

State, local and federal laws and regulations can make or break some of New York City and New York State’s incentives to invest—or not—in remediating and redeveloping brownfield properties. There are several outcomes across the broad spectrum, from tax burdens that push private investors away to tax relief measures that incentivize them.

There are a lot of moving parts. In early September, development rights and construction funding were awarded for four new housing projects that will collectively create more than 2,700 affordable-supportive residential units. Herkimer Gardens, located on Herkimer Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is one of the projects to tap funding and approvals from the NYS $1.4 billion “Vital Brooklyn” housing initiative.

A year earlier, all hands were on deck to keep tax credit payments flowing to stakeholders under the Brownfield Cleanup Program, and you will remember that the NYC Brownfield Partnership strongly recommended that deferral of BCP tax credit payments (as proposed in the New York state executive budget) not be incorporated into the 2018-19 budget. It wasn’t.

New York Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOAs) are proliferating, now 47 BOAs located across the Empire State. BOA establishment provides municipalities and community-based organizations with assistance, up to 90% of the eligible project costs, to complete revitalization plans and implementation strategies for areas or communities affected by the presence of brownfield sites, and site assessments for strategic brownfield sites.

There is another movement that’s worth watching. USEPA is eager for investors to take advantage of the Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax benefit program focused on distressed communities to assist with cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield properties. But to have it work requires assistance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to clarify whether typical brownfield site activities, including site assessment and cleanup, are considered valid site preparation costs.

Opportunity Zones, as established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, are economically distressed communities identified by state governors as having potential for investment. Through the IRS program, investors may defer capital gains tax by adding their gains to special funds dedicated to OZ revitalization. The OZ program is intelligent and innovative, but like many tax programs it’s also complicated.

An initial tranche of IRS guidelines for the program, issued in October of 2018, made USEPA uncertain whether typical brownfield site activities, including site assessment and cleanup, are considered valid site preparation costs..

The second tranche of guidelines, released in April, appeared to clarify that those are valid in certain cases. But the IRS does not mention brownfields explicitly, and therein lies the rub.

Is the IRS usually viewed as an agency dedicated to effecting much change to help ramp up activity in the brownfield redevelopment context? Probably not. The NYC Brownfield Partnership should continue to monitor the IRS clarification on brownfields and site preparation costs for OZs and determine if it is assisting NYC and NYS to realize accelerated remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites in the Zones. When the time is right, the Partnership’s comments might assist in better federal decision-making to accelerate brownfield revitalization.

Attend A Partnership Event, Land A Job…In Three Weeks

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 23:20:29 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

In the brownfield redevelopment industry, everyone’s eternally seeking the secret sauce to success. For one young practitioner, the first big secret came thanks to a simple Google search: Attend a New York City Brownfield Partnership meeting and land a new environmental position—in a matter of weeks.

Indeed, Rob Dwyer (no relation to this blog’s author) accepted a position last January with Impact Environmental, Bohemia, N.Y., when he attended a holiday networking event and scholarship fundraiser held in December 2018 to simply meet and greet, do a little networking with members.

Dwyer, 30, a native of Sydney, Australia who had recently relocated to New York, didn’t know many environmental professionals in the area. So he started the process with a web search and punched in terms like “environmental remediation companies” and “brownfields.” The Partnership name prominently appeared on the search. Dwyer made a call, found out attending an event was his for a nominal fee—and set out to the event with eyes wide open.

It turned out to be a home run, the kind Yankees slugger Aaron Judge deposits in the right field stands.

“My girlfriend (who works in the hazmat sector of environmental remediation) and I went to the event, met professionals from companies like GEI, Langan and Impact Environmental,” says Dwyer, who, before relocating to the States had worked eight years in Sydney, immersed in remediation projects within the urban infill in the Land Down Under. He also spent time working in the United Kingdom.

“At the December event, I set up an interview with Impact for the first week of January and soon after accepted an environmental and engineering-related position within the same month. I honestly thought this would take three or four months to land a job—certainly not three weeks,” he says.

The Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) and the Society of Women Envrionmental Professionals (SWEP) Metro Net group joined the Partnership in putting on the December 2018 event. Now a member of both the Partnership and BCONE, Dwyer is currently involved with several environmental projects that include affordable housing projects in the Bronx, a school authority project in the Bronx and a landfill initiative in New Jersey that’s being converted into a solar farm. “As an environmental engineer who’s tasked with remedial design and remediation oversight, you have to be flexible to assume a lot of duties, to juggle many balls at once,” says Dwyer.

He has no regrets about his full plate at Impact, all spawned thanks to a Partnership/SWEP/BCONE holiday event. He encourages more young professionals to take a similar approach because it’s often a win-win.

Separately, it was fascinating to hear Rob Dwyer compare and contrast the differences between the brownfield redevelopment process in Australia versus in the U.S. He sees U.S. brownfield’s process as one that functions better than what he experienced abroad.

“In Australia—and from a technical side—there are many similarities (to the States) when it comes to performing investigations and remedial designs. Both models offer the same textbooks, but when it comes to the implementation of projects here in the States you, as a private company, work closely with the city or municipality across all project functions—and this engagement is apparent right to the end of the project cycle,” he says.

He says that in Sydney, “it’s different in that they (public sector) will almost hang up the phone on you until you provide project details that are updated for review. In the U.S., I’ve noticed the close relationship between the public and private sectors. In Australia, it’s more like a silo between the two, with no dialogue between the two entities throughout the whole process. Here, just to be able to call someone in New York City is crucial. They take your call, offer advice and help you all the way down the line,” he says.

The strategies underpinning end use in Australia and in the States is also very different, he says.

“In Australia, there are many restrictions (about what a certain site end use can become)—a line in the sand is drawn. And the more invasive the environmental activity is, the more challenging the task.”

He says that there are so many environmental remediation methods being adopted with his work at Impact, ones that are “non-invasive” to soil and groundwater that it opens up a treasure trove of end use possibilities, provides many more options for stakeholders to consider.

“I have taken notice to how many private firms and public partners have an affinity for understanding the intricacies of specialized brownfields—it’s almost like everyone is up to speed (on mastering it).”

Dwyer says that, globally, only a handful of contractors had an affinity for specialized brownfield projects, beginning at the outset with Phase 1-3 investigations. “Today, many firms I’m aware of even advertise brownfields as a specialization on their website. These firms have gone from, ‘no, we don’t do that type of work’ to ‘yes, we embrace this kind of work.’”

So what was learned? Well, the structure of U.S. brownfields has a clear edge against those in many other countries. And, that when it comes to networking to be able to work in this industry, the New York City Brownfield Partnership is a clear broker—match-maker, if you will.

Opportunities Are Knocking. Does NYC Benefit from Improvements in the Suburbs?

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 19:58:52 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Fueled by state-sponsored Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) designations or other funding models, communities around New York City are discovering ways to garner crucial capital to enhance their civic positions as smaller “destination” spots to complement a large-size metropolis, demonstrating the ability to function in synergy with NYC’s myriad of attractions for residents and visitors.

One topic broached this summer as part of the NYCBP’s “Redevelopment Roundtable” during its committees and subcommittees deliberations was the city of Kingston seeking a grant package from the state’s Consolidated Funding Application Program. There’s no doubt that ambitious redevelopments occurring in proximity to NYC are poised to benefit NYC, albeit in an indirect fashion.

Reported on in late June, the city of Kingston, located in Ulster County about 90 miles north of New York City, had been very active in seeking state grants to help fund seven different projects, including the construction of a portion of the Kingston Point Rail Trail and improvements to Academy Green. Seeking them to the tune of more than $6 million, it’s been reported.

One grant that had been sought was to spearhead the development of a Brownfield Opportunity Area nomination for a section of its “Midtown”; another to fund a housing needs assessment and an inventory and analysis of existing conditions of residential properties within the Rondout Waterfront BOA.

There’s that catalyst term again—BOA. It’s proving to be a vital catalyst to ignite rebirth for a host of communities in the greater NYC metropolitan area that include Flushing, Queens (the city secured a BOA designation in 2018—making it one of 47 BOA awardees across the state), Kingston, and Glen Cove.

BOA establishment provides municipalities and community-based organizations with assistance, up to 90% of the eligible project costs, to complete revitalization plans and implementation strategies for areas or communities affected by the presence of brownfield sites, and site assessments for strategic brownfield sites.

The redevelopment scale occurring in and around New York City is a win-win for all. People visiting can opt to spend X-amount of their trip touring Manhattan, but are also free to escape to communities such as Kingston for side trips—now lured to areas that have used grant funds and BOA designations to construct amenities in their towns.

There continually seems to be an evolution bubbling up around BOA’s and Opportunity Zones, which is equally good news. In mid-September, Smart Growth America and the Rockefeller Foundation launched a new Opportunity Zones National Academy to help five cities harness this new tax incentive as a force for equitable growth that’s mutually beneficial for both investors and most importantly the people who live and do business in them.

Since 2017, Smart Growth America has been asking one question about the new Opportunity Zones tax incentive program created by Congress that’s causing trillions of dollars in new private investment to flow into 8,700-plus census tracts in communities around the country.

Something tells me that somewhere down the road, within the evolution of the Opportunity Zones National Academy, that entire greater New York City metropolitan area gets in on some of this action as well.

N.Y. DEC Launches Tool To Help Streamline Efficiencies For Professionals, Brownfields Included

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 19:35:21 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

How important are technologies and tools to drive the decision-making process within the brownfield redevelopment realm?

This topic is being broached because it was reassuring to see a new online tool recently created by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), to act as a service for both public and professionals who need to navigate their way around the Empire State when it comes to their business or non-business endeavors.

It doesn’t appear to be any charge either for the DEC-sponsored DECinfo Locator, an interactive map that provides access to DEC documents and public data about New York’s environment and outdoor recreation resources. And while one of the intentions for DECinfo Locator is to enable the public to generate maps for a host of purposes, brownfield developers can also perceive the resource as a vehicle for making informed decisions around redevelopment plans.

This first-of-its-kind DEC mapping application generates results specific to locations across the state, including water and air permits, enforcement actions, recreational assets, environmental education facilities and sites in the New York state’s Superfund and Brownfield Cleanup programs.

“DEC created this platform to make information about New York’s environment accessible to everyone,” said Commissioner Basil Seggos. “From viewing permits to searching for state land regulations, DEC’s new tool provides transparency to our work and helps New Yorkers better understand the full breadth of DEC’s work protecting the environment and our communities.”

With more than 50 interactive data layers, DECinfo Locator lets users see and download permits, former industrial site cleanup plans, water quality reports, and more based on where they live, work, or play. Selecting a map feature can bring up links to database records for petroleum bulk storage facilities, oil wells, or permitted mines. Users can also view potential environmental justice areas and Climate Smart Communities or find out what local wastewater facilities are doing to reduce their impact on New York's waterbodies. Several information layers can be active at the same time, allowing users to see the many ways DEC is working to protect and enhance the state's environment and recreational opportunities.

The map’s “Near Me” feature allows users to narrow data results by creating an interactive list of data points within an area of up to 10 miles from a selected point. Additional features and data will be added to the DECinfo Locator in the future.

Overall, it behooves New York City practitioners and beyond to give a resource like DECinfo Locator a test drive to determine what kind of power it might provide in allowing you to navigate your project from point A to point B, from C to D. Because the gut intuition and other traditional consensus-building efforts, while sound, don’t always cut it alone. You have to be grateful for the new technologies like DECinfo Locator that present themselves when they do.

Scholarship Summer Social

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:57:54 GMT

The evening of July 24, 2019 was lovely in New York City: blue sky, a light breeze and no humidity. The kind of evening that makes you want to raise a glass, chat up some old friends and meet new colleagues in a laid-back atmosphere. That is exactly what the attendees of the scholarship fundraiser and networking event for BCONE (the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast), NYCBP (the New York City Brownfield Partnership) and SWEP (the Society of Women Environmental Professionals) experienced at the Turnmill Bar on East 27th St. in NYC, and while enjoying themselves, they raised over $3,600 in scholarship funds to be divided equally among SWEP, NYCBP and BCONE. You can go to the NYCBP, BCONE and SWEP websites anytime and donate to the scholarship funds.

Sponsored by 12 companies involved in all aspects of site revitalization, almost 100 registrants from CT, NJ, NY and PA enjoyed a private space, adult beverages, and some pub grub at the Turnmill. A mix of attorneys, consultants, laboratory professionals, personnel experts, government employees, students, non-profit professionals, building managers and soil treatment and disposal facilities shared stories, some laughs and business cards. If you missed it, try to join us in early December when we get together again to raise scholarship funds. Look for the Save the Date in the eblasts from NYCBP, BCONE and SWEP.

Event Photos

More New York City Projects Worth Crowing About: Honored with Big Apple Brownfield Awards by The New York City Brownfield Partnership

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 14:56:58 GMT

By: Stephen Merrill Smith, J.D.

In late June, the Partnership’s eblast focused on six projects in New York City that are receiving attention for their size and architectural design.

Here is our summary of the six 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award (BABA) winning projects, located in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Each project is worthy of attention and praise because of their positive social and environmental impacts in their communities as well as their economic development impact.

Presenting the awards at the Eleventh Annual BABAs were: Mari Cate Conlon of Haley & Aldrich, Inc., Michele Rogers of Blue World Construction, and Victoria Whelan of Preferred Environmental.

The 2019 SUPPORTIVE/AFFORDABLE HOUSING AWARD was presented to the project, Reaching New Heights Residence and the Apartments at Landing Road in the Bronx. By co-developing a shelter and housing facility in one effort, Bowery Residents’ Committee achieved two goals at once. They use the surplus revenue paid by the city to operate the shelter part of the building and reinvest it by subsidizing the rents of the housing units above. This once vacant lot, which was remediated through OER’s E-Designation program, is now a lovely building that all residents are proud to call home. The development team, which is made up of Bowery Residents’ Committee, Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects, GZA Geo-Environmental, and Leonard J. Strandberg and Associates, created a game-changing building that combines permanent affordable housing and a shelter for the homeless all in one project.

The 2019 BROWNFIELD OPPORTUNITY AREA (BOA) CONNECTIVITY AWARD was presented to Pitkin-Berriman’s development located in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, a 35-year-old community-based organization, transformed this formerly vacant lot into a seven-story, mixed-use building with 60 affordable housing units, a senior day center, ground floor community space, and open space comprised of a playground, gardens, and walkways. The project team, which also included Heitler Houstoun Architects, worked with the Department of City Planning to rezone the site and also worked with OER to remediate the site through their Voluntary Cleanup Program.

The 2019 COMMUNITY OUTREACH AWARD was presented to Melrose Commons Supportive Housing – also in the Bronx. This previously abandoned property was developed into a nine-story permanent supportive housing building by The Bridge, one of NYC’s most experienced and comprehensive human services organizations. The new building’s 58 fully-furnished studio apartments house formerly homeless adults with special needs including veterans. The project team, consisting of The Bridge, Magnusson Architecture and Planning, the J. Pilla Group, A. Larovere Consulting, Sherman Law, AKRF, and Bright Power, successfully navigated OER’s E-Designation program to implement green development. This emphasis on green development earned the team an Enterprise Green Communities grant as well as Reso A funding from the Bronx Borough President.

The 2019 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARD was presented to Oak Point Property – also in the Bronx. Construction of the site created more than 300 short-term jobs and more than 200 permanent jobs at the Jetro/Restaurant Depot facility and the McInnis USA 24/7 operational cement terminal. Prior to opening the commercial properties, the first round of employment opportunities were extended to the local community including many veterans who now hold living-wage jobs at the cement terminal. The shoreline greenway encompasses a portion of the Magic Mile, which is a proposed one-mile waterfront walkway with space for exercise, quiet reflection, fishing, games, historic exploration, and water activities. NYSDEC oversaw remediation of this once defunct and now thriving property. The team responsible for transforming this once illegal dumping ground includes Oak Point Property LLC, Pantheon Properties, Land Use Ecological Services, Phillip Habib & Associates, Jetro/Restaurant Depot, McInnis USA, AAL Construction Services LLC, and TRC Environmental Corporation.

The 2019 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AWARD was presented to Former Liberty Brass, aka the Sunnyside, located in Long Island City. Extraordinary measures were taken to remediate this vacant, former brass fitting manufacturing plant. This transformation in included the construction of a 12-story commercial building, which houses a Regal Theaters multiplex cinema, as well as 100,000 square feet of leasable office space. Plans are to lease the space to medical and non-profit tenants. The success of this project may be attributed to great communication among the project team and with NYSDEC to achieve the remedial requirements necessary to improve the environment of the site to a conditional Track 1 cleanup designation. The project team was made up of Curbcut Queens Boulevard, PW Grosser, Knauf Shaw LLP, and Sordoni Construction.

The 2019 GREEN BUILDING AWARD was presented to 3365 Third Avenue located in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. Developed by Bronx Pro Group, this will be the Bronx’s first certified Passive House project. The new eight-story, mixed-use building, which includes 30 affordable rental units and an early childhood education center, will have an energy reduction savings up to 90% when compared to conventionally-built structures. The design and construction of the building, by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects and C&S Construction, respectively, minimized environmental impacts and embraced green alternatives, which led the building to achieve a LEED Platinum rating. In addition, AKRF oversaw remediation of the site through OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. In large part to the Bronx Pro Group’s commitment to transitioning the Morrisania section of the Bronx from industrial use into a mixed-use community, a once vacant lot is now a beautiful new building that will serve the neighborhood for years to come.

If you missed the 2019 BABAs, you also missed the Partnership‘s presentation of the Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Daniel C. Walsh. Dr. Walsh played an active role in implementing the NYS 2003 Brownfield Law and launching the state Brownfield Cleanup Program. In 2008, he was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg as founding Director of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation. Recently retired from city work, Dr. Walsh is now working with students at Columbia University and establishing his own consulting firm to provide advisory services on land remediation and materials management.

Patrick Foster, Regional Attorney, NYSDEC, Region 2 provided the annual NYSDEC Update and Mark McIntyre, the current Director and General Counsel of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation followed with the NYCOER update.

The Partnership then “paid it forward” by awarding $10,000 to seven undergraduate and graduate students pursuing environmental degrees.

Six NYC Mega-Projects Worth Crowing About

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 14:54:19 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

We’re always in a New York state of mind, and with summer arriving and locals and tourists arriving to walk the busy, bustling streets of NYC’s five boroughs, we thought it was an opportune time to spotlight six redevelopment efforts that caught our attention for their various characteristics along the lines of redevelopment best-practices.

This narrative pushes the envelope on the idea of destination-oriented place-making—if you build it they will come. The spotlight on these mega-projects puts an emphasis on the architectural innovations piece to redevelopment as well as real estate, both mission-critical but often components we don’t chronicle enough in these pages.

The time has come to give some props to these new development with an architectural twist. Entire stretches of land are giving rise to new and re-created neighborhoods, as seen with Hudson Yards and Hunters Point South. These megaprojects will not only bring many thousands of apartments—priced at and below market rate—to the city, but also bring along new cultural attractions and retail.

Following is a small sample-size of several examples we’ve curated:

Essex Crossing, 145 Clinton St., New York

The Seward Park Urban Renewal Area’s Moses-era legacy of failure is finally a thing of the past, as Essex Crossing continues its steady stream of progress. The 1.65 million-square-foot project includes 1,000 apartments in buildings designed by SHoP, Handel, Beyer Blinder Belle and Dattner. Residents began moving in to the megaproject in 2018 and 2019 will be a big year: Openings this year is a Regal movie theater, new and improved Essex Street Market, an enormous food bazaar called the Market Line, bowling alley, and outpost of the International Center of Photography.

www.essexcrossingnyc.com

Hudson Yards, New York

This 28-acre mega-development is the product of a 2005 rezoning that paved the way for Special Hudson Yards District. Now, 14 years later, the megaproject’s first phase—with towers designed by the likes of Kohn Pedersen Fox, SOM, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro with David Rockwell—is about to make its public debut. This first phase, part of which opened March 15, includes a condo tower, office buildings, NYC’s highest observation deck (due to open later), a high-end mall and a multi-disciplinary arts venue. The centerpiece is Thomas Heatherwick’s beehive-shaped “public landmark,” a 150-foot series of interconnected staircases.

https://www.hudsonyardsnewyork.com/about

Cornell Tech, 2 W Loop Rd., New York

Truth be told, I have a soft spot for Cornell Tech, having established a nice working relationship with Cornell Dining Services. In 2017, Ivy League university Cornell opened the first phase of its glassy, sustainable, public-space-prioritizing tech campus to a southern portion of Roosevelt Island. The first three buildings that opened include the world’s largest passive house residence, designed by Handel Architects, and the Bloomberg Center, designed by Morphosis. The multi-use development will eventually cover 2 million square feet and include academic and residential buildings, hotel designed by Snøhetta, and “tech walk,” or central campus.

https://tech.cornell.edu

Bronx Point, 145th St Bridge, New York

Bronx Point, the residential and retail project by L+M Development Partners and Type A Projects, is poised to break ground later this year. The large affordable housing development along the Harlem River in the Lower Concourse will bring 1,045 new units of permanent affordable housing, new waterfront esplanade and park connecting to Mill Pond Park, public plaza and multiplex movie theater to the site. The project is being built out in two phases, the first of which is expected to be complete by 2022.

Domino Sugar Refinery, 325 Kent Ave, Brooklyn

The Domino Sugar Refinery was once lauded as the face of megaprojects in New York City—and when it comes to Brooklyn it might still hold title to that distinction. SHoP replaced Rafael Viñoly as project architect in March 2013. Their plan for the site will bring five towers with 2,800 apartments—700 of which will be priced below market rate—and 631,000 square feet of office space to the South Williamsburg waterfront. James Corner Field Operations designed the expansive waterfront park, which opened in 2018, that includes an “artifact walk,” playground, bocce court and more perks. Its first rental building, 325 Kent Ave., welcomed residents in 2017.

https://riverparkbrooklyn.com

Flushing Commons, 138-35 39th Ave, Queens

After a decade of delays, a giant municipal parking lot at the corner of 39th Avenue and 138th Street is finally giving rise to Flushing Commons. The 1.8 million-square-foot megaproject will bring 600 apartments, YMCA, 1,000-space underground parking garage, 1.5 acres of open space, and 350,000-square-feet of commercial space to the area. The buildings were designed by Perkins Eastman, Thomas Balsley Associates is the landscape architect, and Shim Projects is the interior designer. The entire project is slated to wrap up by 2020.

http://flushingcommons.com

Perhaps several of these gold-standard mega-projects are ones that can wring inspiration for your next mega-project initiative!

Brownfield Developer Mantra: Patience is a Virtue

Mon, 20 May 2019 14:53:07 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

The late great Tom Petty said it best in a song, “the waiting is the hardest part,” and welcome to the world of the brownfield practitioner.

You have a project where due diligence has been duly performed, and you have put all the ducks in proper order in a prudent, environmentally protective, and ethical way. You have performed necessary compliance with local officials, perhaps the checklist also folds in state requirements as well. But still waiting for approval to push the needle further on your vision remains a work in progress.

In Penn Yan, N.Y, a local developer is eager start some ground-breaking on a residential project at the former Penn Yan Marine Manufacturing property.

Keuka Moorings developer Chris Iversen is seeking to lock down approvals involving a Condominium Offering Plan from the New York Attorney General’s office that’s critical for the project to get off the ground.

In Penn Yan, Iversen said that the Condominium Offering Plan is detailed and thorough enough to appease decision-makers. It includes information about intended construction, shared property elements, cost to purchase a unit, annual operations and maintenance costs, the rules of governance, sponsor obligations and the purchase process.

Iversen said the Keuka Moorings Plan discloses the brownfield history of the property, and the restrictions and obligations for future use of the property. Other information includes the developer’s experience, quotes from insurance providers, and more. All of the information must be made available to potential buyers.

“It is the AG’s responsibility, not to pass judgment on the worth of the unit, but to gauge if the Offering Plan fully discloses all the information necessary for a buyer to make an informed decision and the attendant risks,” he explained in an email to the AG’s office.

He also wrote: “We suspect there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of our project, wherein we are offering three different models for sale, models of different sizes, interior layouts and prices, which buyers may select to locate on any of our 42 lots. We don’t know how to answer (the) demand to know the total cost of the project since we don’t know the makeup of the units that will be bought, and we don’t know how to respond to (the) demand to know the month, day and year when the project construction will be completed since we don’t know how quickly the market will absorb the units.”

No doubt, the local and state officials have their own vetting to do, with viable concerns about any major initiative. And at press time, obtaining the state of New York’s input about the Keuka Moorings Plan wasn’t available.

Iversen had reached out to Penn Yan Village and Yates County officials this spring to garner support that came in the form of letters to the AG’s office around the project, which has been stalled for over a year while Keuka Outlet Development seeks approval.

No doubt that a protracted timeline of the Penn Yan redevelopment is a similar narrative that a good number of New York developers can empathize with. The key is to add to the vision of the project, some additional levels of perseverance and resilience. We will provide updates on the Keuka Moorings project as they materialize during the summer. Stay tuned.

2019 Big Apple Brownfield Awards Recap

Mon, 20 May 2019 14:43:43 GMT

We are pleased to present the following winners of the 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Awards.

Supportive/Affordable Housing: Reaching New Heights Residence and the Apartments at Landing Road, Bronx, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Supportive/Affordable Housing is presented to Reaching New Heights Residence and the Apartments at Landing Road located in the Bronx. The development team, comprised of Bowery Residents’ Committee, Edelman Sultan Knox Wood Architects, GZA Geo-Environmental, and Leonard J. Strandberg and Associates, created a game-changing building that combines permanent affordable housing and a shelter for the homeless in one project. By co-developing a shelter and housing facility in one effort, Bowery Residents’ Committee has created a new paradigm in shelter creation, while also addressing the affordable housing issue. The group is using the surplus revenue paid by the city to operate the shelter part of the building and reinvest it by subsidizing the rents of the housing portion’s units above, effectively tackling two problems at once. This once vacant lot, which was remediated through OER’s E-Designation program, is now a lovely building that all residents are proud to call home.

BOA Connectivity: Pitkin-Berriman, Brooklyn, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Brownfield Opportunity Area Connectivity is presented to the Pitkin-Berriman development located in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Developed by Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, a 35-year-old community-based organization, this formerly vacant lot was transformed into a seven-story, mixed-use building with 60 affordable housing units, a senior day center, ground floor community space, and open space comprised of a playground, gardens, and walkways. The building is located within the East New York BOA, and as part of community engagement, CHLDC identified local residents’ priorities and concerns through a satisfaction survey completed by 623 local residents at numerous events. The survey responses, which endorsed the construction of affordable housing units and community centers, provided the basis for two community visioning events, dubbed the Verde Summit, and ten community meetings. The project team, which also included Heitler Houstoun Architects, worked with the Dept. of City Planning to rezone the site and with OER to remediate the site through their Voluntary Cleanup Program.

Community Outreach: Melrose Commons Supportive Housing, Bronx, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Community Outreach is presented to Melrose Commons Supportive Housing located in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. This previously abandoned property was developed into a nine-story permanent supportive housing building by The Bridge, one of NYC’s most experienced and comprehensive human services organizations. The new building’s 58 fully-furnished studio apartments house formerly homeless adults with special needs including veterans. A large multi-purpose room is used for socialization, cooking, and nutrition classes, and raised planter boxes in the rear yard are used for a horticultural training program. We reach out to fill job positions to qualified community residents and post open positions with Community Board 3 and local community organizations. Throughout planning and construction, the project team, consisting of The Bridge, Magnusson Architecture and Planning, The J. Pilla Group, A. Larovere Consulting, Sherman Law, AKRF, and Bright Power, successfully navigated OER’s E-Designation program and embraced green development, which resulted in the receipt of an Enterprise Green Communities grant and Reso A funding from the Bronx Borough President.

Economic Development: Oak Point Property, Bronx, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Economic Development is presented to Oak Point Property located in the Bronx. The team responsible for transforming this once illegal dumping ground into a state-of-the-are commercial property with a 2.5-acre waterfront nature preserve and greenway, includes Steve Smith of Oak Point Property LLC, Ken Cohen of Pantheon Properties, Land Use Ecological Services, Phillip Habib & Associates, Stanley Fleishman with Jetro/Restaurant Depot, McInnis USA, Ana Lavdas of AAL Construction Services LLC, and TRC Environmental Corporation. Construction of the site bolstered the local economy by creating upwards of 300 short-term jobs. This economic development is sustained by the creation of over 200 permanent jobs at the Jetro/Restaurant Depot facility and the McInnis USA 24/7 operational cement terminal. Prior to opening the commercial properties, the first round of employment opportunities were extended to the local community including many veterans who now hold living-wage jobs at the cement terminal. In addition, truck traffic in the community is decreasing as the cement terminal delivers 90% of its product via ships. The shoreline greenway encompasses a portion of the Magic Mile, which is a proposed one-mile waterfront walkway with space for exercise, quiet reflection, fishing, games, historic exploration, and water activities. NYSDEC oversaw remediation of this once defunct and now thriving property.

Environmental Protection: Former Liberty Brass (The Sunnyside), Long Island City, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Environmental Protection is presented to Former Liberty Brass, aka the Sunnyside, located in Long Island City. Extraordinary measures were taken to remediate this former brass fitting manufacturing plant in Sunnyside to achieve a conditional Track 1 cleanup within the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program. The cleanup resulted in the removal and proper disposal of approximately 30,000 tons of material. Challenges included the excavation of several deep hot spots of TCE-contaminated soil to the limits of technical practicability and the installation of an upgradient reactive barrier and source area in-situ chemical oxidation injections during the latter stages of the project. The success of this project may be attributed to great communication among the project team and with NYSDEC to ensure that the remedial requirements were achieved to ensure a conditional Track 1 cleanup. Through carful coordination, the project team comprising Curbcut Queens Boulevard, PW Grosser, Knauf Shaw LLP, and Sordoni Construction, transformed a vacant manufacturing building into a 12-story commercial building, which houses a Regal Theaters multiplex cinema, as well as, 100,000 square feet of office space that will be leased to medical and non-profit tenants.

Green Building: 3365 Third Avenue, Bronx, NY

The 2019 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Green Building is presented to 3365 Third Avenue located in the Morrisania section of the Bronx. Developed by Bronx Pro Group, this will be the Bronx’s first certified Passive House project. The new eight-story, mixed-use building, which includes 30 affordable rental units and an early childhood education center, will have an energy reduction savings up to 90% when compared to conventionally-built structures. The design and construction of the building, by Curtis + Ginsberg Architects and C&S Construction, respectively, minimized environmental impacts and embraced green alternatives, which led the building to achieve a LEED Platinum rating. In addition, AKRF oversaw remediation of the site through OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. In large part to the Bronx Pro Group’s commitment to transitioning the Morrisania section of the Bronx from industrial use into a mixed-use community, a once vacant lot is now a beautiful new building that will serve the neighborhood for years to come.

Distinguished Award Winner – Dan Walsh

Dan grew up in Rockland County, N.Y. He graduated with a geology degree from Binghamton University and after a short time playing minor league baseball, Dan started his career at Columbia University’s Lamond Doherty Observatory. He then took a position as staff scientist at LMS Engineering collecting aquatic and benthic samples on the Hudson River and New York Harbor for environmental impact studies.

Dan met his wife Jeanne while working on the Hudson River and they were married in Nyack, NY. They have a son, Zachary Hudson Walsh. After graduating from UMass with a M.S. in hydrogeology and geophysics, he took at job with DEC working at the World Trade Center as a geologist. He was responsible for cleanup of hazardous and solid waste sites and petroleum spills in NYC and he led the cleanup of the Fresh Kills Landfill for DEC. Dan estimates that he has been involved in approximately 10,000 land cleanup projects in NYC in his career.

He obtained a Ph.D. from RPI in geochemistry where he studied the history and chemistry of landfills in NYC and took an adjunct appointment to the faculty at Columbia (Lamont). While serving as director of the NYC Solid Waste Division for DEC, on September 11, 2001, he was appointed Chief of Operations for NY State’s environmental response to the World Trade Center disaster. He served on that project for its entire 11-month duration. He resumed work for DEC as director of the NYC Superfund and Brownfield Program and played an active role in implementing the NYS 2003 Brownfield Law and launching the state Brownfield Cleanup Program.

In 2008, Dan was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg as founding director of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation. After working to establish the NYC Brownfield Law in 2009 and a landmark agreement with DEC on state authority delegation to NYC, his office founded the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program in 2010. This program is the only city-run land cleanup program in the U.S. and during his tenure the VCP became the second most productive brownfield cleanup program in the U.S., behind only California state in number of projects completed. In 10 years at OER, he founded several novel urban programs, including the NYC Clean Soil Bank, the NYC Green Property Certification, the NYC Brownfield Partnership, SPEED and EPIC. Dan is indebted to the many superb staff members who he has served with at OER and DEC, including his colleague of over 30 years, Shaminder Chawla.

In 2018, Dan left government service to expand his academic research, teaching and work with students at Columbia University and to establish a consulting firm that provides advisory services on land remediation and reclamation and materials management. He remains a national advocate for municipal environmental governance and serves in various science advisory roles including USEPA and 100 Resilient Cities.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership Would Like to Thank…

EVENT PARTNER:

Baruch College

PLATINUM EVENT SPONSORS:

Brown Duke & Fogel, PC
GEI Consultants, Inc.
Oak Point Property

GOLD EVENT SPONSORS:

Alpha Analytical
AWT Environmental Services
Brookside Environmental
Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast
Clean Earth
Roux

SILVER EVENT SPONSORS:

AKRF
Pine Environmental
PVE
PWGC
Ramboll
Rigsby Search Group, LLC
Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland Perretti
Schnapf Environmental Law
Sordoni
Tenen Environmental
vEKtor Consultants
York Analytical Laboratories

AFTER-PARTY SPONSORS:

Capitol Environmental Services
Langan

CCNY rolls out the welcome mat for NYCBP, BCONE and LSRPA

Wed, 01 May 2019 14:02:59 GMT

Angelo Lampousis, Ph.D of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the City College of New York (CCNY) knows his undergraduate students: they turned out in force during their spring break to hear about hot topics in brownfields and site remediation in the NY metropolitan area. Dr. Lampousis also knew that the 3 professional organizations each have scholarship programs and a real desire to reach students to share with them the options in the exciting environmental professions in the region.

The session held on April 23, 2019, at CCNY’s beautiful campus was an energetic gathering of students, LSRPs, laboratory professionals, city government professionals, attorneys, and environmental consultants. It was informal and very interactive and was sponsored by Alpha Analytical. The attendees from CCNY and the 3 organizations were joined for about an hour by John Manzo, ASTM instructor, and students from an Environmental Site Assessment course he was teaching across the hall. He told ASTM headquarters that “I know everyone benefited from attending the brownfield event yesterday, including myself.”

The hot topics session was moderated by Sue Boyle of GEI Consultants; she serves as the executive director of each of the organizations so she was up to date on the hottest topics. Topics covered included PFOAs; the use of fill at redevelopment sites and its movement within the region; NYC’s new greenhouse gas bill and the retrofitting of older buildings; Opportunity Zones and the newly proposed IRS regulations as well as updates on other brownfield incentives offered in the northeastern US; area wide development of brownfield sites—whether you call them BOAs or BDA, or collaborative cooperatives; and environmental justice and gentrification concerns.

What came out of the morning session? The organization of a webinar on Opportunity Zones put on by the NYCBP and BCONE one week after the CCNY breakfast: it was the first webinar presented by either group and the rapid registration process validated the interest in the topic. It will be posted to each organization’s website for members-only. In addition, a dozen or more students volunteered to assist LSRPA, BCONE and the NYCBP with upcoming events. Dr. Lampousis and Ms. Boyle are already comparing 2019 and 2020 calendars to schedule the next hot topics sessions. And, last but not least, we captured the energy of the day in photos!

April 2019 Event Photos

NYC High Line Network: A View From The Catbird Seat A Decade Later

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 14:01:31 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

As cities become denser and land for traditional parks becomes scarcer, thinking outside the box for solutions is vital to bring greenspace to neighborhoods and allow residents to reclaim underutilized assets.

Former rail line redevelopments—ground level or elevated—are one potential solution, but they can be rife with challenges. One decade after going live as part of an ambitious multi-tier redevelopment blueprint, the New York High Line Network continues to be regarded as the gold standard of railfield reuse done masterfully.

It’s not an easy undertaking: Recently, we reported on successful railfield projects that have capitalized on an opportunity. In Cambridge and Somerville, MA, for instance, a former rail freight yard owned by Guilford Transportation Industries was transformed into a 45-acre mixed-use development, with some property set-aside devoted to greenspace and a regional bicycle trail. Ultimately, the initiative integrated an underused industrial property to the communities around it.

Indeed, railfield redevelopment has had a chance to expand more each passing decade, all due mainly to the significant reduction of miles maintained by the consolidated U.S. rail system, which has decreased by at least 50%. In its wake is an extensive legacy of underutilized, contaminated, and sometimes abandoned rail properties.

I recall 10 years ago, while serving as editor for the former Brownfield Renewal magazine, hearing the auspicious comments at the USEPA Brownfields conference in New Orleans about The High Line, a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park, greenway and “rail trail” created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. The rail system became obsolete in 1980.

A collaboration between James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf, the abandoned spur was redesigned as a “living system,” drawing from multiple disciplines, which include landscape architecture, urban design and ecology. Since opening in 2009, the High Line has become an icon of contemporary landscape architecture. (Editor’s Note: The New York City Brownfield Partnership held a terrific event a few years ago that included a guided tour of the High Line and a description of the remediated and redeveloped brownfield sites adjoining the park. The tour was led by the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation and NYCBP members who worked on the adjoining sites).

Built on the southern viaduct section of the New York Central Railroad line, The High Line was inspired by the 3-mile-long Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway) in Paris, which was completed in 1993.

The first phase of High Line opened in 2009, with the final three components going live by 2014. What High Line has done is serve as a model for other similar projects to proceed more confidently with a working roadmap for success in place, including the aforementioned Cambridge/Somerville Guilford Transportation Industries effort.

(NYCBP also recently chronicled the Nassau County railfield effort that’s in the works if it gets the green light from state regulators, and located at the Inwood LIRR station.)

The High Line’s success has inspired cities throughout the United States to redevelop obsolete infrastructure as public space. Moreover, the project has spurred real estate development in adjacent NYC neighborhoods, increasing values and prices along the route, in what could be described as “a halo effect.”

Projects in the High Line Network transform underutilized infrastructure into new urban landscapes—redefining what a park can be. And to think it all started as an unlikely plan to save an elevated railway on Manhattan’s West Side.

These days, working in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, Friends of the High Line manages and operates the park, raising nearly 100% of its own annual operating budget.

The High Line hosts more than 400 free programs a year and hosts rotating world-class art exhibits through its High Line Art program. In 2016, the High Line saw more than seven million visitors—one third of them New York City residents.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the neighborhood surrounding the park, the High Line offers employment opportunities that give teens important training in professional skills—from horticulture to environmental justice.

Environmental X Factor

Don’t sleep on the environmental challenges these types of efforts bring. The environmental piece can be a minefield on a railfield. Looking at the historical protocols, a majority of rail companies often perform environmental reviews on every property transaction as an evaluation process to determine if there are significant contamination concerns.

Similar to other brownfields redevelopment projects, liability concerns over incidence of contamination, such as arsenic and mercury, are a common roadblock for rail companies in addressing properties. Rail companies often recommend that local governments work with them and state environmental agencies on liability issues. Often, if contamination is found during the investigation process of the project, liability rests with the rail company, which creates a major disincentive for them to proceed.

Rail companies have an interest in working with municipalities during the planning process, allowing companies to provide early input into reuse options since they have valuable knowledge about potential contamination concerns. Rail companies recommend that local governments spend significant time exploring whether the end use is appropriate based on the cleanup level prior to planning redevelopment.

The High Line Network collaborated with an array of community leaders, organizations, elected officials and supporters to create an extraordinary public space together.

And, in June 2017, the High Line Network publicly launched a new website (network.thehighline.org) that includes profiles of the 19 projects that are part of the network. The site is the first of its kind to collect news from across the web on the growing field of infrastructure reuse, and showcase it in one place.

It will be interesting to see where this evolving footprint goes during the next 10 years of its existence. As they say, stay tuned!

First NYC Redevelopment Roundtable of 2019 Held on March 7, 2019

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 14:59:53 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP) kicked off its 2019 Redevelopment Roundtable series, a.k.a. a 90-minute information download from experts about all the NYC, NYS, federal and industry trends and hot topics relevant to site revitalization in NYC. The event was sponsored by Tenen Environmental and Bousquet Holstein PLLC, and graciously hosted by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in their conference room space on the 29th floor of One New York Plaza in lower Manhattan. All participants received a 7-page hyperlinked agenda for the topics covered at the Roundtable. The links provide terrific reference materials, but the invaluable knowledge came first-hand from the individuals who spoke, who based on their experience are able to hone in on what is critical, and what is “next.”

Examples of critical information shared at the Redevelopment Roundtable include:

the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation’s 2018 end-of year metrics and information on clean soil transfers;
the effect of Federal tax credits, certain nuances of transaction economics in context of remediation, and some uncertainties regarding the impact of properties located in “Opportunity Zones” that may also be qualified for federal or state tax credits;
concerns about NYSDEC’s interpretation of whether a site is “contaminated enough,” how “underutilized” is being defined, and how “industrial use” is being defined for the purposes of the BCP and state tax credits. Is DEC’s presumption that everyone is trying to exploit the tax credit program? Are their interpretations and application of definitions meant to combat that?;
infrastructure’s impact on redevelopment was added as a new topic to the Roundtable agenda, with examples ranging from airports to commuter rail service to overstressed water and sewer infrastructure.

The two topics that generated the most discussion were regional topics: emerging contaminants, specifically PFAS and PFOS and management of fill. Federal examples, NYS, NYC, PA and NJ actions, activities and examples were offered for both topics.

The event was completely sold out and enthusiastically attended, and time was also built into the schedule to enjoy refreshments and network with very friendly like-minded brownfield professionals before and after the program.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is always looking for venues and sponsors for upcoming Roundtables, which are scheduled for June 18, August 6 and December 3, 2019. For more information contact Sue Boyle (sboyle@geiconsultants.com).

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Joelle Freeman of AKRF for preparing this reporting template.

First Disaster Recovery, Now Civic “Revitalization” in Binghamton

Mon, 04 Mar 2019 14:58:39 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

To many in a local community, the former brownfield properties are the “disaster” from which to “recover.”

But when a disaster actually strikes a local community, the former brownfield properties kind of blend in with the rest of the havoc that’s been wreaked on the community.

The point of all this? The city of Binghamton, N.Y. is turning a very long and twisting corner with the commencing of construction in January that, in the end, will amount to a $20.5-million affordable housing development at Canal Plaza, which is part of a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) and is being partly funded by equity raised by New York State Brownfield tax credits.

DEC commissioner Basil Seggos recently said that “the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program is a powerful tool for putting blighted areas back into productive use, and we are proud to partner on the Canal Plaza project that is building on the momentum to revitalize Binghamton’s North Side and strengthen this community for future generations.”

The project is poised to deliver 48 apartments and new commercial space and it’s being built on a former brownfield—at the same time responding to a regional need for quality and affordable housing, as this initiative also includes 12 apartments intended to provide supportive services for New Yorkers with mental illness.

In summer of 2011, a large portion of the city of Binghamton found itself in catastrophe mode in the wake of Hurricane Irene, which then was compounded by a tropical storm that produced mass flooding. About 7 ½ years later, the city is implementing its vision to create a more resilient community, according to city leaders.

This project delivers on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s promise to bring quality affordable housing opportunities to this city in addition to creating essential support services to its north side.

The city of Binghamton has been working for years to get to this point by acquiring a tax-foreclosed property from Broome County, landing $534,000 in grant funds to demolish a blighted plaza and render it shovel ready, tackling environmental site issues and now finally securing tax credit financing to begin construction.

The 2011 impacts started with Hurricane Irene before the tropical storm added additional hardship on this city of 45,000 situated south of Syracuse and west of Albany. “Building new affordable homes is an essential ingredient to creating opportunity and revitalizing our cities,” Gov. Cuomo recently said. “With the addition of Canal Plaza, we are creating affordable housing opportunities while providing services that support our vulnerable neighbors as we work to ensure that the Southern Tier continues to soar.”

Canal Plaza is being constructed in the Waterfront Revitalization Plan Area and also sits in the North Chenango River Corridor BOA. Canal Plaza will provide housing to low-, very low- and extremely low-income households. Social services will be administered on-site to tenants of the supportive housing units.

The project is being supported by a variety of funding and financing sources, including $1.1 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding from the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. New York State Homes and Community Renewal is providing federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits that will generate more than $12.8 million for the development, and $1.3 million from HCR’s Housing Trust Fund Corp.

It is also receiving $2 million from the Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund, nearly $2.3 million in equity raised by brownfield tax credits allocated by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), $100,000 from city of Binghamton HOME and a $48,000 incentive grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The development will additionally include three commercial suites totaling 15,000 square feet, with one of the suites occupied by Catholic Charities of Broome County for the operation of Encompass Health Home, which will deliver assistance to Medicaid-eligible adults and children with chronic medical and/ or behavioral health conditions.

It’s been a long road back for this community, and it illustrates the protracted process of disaster recovery. In that summer of 2011, Tropical Storm Lee stalled over the Southern Tier and dropped more than 11 inches of rain during a 24-hour period. Flash flooding damaged homes, businesses and infrastructure. High groundwater levels caused basements and ground floors of homes, businesses and municipal facilities to flood, even though those structures were behind levees. And flooding closed many critical roads, leaving residents with no access to medical facilities, supplies or emergency services.

President and founder of 3D Development Group Bruce Levine noted that the city has been making significant investments in the North Side neighborhood “and Canal Plaza will further the revitalization. The collaborative effort between HCR, DEC, the city of Binghamton and the development team is what took this project from a concept to where we are today with the groundbreaking.”

For years, residents of Binghamton have voiced concern about the shortage of affordable housing options, so the redevelopment vision completely reflects the community consensus.

Binghamton mayor Richard David made a commitment to focus on new affordable housing projects that would provide safe, quality living environments for families. “It’s the key to stabilizing neighborhoods and Binghamton’s continued revitalization. This project will have a transformative impact on the city’s North Side, anchoring and supporting redevelopment on the State Street commercial corridor and beyond,” he said.

Food For Thought: Doing It The Dunkirk Way

Sat, 19 Jan 2019 14:57:31 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Holistic, comprehensive brownfields redevelopment achievement is what every savvy public and private team strives to accomplish.

New York City brownfield practitioners can certainly provide a master’s class in across-the-board execution as you oversee a portfolio of potential, ongoing and finished projects that, in a word, are prolific by their very scale.

About 420 miles north of the Big Apple is Dunkirk, N.Y., a community of about 12,500 that itself is accomplishing holistic brownfields execution on a much smaller scale.

Solid and well-thought-out site selection. Check.

Job creation and tax re-generation after years of property sitting idle. Check.

Carbon footprint reduction from a transportation and logistics standpoint. Check.

A model initiative for other teams to look to as inspiration in the future. Check.

The Krog Group, a regional New York State leader in brownfield redevelopment, harbored a vision to return a longtime fallow Dunkirk footprint to productive reuse—in turn providing jobs for the community and sustaining and growing businesses in the city.

According to a recent report in the Dunkirk Observer, the construction of a cold storage warehouse to serve Fieldbrook Foods is underway, and appears ready to be fully operational come fall 2019. Fieldbrook Foods produces a comprehensive portfolio of private-label ice cream products and frozen novelty items.

The economic development department for the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency recently billed this project as a “big win for the city of Dunkirk” and the county. “After years of blight, this project will result in the cleanup and repurposing of a large brownfield site, resulting in a beautiful, modern new facility that addresses our long-standing shortage of available local cold storage space,” according to a statement.

The revitalization project includes acquisition, remediation, new construction and equipping of a new 80,000 square foot freezer warehouse. After decades as a contaminated eyesore in Dunkirk, the dilapidated 167,400 square foot Edgewood warehouse has been demolished to make way for the cold storage facility for Fieldbrook Foods.

Property remediation and abatement was—perhaps still is—performed as part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Brownfield Cleanup Program. Site preparation is complete and concrete foundations are underway.

Here are some key takeaways from this perspective:

Logistics are a compelling aspect of this project. That’s because the new freezer is being positioned within one-half mile of the Fieldbrook production facility, providing increased operating efficiencies and reduced transportation costs for the company. This bodes well for carbon footprint reduction and overall efficiencies to take shape.

The site selection process with any brownfield project is no automatic, so due diligence and hard work helps crystallize matters. Along these lines, Dunkirk mayor Wilfred Rosas and the city Department of Development team were instrumental in securing the project location by ensuring these necessities. The development is located within what is known as the “Roberts Road Redevelopment Site,” which also includes former brownfield sites Roblin Steel and Alumax Extrusions—both previously remediated. The end use was the exact and ideal one to suit the specific footprint.

Job creation and a boost to the municipal tax rolls. This was a double win. Approximately 150 construction jobs were generated and six to 10 new permanent warehouse jobs created over a three-year period. Chautauqua County, city of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk City School District will each receive real property tax revenue for a parcel that had not contributed to the property tax base over a sustained period of time. In addition, the new jobs result in purchased goods and services in the local community, generating additional state and local sales tax revenue.

One ambitious project begets another. There are other new projects on the agenda in this local region as the city’s development department can hold up the Fieldbrook Foods cold storage warehouse as a success story to serve as impetus for future redevelopments. Developers like local success stories to help them see the possibilities.

Cohesive teamwork rules. This effort was the result of a collaborative effort between the city, county, CCIDA and the food company. There can be gaps in the teamwork effort from time to time when it comes to urban infill projects. Being on the same page eliminates a lot of pain points.

Indeed, pushing all the right buttons is what all brownfield stakeholders envision as their holy grail. New York City brownfields practitioners can certainly look within to derive inspiration for achievement within this context. They can also look outward across The Empire State since there are nuanced lessons learned with every successful project—big, medium or smallish. Dunkirk’s effort is the latest example.

Flushing, N.Y. Project: Flush With Potential

Mon, 07 Jan 2019 14:56:04 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

When it finally comes to fruition—following cleanup efforts and subsequent build-out—the Special Flushing Waterfront District project appears poised to deliver an acute revitalization boost to a Flushing, N.Y, footprint, with burgeoning benefits seen cross the top three pillars of brownfield benchmarking: Economic, social and environmental.

It’s all courtesy of land-use strategy blueprinted by local Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC, which intends to create a vibrant extension of the business district, anchored by mixed-use and affordable housing end use. Moreover, the plan will see the manifestation of new open space, enhanced waterfront access, improvements to pedestrian flows and vehicular movements and long-term improvement of water quality benefitting Flushing Creek.

The group, which has already completed a series of recommendations for land use actions along 40 acres on the Flushing waterfront, secured a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) designation last summer by the Cuomo administration—making it one of 47 BOA awardees across the state. Estimated at $1.5 million and assisted by the Department of City Planning (DCP), the Flushing BOA grant finances a host of planning activities for the area, including cleanup of deteriorated sites as well as Flushing Creek.

This redevelopment effort involved substantial outreach by engaging the local community for input and consensus-building. The LDC and DCP collaboratively strove to satisfy both private interests and public need, incentivizing property owners to redevelop underutilized sites while ensuring that such redevelopment yields tangible public benefits.

The proposal is defined by revitalization, rehabilitation and community-oriented redevelopment of underutilized, vacant, and environmentally challenged areas near the Flushing waterfront.

Anchored by the mixed-use redevelopment and affordable housing, the game plan also involves creation of new public walkways and open space along the waterfront, plus the extension of pedestrian and vehicular circulation systems from the downtown to the waterfront, according to Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC.

Among the specification are a decided emphasis on establishing a transportation-oriented component that promotes walking and enhances overall point-to-point connectivity. Not only does the grant money empower the environmental cleanup of the core brick-and-mortar area plus abandoned parcels, but a comprehensive cleanup of the Flushing waterway will ensue as well.

Alexandra Rosa, executive vice president for Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC, described the Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC waterfront plan and BOA designation as consistent with what city planning has been seeking. “When you are approved as a BOA, the development on the sites are approved for enhanced tax credits for eliminating some of the environmental issues,” said Rosa. That gives stakeholders the incentive to build and the community gets the revitalization it needs simultaneously, Rosa added.

It will be interesting to watch the project evolution unfold throughout 2019 as it provides a well-timed shot in the arm to an area truly requiring it.

G.W. Lisk applies to be on state brownfield list

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:54:55 GMT

By David L. Shaw, Olean Times Herald(NY)

The G. W. Lisk Company is applying to be added to the state’s brownfield cleanup program for environmental cleanup of its site.

The company, established in 1910, is on 26 acres at 2 South St. in the village directly south of Clifton Springs Hospital. It produces solenoids, linear variable differential transformers and flame arrestors and has historically performed metal plating operations.

As part of its plating operations, the company used tri-chloro-ethylene (TCE), cadmium, nickel, zinc and hexavalent chromium. Environmental tests performed in 2014 found the presence of chlorinated solvents in the groundwater along the property boundary with Clifton Springs Hospital.

…

For the entire article, see

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/state/g-w-lisk-applies-to-be-on-state-brownfield-list/article_d13aa5d0-73ce-5f93-a8d3-49275237fef5.html

Getting on Track with Potential Railfield Redevelopment

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 14:53:58 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

Railfield redevelopment opportunities have been expanding more each decade, due mainly to the significant reduction of miles maintained by the consolidated U.S. rail system, which has decreased by at least 50%. In its wake is an extensive legacy of underutilized, contaminated, and sometimes abandoned rail properties.

In the NYC metropolitan area, a railfield redevelopment is potentially in the works if it gets the green light from state regulators.

With traces of mercury remaining in soil at the Inwood LIRR station (Nassau County)—contaminants borne by rectifiers used to power the rail line station until 1979—the New York Department of Environmental Conservation has been reviewing an application from a realty company, Coland Realty, that would incorporate a section of the Far Rockaway Long Island Railroad line, which incorporates the Inwood station, into the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, according to a recent report in the Long Island Herald.

The New York State Department of Conservation is investigating the site in relation to the Coland application submitted Oct. 10. The public comment period ended Nov. 9 and now the goal of the Brownfield Cleanup Program is to encourage private-sector cleanups and promote redevelopment through tax incentives.

According to the DEC, the primary contaminant is mercury, which originated from the rectifiers that powered the Inwood station. “This type of contamination is something that is common at various LIRR owned properties,” said a DEC spokesman.

If the stakeholders involved in this effort want to look for guidance on proceeding the right way, there are several resources to tap. For starters, EPA offers a site profile guide, entitled “Technical Approaches to Characterizing and Cleaning up Brownfields Sites: Railroad Yards,” to assist stakeholders in characterizing rail properties.

And success stories are out there as well. In Cambridge and Somerville, Mass., for instance, a former rail freight yard owned by Guilford Transportation Industries was transformed into a 45-acre mixed-use development. Guilford initiated the development after declining freight traffic in Boston made the property redundant. The project included commercial and residential development with some of the property devoted to greenspace and a regional bicycle trail. Ultimately, the initiative integrated an underused industrial property to the communities around it.

Determining if the site is eligible for the NYS cleanup program is the first step towards cleaning up the mercury. “If the application is deemed eligible, the DEC and the applicant will enter into a Brownfield Cleanup Agreement, which will provide for the investigation and cleanup of the site,” a DEC spokeswoman said. “Once the agreement is executed, the applicant will submit a work plan to investigate and clean up the site (as part of a Remedial Investigation Work Plan). The work plan will fully delineate the nature and extent of contamination at the site. Prior to the start of work at the site.”

The stigma of potential redevelopments along railroad lines has typically been a bone of contention with local residents. One local resident expressed these concerns about the Inwood LIRR station situation by stating that “it’s pretty scary knowing it’s right here by the train tracks. I hope they take care of it quickly, I know being around mercury isn’t good for you.”

The DEC and the state’s Department of Health was in the process of implementing measures to protect and minimize the effect the work has had—and will have—on local businesses, residents and commuters, including monitoring the air for dust vapors and odors.

The advice to those involved would be to proceed prudently. Residual contamination including herbicides, petroleum products and byproducts, metals and creosote, is often present on these properties.

Looking at the historical protocols, a majority of rail companies perform an environmental review on every property transaction as an evaluation process to determine if there are significant contamination concerns.

Similar to other brownfields redevelopment projects, liability concerns about environmental contamination on the property are a common roadblock for the rail companies in addressing properties. Rail companies often recommend that local governments work with them and state environmental agencies on liability issues. Often, if contamination is found during the investigation process of the project, liability rests with the rail company, which creates a major disincentive for the rail companies to proceed.

Rail companies have an interest in working with municipalities during the planning process of redevelopment of rail properties that have become obsolete, allowing the companies to provide early input into reuse options as they have valuable knowledge about potential contamination concerns. Rail companies recommend that local governments spend significant time exploring whether the end use is appropriate based on the cleanup level prior to planning redevelopment.

Remediating an Inwood and Far Rockaway site

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 14:52:46 GMT

By Tyler Marko, Long Island Herald (NY)

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is reviewing an application from Coland Realty LLC that would incorporate a section of the Far Rockaway Long Island Railroad line that includes the Inwood station, into the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.

The New York State Department of Conservation is investigating the site. The program application was submitted on Oct. 10, and the public comment period ends on Nov. 9. The goal of the Brownfield Cleanup Program is to encourage private-sector cleanups and the promotion of redevelopment through tax incentives.

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According to the DEC, the primary contaminant of concern is mercury, which originated from the rectifiers that were on Redfern Avenue at the Queens borders and powered the Inwood station until 1979. “This type of contamination is something that is common at various LIRR owned properties,” said DEC spokesman Bill Fonda.

…

For the entire article, see

http://liherald.com/fivetowns/stories/remediating-an-inwood-and-far-rockaway-site,108993

Harbor Isle Brownfield To Be Cleaned To Make Way For Condos

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 13:52:04 GMT

There will be about 29,000 tons of contaminated soil removed from the property to make it safe for construction.

By Alex Costello, Long Beach Patch (NY)

After many years of delay, the brownfield site on the southern tip of Harbor Isle is scheduled to be remediated.

The former Cibro Petroleum site, located off Island Parkway South, will be cleaned by the Posillico Development Company, which is planning to build condos on the site.

…

For the entire article, see

https://patch.com/new-york/longbeach/harbor-isle-brownfield-be-cleaned-make-way-condos

Be Prepared For Unwanted Surprises Emanating From Land Status Surveys

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 13:50:59 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

It’s a discovery of the most unsavory kind, one that public officials often brace for. And it’s a dilemma that urban redevelopment stakeholders in New York City’s five boroughs should eternally be vigilant about due to the breadth and depth of brownfield assets.

The unwanted discovery? Learning that you’re now dealing with a much larger portfolio of abandoned and contaminated properties—above and beyond what prevailing estimates had indicated from city survey reports.

It’s a dilemma that can hopefully be mitigated by garnering access to New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) program, set up to promote revitalization efforts and crafting strategies for redevelopment.

This subject has a nearby example as a lesson learned: In Brookhaven, N.Y. planning officials in late summer identified more than 633 potentially contaminated properties—more than double what they had anticipated—that are ripe for remediation efforts in the greater Bellport area, according to a September report in Newsday.

Most of the brownfield parcels served as the sites of warehouses and auto and manufacturing businesses, where oils, liquids and antifreeze leak into soil and groundwater along Montauk Highway in North Bellport, Hagerman and East Patchogue, planning officials said.

Initially, Brookhaven expected to survey 302 parcels of land for incidence of contamination. During a study, officials determined additional properties needed to be inspected, Brookhaven Town planner Joseph Sanzano told Newsday.

Of the 633 identified properties, 24% are in developed commercial areas, 18% are in industrial areas, 10% are in residential communities and the remaining parcels are on vacant land, planning officials said.

This area represents a large footprint: Brookhaven, the most populous of the 10 towns of Suffolk County, is the only community in the county that stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island.

When so many undisclosed and unexpected parcels are deemed to be potentially contaminated, heavy lifting commences. When 300 parcels originally thought to be surveyed doubles in size, communities brace for a higher level of liability and a robust investigation schedule must commence—Phases 1, 2 and 3. Brookhaven officials said perceived threats to soils and groundwater could deter potential developers from investing in “this residential, socio-economically challenged community,” according to the Newsday report.

That’s what’s in store, but a little history of the area: The Greater Bellport Land Use Plan was adopted by Brookhaven officials in 2014, at which time officials applied for and were awarded about $300,000 in state grant money to conduct a study. Brookhaven was awarded the grant from the New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) program to promote revitalization efforts in the Bellport community. Strategies for redevelopment and the potential impacts of redevelopment were evaluated.

Since the adoption of the community-based Greater Bellport Land Use Plan four years ago, the town has implemented many recommendations, including soliciting the BOA designation, addressing chaotic auto related uses, identifying brownfields, regulating zombie homes, adopting new zoning to define the hamlet centers, and monitoring compliance with all local, state, and federal environmental regulations in the hamlets of Bellport, Hagerman and East Patchogue.

These area-wide initiatives in planning/remediation and implementation of these recommendations were shaped by the unique vision that was established for by community fathers.

The BOA designation, like other state-wide and nationwide, provide the leverage to secure additional opportunities for grant funding for planning, infrastructure and other amenities.

Community input was a key fulcrum of this effort. The town recognized the importance of community input towards transforming neighborhoods; thus, community members and stakeholders were asked to provide revitalization input through a community survey.

E-Commerce Industry’s Last Mile Needs Create New Demand for Old Warehouse Space

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 13:49:39 GMT

Redevelopers can use everything from old government facilities to brownfield sites to capitalize on the need for last mile warehouses.

by Joseph A. Panepinto Sr., National Real Estate Investor

Amazon launched the age of e-commerce when it shipped its first bookout of a garage in 1995. Since that beginning, consumers have grown to embrace the ‘e-tail’ lifestyle. Millennials are now driving the demand for everything from toilet paper to make-up delivered to their doorstep. To accommodate this growth, e-retailers are snapping up industrial-use land and buildings as close as possible to the consumers they need to serve.

Access to the ”last mile” of delivery in urban locations has become one of the most critical factors in site selection. Facilities must not only be the right size, they must also have access to a highway and/or waterway, appropriate zoning, an accessible employee base and be as close as possible to their customers.

Traditionally, open plan, one-story buildings have been used as warehouses. Today, buildings of several forms can be utilized, including former big-box stores; industrial sites in various stages of remediation; under-used office space; and, in one instance in Chicago, an underutilized parking garage.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.nreionline.com/industrial/e-commerce-industry-s-last-mile-needs-create-new-demand-old-warehouse-space

Solar Toolkit: “Excellent Guide” To Incentivize NY Investments

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 22:10:31 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

With a goal to reach 50% renewable energy by 2030, New York is beginning to see the light. It comes with the acknowledgement that solar-powered initiatives are an ideal way to offload the reliance on traditional candlepower in favor of a continually growing trend of solar.

In late August, New York trotted out a new toolkit to drive solar on brownfields—the advent of which comes at a time when solar-powered installations are occurring at a rising clip each year. In NYC, much of that has occurred at the residential level, and it would be interesting to see if urban redevelopment stakeholders have watched how—on a much smaller scale—those investments have reaped positive dividends.

The placement of solar arrays on brownfields perpetuates the entire spirit of brownfield development tenets that are always seeking to emphasize green building best-practices. Setting the tone for end uses are epitomized by the methods deployed by many brownfield environmental partners, who implement renewable components via green and sustainable cleanup strategies.

Investing in solar can’t be executed blindly, so earlier this summer the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) released new guidance for municipalities developing solar projects on landfills or brownfields, to maximize expansion on underutilized land and the state’s efforts to increase renewable generation.

In New York, new streamlined project reviews from the DEC along with NYSERDA’s guidelines are expected to supplement existing solar development incentives and boost installations.

Those incentives will serve developers quite well: The leasing instructions and templates in the Municipal Solar Procurement Toolkit reflect a lower threshold of environmental review for projects on brownfields and landfills due to recent updates from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

In June, the DEC adopted a rulemaking package to streamline the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) regulations, which doesn’t require contractors to make formal assessments of environmental impacts of solar projects on brownfields. As the first update to SEQR in more than two decades, the changes, including the brownfield component, will take effect January 1, 2019.

Once the SEQR updates are in effect, commercial solar installers or contractors will be able to expedite a once arduous, protracted process. That’s because going forward they can dispense with the task of preparing formal assessments of environmental impacts for certain projects, such as adding solar to landfills and brownfields.

In June, NYSERDA also unveiled higher incentives for solar projects on landfills and brownfields as part of a set of changes to Gov. Cuomo’s $1 billion solar incentive program called “NY-Sun Megawatt Block.” The guidelines were presented in late August and are intended to help communities facilitate leases on underutilized land for solar projects.

NYSERDA’s kit has templates for towns to issue RFP’s and other guidance on site identification and considerations. In addition, NYSERDA is conducting a high-level study “to identify priority landfill and brownfield sites across the state,” a NYSERDA spokesperson told the publication Utility Dive.

Utility Dive also reported that the toolkit is seen as an “excellent guide” to bring investments to the state, according to Dan Whitten, vice president of communications for the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“It is always a positive when states and municipalities find creative ways to deploy solar energy so that everyone in the community can access it,” Whitten told Utility Dive.

According to the toolkit, potential goals for a brownfield/landfill solar project range from bringing revenue to towns by leasing public land to providing greater access to solar power through a community solar project.

It’s not certain if brownfields practitioners can learn anything about New York City-based and surrounding-area solar installations, seeing that it’s an apples and oranges comparison. That said, over the past couple years solar investments have been occurring to a large scale at the residential level.

In the context of residential solar investments dating to 2016, the number of projects across the five boroughs rose to more than 5,300 from just 186 in 2011, according to state officials. At that time, there were another 1,900 in the pipeline. The solar boom two years ago was prompted by a 70% drop in installation costs, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, along with the streamlining of government approvals and incentives.

Those lower solar cost trends continue to prevail in 2018, a positive sign for brownfield-level investments to spawn

The New York Times reported in 2016 that most of the city’s existing solar projects were occurring in single-family houses on Staten Island, but townhouse owners in Brooklyn had jumped on board the opportunity as well—along with owners of apartment buildings in the Bronx and Queens.

Two years ago, Gov. Cuomo had called for half of the state’s electricity needs to come from renewable resources by 2030, while Mayor de Blasio sought greenhouse gas emissions in the city to be slashed by 80% by 2050. To that end, Mayor de Blasio unveiled two years ago a 3,152-panel rooftop solar installation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a step toward the goal of generating 100 megawatts of renewable energy on public buildings by 2025.

New York unveils new toolkit to drive solar on brownfields

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 22:09:35 GMT

By Iulia Gheorghiu, Utility Dive

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) released new guidance for municipalities developing solar projects on landfills or brownfields, to maximize expansion on underutilized land and the state’s efforts to increase renewable generation.

The leasing instructions and templates in the Municipal Solar Procurement Toolkit reflect a lower threshhold of environmental review for projects on brownfields and landfills due to recent updates from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

In June, the DEC adopted a rulemaking package to streamline the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) regulations, which does not require contractors to make formal assessments of environmental impacts of solar projects on brownfields. As the first update to SEQR in more than two decades, the changes, including the brownfield component, will take effect January 1, 2019.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/new-york-unveils-new-toolkit-to-drive-solar-on-brownfields/530856/

Designating BOAs Helps Produce Clarity, Garner Results

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 22:08:19 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

When you create a designation around an over-arching concept, like brownfields and its attendant Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA), you add clarity when factoring in the role of Big Government.

State and local governing bodies have a lot on their plate and wade through a lot of red tape. Some members are more fluent about certain concepts than other concepts. Creating a designation, you foster clarity and clarity triggers action among the entire governmental body.

For instance, when tax incremental financing districts (TIF) became prevalent years ago, the concept added much-needed clarity to a funding concept that now brought focus to the table. It served as a precise, niche program that state and local officials could comprehend, get their arms around.

It became regenerative as a host of new TIF districts were established across urban landscapes in the U.S. The districts were established, then funded, properly rehabilitated and put back into vibrant end use to drive new taxes, economic prosperity and social enhancement.

The advent of a BOA is akin to the TIF district as you have a program that state and local representatives can see—on paper—comprehend and react. In Big Government, clarity is our friend in a mecca where nebulousness often rules. BOAs get officials thinking about properties in a certain way.

This comes to mind when considering New York’s continued acknowledgement of BOAs and their ramifications for smart growth and reuse. The state activated the program in 2003, paced by the Superfund/Brownfield law. Under the auspices of the New York Dept. of State, BOA establishment provides municipalities and community-based organizations with assistance, up to 90% of the eligible project costs, to complete revitalization plans and implementation strategies for areas or communities affected by the presence of multiple brownfield sites, and site assessments for strategic brownfield sites.

Following two years of work, a BOA called West Shore on Staten Island is making inroads. The 179-acre parcel, designated a BOA, is proof positive that “communities across the state are revitalizing vacant brownfield sites and these designations provide the resources to make their grand visions a reality,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently said in a statement.

Recommendations from the study include major site renovations or developments for seven underutilized properties on the 179 acres, roadway consolidation and infrastructure improvements, and expanded public transit that will serve the Amazon and IKEA facilities.

The study paid careful attention to creating a district flood resiliency plan, which anticipates flooding issues associated with sea-level rising water in the West Shore’s low-lying areas that currently have limited sewer and stormwater infrastructure.

It also made numerous recommendations for improving business opportunities in the area, including blanket permitting, new public-private partnerships for service and unique tax incentives.

In order to qualify for the BOA designation, officials submit a comprehensive revitalization strategy to the New York Department of State, which administers the program and determines if the proposed projects meet the requirements. Cuomo said the grant allows local officials to bring “much needed change” to neglected communities.

“By dedicating resources to effectively plan for future remediation and redevelopment, we are ushering in a new, sustainable era” for Staten Island, said state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island).

Cuomo’s official BOA designation provides the Staten Island Economic Development Corp. (SIEDC) with the following tools to encourage redevelopment on the West Shore:

Support from the Department of State to municipalities and community organizations to pursue implementation of BOA plans;

Possible priority and preference for state grants and financial assistance for projects located within the BOA;

Remove uncertainty associated with investment in an emerging market;

Developers that participate in the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) to remediate and redevelop sites in a designated BOA are eligible for a tax credit “bump-up” of up to 5 percent if the development conforms to the BOA plan.

Communities may apply to enter the BOA program across three steps:

Step 1: Pre-Nomination Study – This provides a basic and preliminary analysis of the area affected by brownfield sites including: a description and justification of the study area and associated boundaries; a basic description and understanding of current land use and zoning; the delineation and description of existing brownfield sites and other underutilized properties; and a description of the area’s potential for revitalization.

Step 2: Nomination – This provides an in-depth and thorough description and analysis, including an economic and market trends analysis, of existing conditions, opportunities, and reuse potential for properties located in the proposed BOA with an emphasis on the identification and reuse potential of strategic sites that are catalysts for revitalization. The Nomination concludes with a description of key findings and recommendations to advance redevelopment of strategic sites and to revitalize the area.

Step 3: Implementation Strategy – This provides a description of the full range of techniques and actions, ranging from actions and projects that can be undertaken immediately to those which have a longer time-frame, that are necessary to implement the area-wide plan and to ensure that proposed uses and improvements materialize. Site assessments on strategic brownfield sites may be eligible for funding if environmental data is required.

Legislators are busy people. Programs with designations, such as TIFs and BOAs—that are all carefully mapped out with clear, robust details—have the power to provide the clarity that Big Government requires to first comprehend it, and then act accordingly.

NYC’s VCP Poster Child For Quick Efficiency, Results

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 22:07:01 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

New York City’s ambitious brownfield cleanup program is lapping the efforts of many states, demonstrating the aggressive stance and urgency to return properties back to productive reuse—benefits seen in everything from new tax generation, civic pride and environmental vigilance.

The Voluntary Cleanup Program, created in 2009 to fill the gaps in a state program for cleaning up contaminated land, was designed to address tainted acreage that had been ineligible for tax credits under the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. Nine years later, it has succeeded very well in achieving that mission.

The City program is outpacing the entire state program, according to a new report. Moreover, the city program is outpacing those sponsored by other states. According to a report released in July by the Furman Center at New York University, the city program has enrolled an impressive number of sites—560 since 2009—compared with statewide programs that started earlier, like New York’s 713 since 2003, or Illinois’ 799 since 1994. The biggest year in the city so far was 2015 when 153 applications were made; in 2017, there were 68.

You know the expression “a New York minute” very well. The Furman report revealed that it took 20.81 months for the average city site to be remediated compared with 57.96 months for the state sites—a gap that likely reflects the heavier contamination of the state sites, but also epitomizes the efficiencies seen in the way the city approves applications.

What remains unclear is what impact the remediations are having on the neighborhoods and people nearby. Furman notes that the city’s remediation sites are heavily concentrated in areas like Greenpoint that have seen pronounced gentrification.

Whether the remediations helped foster rising neighborhood incomes, or merely occurred at the same time—as well as whether those changes benefited incumbent residents or bumped them out—is not answerable with available data. Almost none of the remediated city sites were intended to return to industrial use: In the vast majority of cases, the land’s new lease on life was residential.

An even bigger question is whether there is more land out there that needs remediating. The Furman report notes that the city’s sites are heavily concentrated in areas that have been rezoned, meaning there might be untapped potential elsewhere on the map.

Checking in on the City’s Brownfields Program

Sun, 12 Aug 2018 22:04:46 GMT

By Jarrett Murphy, City Limits (NY)

A city initiative launched nine years ago to fill the gaps in a state program for cleaning up contaminated land has moved faster and more efficiently than its Albany counterpart, a new report finds.

The Bloomberg administration created the Voluntary Cleanup Program in 2009 to address tainted acreage that was ineligible for tax credits under the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. Both programs aim to address the legacy of industrial pollution that renders many hundreds of parcels in the city unusable, but the state’s program – born in 2003 – targeted more heavily poisoned land. The city’s VCP, which offers regulatory streamlining and grants to facilitate cleanup, is suited for sites with light to moderate levels of toxicity.

According to a report released this week by the Furman Center at New York University, the city program has enrolled an impressive number of sites—560 since 2009 – compared with statewide programs that started earlier, like New York’s 713 since 2003, or Illinois’ 799 since 1994. The biggest year in the city so far was 2015, when 153 applications were made; in 2017, there were 68.

…

For the entire article, see

https://citylimits.org/2018/08/02/checking-in-on-the-citys-brownfields-program/

To download the report, go to

http://furmancenter.org/files/Analysis_of_NYC_Voluntary_Cleanup_Program.pdf

Former Williamsburg industrial lot to become green condominiums

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 22:03:14 GMT

News12 Brooklyn (NY)

A vacant lot on Driggs Avenue could soon become home to new condominiums.

It’s currently a so-called brownfield site — a former industrial lot that needs excavation and cleanup.

Residents say they’re excited to see it spruced up so long as it doesn’t disrupt their neighborhood.

The 40 new housing units will range in size from studios to four bedrooms. Many of them will have outer spaces inspired by McCarren Park, according to the developer.

Construction is expected to begin this winter and conclude in 2020.

…

For the entire story, including a video, see

http://brooklyn.news12.com/story/38625030/former-williamsburg-industrial-lot-to-become-green-condominiums

West Shore receives Brownfield Opportunity Area designation

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 22:02:10 GMT

By Kristin F. Dalton, Staten Island Live (NY)

Following two years of work on the West Shore, the 179-acre area has been designated a Brownfield Opportunity Area, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.silive.com/news/2018/06/west_shore_brownfield_grant.html

Plans To Redevelop Flushing Waterfront Get State Approval

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 22:00:40 GMT

A special state designation will allow Flushing to transform 62 acres of industrial wasteland into a new district with affordable housing.

By Danielle Woodward, Flushing-Murray Hill Patch (NY)

Acres of industrial wasteland that have long line Flushing’s waterfront could soon give way to a vibrant new downtown area complete with affordable housing, thanks to a special designation from the state.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in June designated 62 acres of land in west downtown Flushing as a “Brownfield Opportunity Area,” a title that helps neighborhoods fast-track transformations of polluted industrial sites into housing or business developments that could drive economic growth.

“This Brownfield Opportunity Area program gives local leaders the power to bring about much-needed change to properties that have been neglected within their communities,” Cuomo said.

…

For the entire article, see

https://patch.com/new-york/flushing-murray-hill/plans-redevelop-flushing-waterfront-get-state-approval

NYCBP Joins Forces with Two Other Non-Profits to Seek Advice on How to be More Effective in Giving Back

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 21:59:21 GMT

By Stephen Merrill Smith, Esq.

Ernie Rossano of ERM and the President of the NYCBP joined representatives from the Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association (LSRPA) and the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) at the Northeast Sustainable Communities Workshop held in May at NJIT to discuss the services each non-profit provides to communities, non-profit groups, and students.

All three groups have scholarships to give, but the overall feeling is that they could do a better job of getting the word out.

Each has some version of a “pro bono counseling program” for communities and/or organization members.

One important difference pointed out by NYCBP President Ernie Rossano is that that the Partnership works closely with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER). Sue Boyle of GEI Consultants, Inc, and the contracted Executive Director for each organization reiterated how important it is to form a good relationship with government agencies; in the case of the NYCBP, OER has resources to get the word out and when it hears questions about brownfields, they can send them to the Partnership. Many small developers and property owners are unfamiliar with the government programs and possibly even scared of going to the government. So it’s extremely helpful to have the Partnership as a non-governmental group that can work with interested parties and developers.

Denise Nickel of Middlesex County and the BCONE Advisory Board emphasized how important it is to constantly work all avenues to get the word out on the services available from non-profit organizations like LSRPA, BCONE, and the NYCBP. She reiterated the need effective and constant marketing.

Suggestions from session participants included participating in an annual summit with the legislators and other members of the state government, perhaps once a year if the legislature devotes an entire day to listening to groups and organizations about what they do and how they can be of benefit to the state.

Regarding scholarships, the topic of contacts within colleges and universities was suggested by several participants. Participants suggested that contacts be made at all pertinent individual departments within the university that needed to hear about scholarship resources available. For example, establish a contact in the business school, in the engineering school, and in the environmental courses and programs that universities and graduate schools have. President Rossano mentioned that establishing the right individual person contact was key, that the NYCBP had reached out to financial aid offices without much success. He and others agreed that the most important individual contact to get the word out would be individual professors, such as faculty advisors to students getting their masters or doctorate degrees. Of the three organizations, NYCBP has the longest-running scholarship program and provides a higher number of scholarships per year than the other two groups.

Regarding outreach, one participant mentioned that the Association of Associations could be tapped to multiply the network of people who can get the word out. Another participant suggested that when academics send out requests for interns for their offices, that this would be a good time to send out scholarship information as well. Still another participant suggested a process of being in constant contact. She said there are three things that worked well: first, send out scholarship information way in advance, second, keep lists of everyone that you’ve worked with– any organization or any school worked with. Third, determine five touch points to remind people. This was especially important. Her organization found that five reminders was the right number to get people to attend events, turn in applications, or complete anything that had a deadline.

Social media came up as an important way to get the word out. Additionally, a participant suggested going to sororities and fraternities, or perhaps to one of the meetings of the Greek Society (an organization representing all the sororities and fraternities on campus) with scholarship information. It was also suggested that it might not be too early to give information to high school counselors to information them about the availability of these scholarships for their pre-college seniors.

Brownfield Legislative News from NYS and the Federal Government

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 21:52:31 GMT

The NYCBP Legislative/Policy Committee held a conference call on June 26, 2018, with a really full agenda. Chairman David J. Freeman, Esq. asked that this information be shared with the entire membership of the Partnership. If you are interested in these topics, please join the Legislative/Policy Committee and become active in its work.

New York State

The NY Construction Materials Association’s Part 360 lawsuit resulted in settlement discussions with NYSDEC and the Attorney Generals’ office. The most recent meeting happened on June 21, 2018. An important aspect of the settlement was that the settlement agreements would be legally binding (court ordered) stipulations and would be posted on the NYSDEC website. 11 agreed-upon implementation issues were posted on NYSDEC’s website yesterday. Both sides (NY Materials and DEC) have agreed that “plain language” versions must be developed before the work is finalized. Here is a link to the stipulations as posted on the NYSDEC website: https://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/81768.html
Rick Clarkson of NYSDEC’s presentation on 360 Revisions was shared by the CCLR, a like-minded non-profit organization that partners with the NYCBP on the exchange of information and ideas. Click here to view the presentation.
CCLR also shared Governor Cuomo’s Press Release on new Brownfield Opportunity Area program designations. Click here to view the Press Release.
Two pieces of legislation, S8636A as passed in the NYS Senate and the “long bill” (A10954) introduced in both houses and referred to Environmental Conservation committees can be accessed here: S8636A and A10954.

NYCBP Legislative/Policy Committee member, Phil Bousquet, Esq. provided comments on the ”long bill;” this information may ease your reading of it.

“There is a typo on page 4, line 46 – the language should read “Site preparation cost *shall* include the costs of remedial action cover systems …” [i.e., replace “shall not” with “shall”]. As it currently reads, “shall not include” directly contradicts the addition of “remedial action” at line 30 on that same page. My understanding is that the failure to delete the word “not” is simply a drafting oversight that will be corrected.

With that one exception the Tax Law changes in the long bill should work well as written, and the underlying (and closely knit) ECL changes would be very helpful to clarify questions that I often encounter in practice when helping clients understand the scope of remedial activities going into the site prep credit calculation.

The effective date language in the long bill is confusing, and I’m not quite sure what the drafter intended it to mean. If the idea is that the amendments are to supersede any prior definition or interpretation of the definition by the NYS Tax Dept, then that is helpful. However, my guess is that the drafter would not want taxpayers whose site preparation claims have been finally determined (after audit and after any appeals are closed off) to somehow have a “reopener.” Conversely, for taxpayers whose site prep claims have NOT been finally determined, the new definition should definitely apply, because this bill is intended to correct the Tax Department’s ongoing misreading of the definition. The effective date language in S8636A addresses these points, and should be worked into the “long bill” before reintroduction in the next term. “

Federal

USEPA is seeking comments on 3 aspect of brownfield funding in the BUILD Act. See the Federal Register notice sent by Larry Schnapf, Esq., NYCBP Legislative/Policy Committee member, who, in addition to Chairman David Freeman and the Gibbons Environmental Law group, is keeping the NYCBP updated regularly on federal activity on brownfields, including the Superfund Task Force’s efforts to make those sites available for redevelopment. Click here to view EPA BUILD Act and Brownfields.

Congress Tax Relief Proposal Good Harbinger for NYC Brownfields?

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 21:04:33 GMT

By Steve Dwyer

States threatened with brownfield funding dilemmas—which is most of them—might get a much-needed shot in the arm soon: It comes in the form of federal-sponsored tax breaks for brownfield projects.

But in late April, a potential “knight in shining armor” emerged: Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House that would authorize tax deductions toward the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields—a huge potential shot in the arm for New York City’s large portfolio of brownfield properties that need capital infusion.

The proposal is armed with New York-level endorsement as Rep. Peter King is a cosponsor of H.R. 5579, calling the tax incentive “an essential piece” for reviving the many contaminated sites. “Rather than spreading deductions over time, this legislation will encourage private-sector involvement in the cleanup and rehabilitation of brownfields properties,” King said in a statement about the legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH).

Clearly, the U.S. Senate and House need more folks who “get it,” like King and Turner. That is, understanding the magnitude of impact that brownfield properties have on the fortunes of local communities.

Rep. Turner witnessed up close and personally the impacts of funding for local brownfields when he served as mayor of Dayton, Ohio. “I developed brownfields to reinvest in our city and spur economic growth, including the building of the Dayton Dragons stadium,” Rep. Turner said. “I know firsthand how important brownfields are for communities looking to rebuild. Our bill extends the brownfields tax credit to help cities like Dayton continue to grow.”

The Brownfields Redevelopment Tax Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018, H.R. 5579, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend expensing of environmental remediation costs through 2021. Sound familiar to some of you? It should. Brownfield practitioners know the historical narrative. The brownfields tax incentive was first ratified as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, permitted taxpayers to deduct remediation expenditures for the cleanup of a property that was used for a trade, business or to produce income. A two-year extension occurred in 2009 and then expired on Jan. 1, 2012 and hasn’t been reauthorized since.

U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) joined Turner in introducing H.R. 5579, which has been referred to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. “I hear time and time again from business owners, developers and local leaders across central and northwestern Connecticut that the high costs of cleanup deter initial private sector investments,” Rep. Esty said in a news report. “Cities and towns throughout Connecticut have strong industrial histories and are now in the process of transitioning to new sources of economic growth, which is critical to creating good-paying jobs right here in our state. I’m doing what I can to be a strong partner in these efforts.”

If enacted, H.R. 5579 would reauthorize the tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2021, and provide four years of certainty for potential developers, according to the congressman’s staff.

Let’s hope that Reps. King and Turner get majority buy-in from the U.S. House because the clock is ticking on the position, and fate, of a good number of New York City brownfield projects. H.R. 5579 is one integral means to supporting that end.

2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Mon, 07 May 2018 20:55:05 GMT

On May 1, 2018, the NYC Brownfield Partnership held its annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards at the New York Law School, recognizing the following outstanding New York City remediation projects:

Project Location:

The Residences at PS 186 / The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem

Project Team:

Impact Environmental
Monadnock

The 2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Community Outreach is presented to The Residences at PS 186/The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem located in West Harlem in Manhattan, NY. This project is a full renovation of the former PS 186 school building, which has been converted into a 78-unit affordable residential apartment building developed by Monadnock Development LLC. This previously abandoned property was remediated under the city voluntary cleanup program overseen by Impact Environmental and now offers affordable housing for families earning no more than 60% of the Area Median Income. In addition, the ground floor was converted to a 10,000-square foot community facility utilized by the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem. Previously, The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem served an average 1,500 local children but with this new location the club’s capacity increases to 2,000 individuals. Community outreach will also extend to the Washington Heights community. Located within the West Harlem Rezoning Area, The Residences at PS 186/The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem has achieved the goals of the rezoning effort to allow for mixed-use development opportunities while preserving the character of West Harlem neighborhood.

Project Location:

25 Kent, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

EBC
AMC Engineering
SPR
19 Kent Partners LLC
Lehrer LLC
TG Nickel

The 2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Economic Development is presented to the 25 Kent development located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The team responsible for this development worked with the Department of City Planning and the non-profit organization Evergreen to design and construct the new 10-story building in accordance with the Mayor’s Industrial Action Plan and the recently proposed Enhanced Business Areas. The property was originally developed in the 1860’s as part of the Charles Pratt Astral Oil Works Refinery which was later taken over by John D. Rockefellers Standard oil company which continued refinery operations there in the 1940’s. The property was later used as a construction equipment storage facility from 1950 through 2014. The Site is now home to a new mixed-use, commercial/industrial building that includes 380,300 square feet of retail, light manufacturing, and office space, as well as, 14,400 square feet of public open space and two subsurface parking levels. This is the first new office building constructed in Williamsburg in over 60 years and will certainly serve as a road map for future projects to be developed in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Industrial Business Zone.

Project Location:

One Flushing, Queens, NY

Project Team:

Monadnock
Roux Associates
SPR

The 2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Environmental Protection is presented to One Flushing located in Downtown Flushing, Queens. Developed by Monadnock Development, Asian Americans for Equality and HANAC, this project transformed a former pay-to-park municipal parking lot into a 10-floor multi-story building which houses parking in the cellar, retail and community space on the ground floor and 232 affordable residential units. The Site was transferred from the OER Jumpstart Program to the DEC Brownfield Cleanup program. Implementation of a remedy by Monadnock Construction with oversight by Roux Associates included excavation of 25,000 tons of fill, excavation of 2,000 tons of petroleum impacted soil and removal of an underground storage tank. In addition, in-situ chemical oxidation was applied during construction activities directly to the base of a petroleum source area in order to remediate groundwater. The project achieved a Track 1 Unrestricted Use Cleanup in 2017.

Project Location:

Seaside Park & Ford Amphitheater, Coney Island, NY

Project Team:

FLS
iStar
GKV Architects
Newbanks NY
Hunter Roberts

The 2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Open Space is presented to Seaside Park & Ford Amphitheater located on the Coney Island boardwalk. The 126,000-square-foot site previously comprised a bus parking lot and vacant roller skating rink inside the landmarked Childs Building. Following remediation, the Childs Building exterior was restored and its now storm-hardened interior houses a 700 person restaurant and a 350 person rooftop terrace. Furthering its incorporation into the development of the amphitheater it houses the stage, ADA restrooms and provides space for the back-of-house functions such as dressing rooms. The covered 5,000 seat amphitheater is able to host a mix of ticketed and free community events via a partnership with its operator Live Nation, the non-profit Coney Island USA, and various other non-profit arts and cultural organizations. The remainder of the site was developed as Seaside Park, a landscaped accessible community space and a multi-age playground. The community is prone to flooding and the dense vegetation planted in the park acts as a long-needed coastal resiliency measure. This new development effort between the EDC and New York City based iStar Incorporated embraces the legacy of Coney Island as an affordable entertainment destination for both the seaside community and what is hoped to be an even greater influx of tourists during the summer months.

Project Location:

La Casa Del Mundo, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

3475 Third Avenue Owners Realty LLC
WCD Group
Real Builders
Kings Point Heights
OCV Architects
AtoZ Consulting Engineers

The 2018 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Supportive/Affordable Housing is presented to La Casa Del Mundo located in the Bronx, NY. Developed by KingsPoint Heights LLC, this development has created multiple affordable housing options for the local community. The former warehouse/storage facility was remediated with oversight from the WCD Group LLC and redeveloped into a 12-story affordable housing residential building with commercial space on the ground floor. All 101 units in the building are income restricted and to be occupied by families earning 60% or below the Area Median Income. La Casa Del Mundo was constructed through the New York City Housing Development Corporation and Housing Preservation and Development Extremely Low and Low-Income Affordability program. The design of the building, by OCV Architects, emphasizes sustainability and meets the Enterprise Green Community Criteria. This project transformed an underused space to provide much needed affordable housing in the Bronx.

Distinguished Service Aware Winner - Schenine Mitchell

Schenine Mitchell works as an Environmental Scientist in the Emergency and Remedial Response Division and as a Brownfields Project Officer for several Brownfields Assessment, Area Wide Planning, and Environmental Workforce and Job Development Training Grants. Schenine serves as the Lead Regional Coordinator of both the Area Wide Planning and Environmental Workforce and Job Development Training Programs. Equally important, Schenine serves as the Federal liaison to the Regional Inter-Agency Working Group on Brownfields.

Schenine also assists with field work for the development of solar panels on decommissioned landfills and brownfields. Schenine has partnered with The City College of New York (CCNY) to work with volunteer summer interns from their Environmental Science and Engineering Programs. This led to collaboration with CCNY on using GIS in an analysis of the economic and environmental impact of the EPA’s Brownfields Program in NY and NJ. Schenine presented this research at the 2017 Environmental Information Association Conference and Expo.

Schenine holds a B.S. in International Environmental Studies with a Minor in Political Science from Rutgers University (Cook College) and a M.A. in Environmental Management from Montclair State University. She has been a two-time recipient of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. She is currently pursuing a PhD. in Environmental Management at Montclair State University with an interest in doctoral research on inter-agency collaborations and brownfields redevelopment.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership Would Like to Thank…

EVENT PARTNER:

New York Law School, Center for Real Estate Studies

PLATINUM EVENT SPONSORS:

Aarco Environmental Services, Corp.
BCONE
Brown Duke & Fogel, P.C.
GEI Consultants, Inc., P.C.
Roux

10TH ANNIVERSARY GIFT SPONSOR:

York Analytical Laboratories

GOLD EVENT SPONSORS:

SPR
Tenen Environmental

SILVER EVENT SPONSORS:

AKRF
Alpha Analytical
AWT
Blue World
Brookside Environmental
Rigsby Search Group LLC
Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP
Schnapf, LLC

AFTER-PARTY SPONSOR:

Langan

NYC: Champion For Affordable Housing Developments

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 20:53:46 GMT

by Steve Dwyer

Across its five boroughs, New York City has developed a strong fluency for converting former brownfields into affordable housing reuses. The message is this—keep it up, New York, stay the course, because the strategy is paying prime dividends.

It’s a point of fact that the scale of vacant properties across New York City’s five boroughs is massive, with many end use redevelopments flashing diversification all depending on the footprint, the specific need and other factors.

Affordable housing has become a very viable option in New York City and beyond, as other cities are following suit on their pursuit of this end-use strategy. Other cities in other states might have taken a page from Via Verde, a mixed-income housing development in the Bronx acclaimed for using energy 30% more efficiently than comparable buildings, saving residents money.

There are several myths dogging affordable housing that many groups advocating for this end use are always eager to dispel. For instance, Community Housing Partners Corp. (CHP) finds that affordable housing is “affordable in the sense of being less costly to live in because it is supported by financing from a variety of public and private sources—not because it is cheaply built or operated.”

Building affordable housing near jobs supports the increased use of public transportation, shortens commutes and lessens congestion. The National Personal Transportation Survey found that low-income households make 40% fewer trips than other households. Studies show that affordable housing residents own fewer cars and drive less often than those in the surrounding neighborhood.

One key is critical mass: The larger an urban footprint—such as NYC—the better the chance to leverage an idea such as affordable housing. Think about it: When critical mass is achieved—paving the way for a “brownfields by the bunches” approach to redevelopment—affordable housing quadrants located within a city schema helps avoid housing “disbursement” in favor of unification.

The consolidation of affordable housing components across a city grid fosters public transit, biking and pedestrian options. This assists owners or renters to avoid having to either a) acquire an automobile or b) allow them to rely less on that vehicle.

Another urban legend is that this type of project can lead to over-crowded schools, but studies show that traditional single-family home neighborhoods have two to three times the number of school-aged children than those residing in apartments, according to CHP.

Like other similar studies, one from Wayne State University tracked property values before and after affordable housing was built and found that affordable housing often has a positive effect on property values located in higher-valued neighborhoods while also improving values in lower-valued neighborhoods—a double benefit.

New York City got the memo about the power of this redevelopment concept a long time ago. For proof, take a look at several former Big Apple Brownfield Award winners: The Hour Apartment House III in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens now provides much-need affordable housing to formerly incarcerated mothers and their children.

In 2017, Big Apple Brownfield Award winners that made their mark by underscoring and helping champion the affordable housing conversation included Webster Residence and Park House, which features units with rents affordable to households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Over 50% of the Webster Residence units and 12% of the Park House units are reserved for formerly homeless persons with special needs.

West Tremont Residences was built upon a collaborative effort between the city and state—resulting in 61 apartments available to senior citizens at affordable housing prices. Elton Crossing (Melrose C – Family), saw the creation of a mixed-use commercial and residential building to house low and moderate income families in the Bronx, to great success.

Affordable housing is an idea that will continue to be championed across the country—and rightly so. Give New York City an assist as it’s clearly the poster child for how effective this redevelopment concept can be if executed with a unified team approach.

Get Creative in the Face of State, Federal Funding Rollbacks

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:49:32 GMT

by Steve Dwyer

In January, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced the New York FY 2019 executive budget, and it was armed with a proposal that would defer taxpayers’ ability to claim certain tax credit amounts.

In short, brownﬁeld projects would be hit particularly hard. Due in large part to the brownﬁeld credits, the market has been willing to take on signiﬁcant risk associated with cleaning up contaminated sites throughout New York.

Let’s look at this as a hypothetical: Proposed, passed or struck down, what if such a proposal were to be enacted. What is the recourse for New York practitioners to stanch the loss of such critical funding?

The 2019 state budget proposal from January is indeed is a wakeup call to redevelopment practitioners in New York state, a call to arms activate Plan B in the name of generating project funding.

One way would be making greater use of private capital resources as a hedge against public-side fiscal budgetary cutbacks.

Any type of l tax deferral provision would negatively aﬀect credits under the New York Brownﬁeld Cleanup Program, the New York credits for low income housing and the rehabilitation of historic properties, the alcoholic beverage production credit, and others. In total, thirty‐five tax credits would be subject to this provision.

Under this type of action, brownﬁeld projects in progress would be in danger of disruption or failure due to the delay of the credits, which are critical to the projects’ ﬁnancial viability. If enacted, the proposed deferral would jeopardize dozens of brownﬁeld cleanups seeking to meet NYSDEC program deadlines.

This is a major step backward for what had been a blossoming initiative. During the summer of 2017, representatives of local and state government described a reinvigoration of the New York State Brownfield Opportunity Area program. In particular, New York City’s unique programs had encompassed more than 500 site remediations and several innovative grants and initiatives.

Under any type of rollback to much-needed tax credits, brownﬁeld projects would be signiﬁcantly aﬀected, and this would encompass:

Projects receiving a Certiﬁcate of Completion from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in 2018-2020;
Projects with qualiﬁed tangible property (including buildings and depreciable assets) placed in service on brownﬁeld sites in tax years 2018‐2020; and
Certain completed projects with 25 or more full‐time employees on site that are claiming the tax credit for remediated brownﬁelds.

With a public-side vacuum always lurking for this industry, private real estate capital resources are regarded as trending north. The HUD budget at one point last year stood at $57 billion. Commercial real estate is estimated to contribute $465 billion to the GDP and housing including both construction and consumption is now estimated back up to roughly 18% of GDP.

As various capital-oriented “certainties” morph into “uncertainties”-within an urban redevelopment context-having a backup plan is not only prudent but greatly advisable. Who anymore can rely on the capriciousness of state and federal support? Crafting a private-side game plan is at least a hedge to warding off a disastrous outcome.

Trump Proposes New Funding Options for Superfund, Brownfields

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:48:04 GMT

Environmental due diligence is a critical component of any property transaction where potential environmental risks are a concern—minimize risks and protect yourself from…

by Sylvia Carignan, BNA Environmental Due Diligence Guide

President Donald Trump’s sweeping infrastructure plan proposes to rewrite long-standing funding options for cleaning up brownfields and superfund sites.

The plan, released Feb. 12, seeks new ways to provide federal funding for contaminated site cleanup, potentially speeding progress toward redeveloping those sites. At the same time, the president’s budget plan would slash the traditional funding route for brownfields.

The proposed infrastructure reforms would create new loan and grant programs but also require legislative action.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.bna.com/trump-proposes-new-n57982088681/

Governor Cuomo Announces Reforms To Brownfield Opportunity Area Program In FY 2019 Executive Budget

Wed, 07 Feb 2018 15:47:05 GMT

Legislation Included in Executive Budget Would Bolster Efficiency for Brownfield Opportunity Area Program; Maintain Funding at $2 Million.

by LONGISLAND.com

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced legislation that would streamline the application process of and maintain state funding at $2 million for the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program in New York State. The Brownfield Opportunity Area Program provides grants to local governments and community-based organizations to address the complex changes related to concentrations of brownfields and vacant and underutilized properties in downtowns and in neighborhoods. The grants support realistic, community-driven plans for redevelopment, providing a roadmap to transform blighted properties into vital community assets. In the FY 2019 Executive Budget, the Governor has outlined proposed changes to streamline the process and continue funding for the program.

“This program has helped communities in every corner of New York transform blighted and neglected properties into economic engines,” Governor Cuomo said. “By reforming and streamlining this process, we will help ensure more local governments have access to tools and resources they need to help New York continue to thrive.”

The Governor’s FY 2019 Executive Budget includes reforms to the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program that would:

Streamline planning by eliminating the existing pre-nomination step and creating a single-step community-based process to achieve Brownfield Opportunity Area designation;
Allow for existing plans or plans developed outside the Brownfield Opportunity Area process that meet general criteria to qualify for the program; and
Allow existing Brownfield Opportunity Areas to apply for financial assistance for pre-development grants.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.longisland.com/news/01-22-18/governor-cuomo-announces-reforms-to-brownfield-opportunity-area-program-in-fy-2019-executive-budget.html

“Flood Resilience Zoning Text Update” presentation given by Melissa Herlitz and Jean You of the NYC DCP on October 30

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 14:40:03 GMT

ver 50 people from across the industry were in attendance on October 30th as Melissa Herlitz and Jean You of the NYC DCP gave a presentation on the “Flood Resilience Zone Text Update.”

According to the FEMA Flood Map – Citywide Flood Risk – New York’s City’s flood risk is high. The floodplain affects a large geography and most community and council districts.

100 Year Floodplain (FEMA 2015 PFIRM)
Population: 400,000
Buildings: 71,500
50 of 59 Community Boards Buildings
45 of 51 Council Districts

Planning a Resilient NYC

Photos from October 30, 2017 Presentation

New Life for the New York Brownfield Redevelopment Credit

Mon, 30 Oct 2017 14:38:45 GMT

by Kenneth Laks, CPA Journal

New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program was initiated over a decade ago to encourage private enterprise to redevelop contaminated properties and revitalize their surrounding communities. The program was recently extended, providing greater certainty that the incentives will continue to exist in the future, albeit at a lower level. Financial advisors of taxpayers with qualifying property should become familiar with the new requirements and engage the services of engineering consultants to maximize the potential tax benefits.

In April 2015, New York passed its annual budget, which included a 10-year extension of the Brownfield Cleanup Program. The state tax credits available for developers who clean up and build on contaminated sites were supposed to expire at the end of 2015, but now have the necessary funding to continue.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.cpajournal.com/2017/10/23/new-life-new-york-brownfield-redevelopment-credit/

Developer Plans 57-Story Tower at Formerly Contaminated West Side Site

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 14:37:45 GMT

by Maya Rajamani, dnaInfo (NY)

A developer who secured an $8 million tax credit for cleaning up a contaminated lot on the West Side plans to build a 57-story tower at the site.

Silverstein Properties last week filed for permits to construct a mixed-use tower on the site of a former Mercedes dealership at 520 W. 41st St., between 10th and 11th avenues, city Department of Buildings records show.

In 2016, Silverstein received $8,028,106 in publicly funded tax credits through the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program for cleaning up the site, a state Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman said on Monday.

…

For the entire article, see

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170815/hells-kitchen-clinton/silverstein-41st-street-permits-filed-brownfield-cleanup-program

State: MTA must file new cleanup plan at Yaphank site

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 14:36:54 GMT

by Carl MacGowan, Long Island Newsday (NY)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority must file a new plan to contain or remove contaminated soil from a former Yaphank rail yard because of a change in the state’s hazardous waste site cleanup program, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.

A previous remediation plan — in which the soil would be left in place and covered with an asphalt and concrete cap, proposed by the MTA in 2012 — is no longer valid because it was filed under the DEC’s Voluntary Cleanup Program, which is being phased out, DEC spokesman Sean Mahar said.

…

For the entire article, see

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/towns/state-mta-must-file-new-cleanup-plan-at-yaphank-site-1.13902885

Congratulations to Our 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 14:25:09 GMT

On April 26, 2017, the NYC Brownfield Partnership held its annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards at the New York Law School, recognizing the following outstanding New York City remediation projects:

Project Location:

Webster Residence and Park House, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

Breaking Ground
Mountco Construction and Development Corp.
Environmental Resource Management
Gibbons PC
CookFox Architects

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Supportive/Affordable Housing is presented to Webster Residence and Park House. Developed by Breaking Ground and Mountco Construction and Development Corporation, this project transformed a 1.36-acre vacant lot in the Bronx into two sister buildings, Webster Residence and Park House, creating a total of 418 apartments. All of the units will have rents affordable to households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Over 50% of the Webster Residence units and 12% of the Park House units are reserved for formerly homeless persons with special needs. Designed by CookFox Architects, Webster Residence and Park House will include green roofs, high performance building systems, multi-purpose spaces for resident and community use, and a shared courtyard.

Project Location:

Springfield Gardens and Linden Place, Queens, NY

Project Team:

Integral Engineering, P.C.
NYC Economic Development Corp.
NYSDEC

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Climate Resiliency is presented to Springfield Gardens and Linden Place. The NYCEDC completed a multi-phased drainage improvement and wetland restoration project for the neighborhood of Springfield Gardens. Large scale drainage improvements, roadway construction and existing park and wetland rehabilitation was implemented in order to drastically reduce the potential for overflow into the surrounding residential areas. After the completion of the project, the residents of Springfield Gardens have found relief from damage to their homes and dangers on the road formerly resulting from severe flooding during heavy rain events. Especially in consideration of the threat of increased storm frequency and severity from climate change, this project has significantly improved the drainage infrastructure and capacity of the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, making resident less vulnerable to potential storm impacts.

Project Location:

West Tremont Residences, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

Impact Environmental Consulting, Inc.
Acacia Network/Promesa

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Collaboration is presented to West Tremont Residences. The successful development of this 25,500-square-foot former drycleaning site located in the Bronx was accomplished because of the collaborative efforts between the developer, multiple non-profit organizations, the environmental consultant, OER, and DEC during each stage of the project. At the onset, the developer purchased the property from the City of New York for a nominal fee in exchange for their commitment to construct affordable housing. Funding for the project was provided by NYSHCR, NYCHDP, the Community Preservation Corporation, and private lenders. Additional grant money was obtained through the BIG Program and successful completion of the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Because of the collaborative efforts of the project team, the city, and the state, there are 61 new apartments available to senior citizens at affordable housing prices.

Project Location:

Jamaica 94th Avenue, Jamaica, Queens, NY

Project Team:

Artimus Construction
GF55 Partners
AKRF, Inc.
Rodkin Cardinale Consulting Engineers

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Community Outreach is presented to Jamaica 94th Avenue. Community Outreach and development was a major commitment of the team that was factored during the building’s construction. Hiring local community residents and purchasing the construction materials from local distributors was an opportunity this team made effort to maintain. The team provided construction certification classes to the local community in order to assist the local community to receive the necessary credentials in order to work on the job site and on future job sites. Upon completion of the building, a full staff shall be required for the operation and upkeep which the team will be striving to fulfill with local residents. Throughout the development and construction process, the team also worked with the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Queens Economic Development Corporation and local elected officials to push the connection with the community and economic development.

Project Location:

Elton Crossing (Melrose C – Family), Bronx, NY

Project Team:

AKRF, Inc.
Phipps Houses
The Briarwood Organization
Magnusson Architecture and Planning
CPC Resources

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Economic Development is presented to Elton Crossing (Melrose C – Family). The team responsible for this development created a mixed-use commercial and residential building that houses low and moderate income families in the Bronx where a 30,300-square-foot industrial factory and warehouse once stood. The development is located within the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Area and directly addresses several of the housing and economic development needs directly outlined by the associated plan. The project supported 320 construction jobs and upon opening, the development will support 15 permanent jobs. In addition, the developer is working with the local community board to find tenants for at least 50% of the units.

Project Location:

Greenwich Street Residential Development, New York, NY

Project Team:

AKRF, Inc.
Metro-Loft Management LLC
Cetraruddy Architecture DPC

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Environmental Protection is presented to the Greenwich Street Residential Development. The team completed a multi-phase remedial investigation of on- and off-site conditions under NYC OER’s E-Designation program including: soil, groundwater, and soil vapor testing; subsurface utility/drain and geophysical investigation, including recorded video; groundwater flow direction study using data logging transducers; and extensive historical review of properties in the immediate vicinity of the project site. The forensic analysis of groundwater samples confirmed the presence of two separate TCE-contaminated groundwater plumes (one contained within the site and one originating off-site). NYC OER and NYSDEC collaborated to guide the investigation and subsequent remediation, which included soil removal, groundwater treatment, and installation and operation of an active sub-slab depressurization system. Completion of the redevelopment was able to proceed under complicated environmental conditions due to the unprecedented level of collaboration between several parties who came together with a shared vision and passion for getting the job done, and for promoting the protection of human health and the environment.

Project Location:

149 Kent Avenue Site, Brooklyn, NY

Project Team:

Roux Associates, Inc.
L+M Development Partners, Inc.
GF55 Partners
Sive Paget & Riesel P.C.
Congress Builders LLC
Global Design Strategies

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Innovation is presented to 149 Kent Avenue Site. The 40,000-square-foot property located in Williamsburg housed a former rail terminal turned storage warehouse and required extensive remediation of chlorinated volatile organic compound impacted media to accommodate development of the 7-story, mixed-use commercial and residential building and underground parking garage. Of the 42,000 tons of soil removed and disposed of off-site during construction, about 5,200 tons were classified as chlorinated volatile organic compound hazardous waste. Treatment of CVOC-impacted groundwater was innovatively accomplished by injecting a zero valent iron (or ZVI) permeable reactive barrier beneath the southwest portion of the property. The project team successfully remediated the property through the Brownfield Cleanup Program and in accordance with the E-Designation placed on the site.

Project Location:

Flushing Commons Phase 1, Queens, NY

Project Team:

AKRF, Inc.
Rockefeller Group Development Corporation
AECOM Capital
Perkins Eastman

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Sustainable Remediation is presented to the Flushing Commons Phase I redevelopment site. The Sustainable Remediation practices employed during development included transportation of approximately 14,000 cubic yards of soil to nearby local areas affected by Super Storm Sandy through OER’s Clean Soil Bank and 20,000 cubic yards of soil to a recycling plant for reuse as concrete mix. In addition, 3,400 cubic yards of material was imported through OER’s clean soil bank and asphalt bank for backfill purposes. These efforts eliminated more than 1,500 truck trips to regional disposal locations outside of NYC, effectively reducing the carbon footprint of the redevelopment, and provided for the reuse of material on-site and elsewhere in NYC.

Project Location:

Compass One Residences, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

Impact Environmental Consulting, Inc.
Monadnock Construction, Inc.

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Open Space is presented to Compass One Residences. Where a vacant auto repair shop and junkyard were once located in the Bronx, two newly developed mixed-use commercial and residential apartment buildings, one 9 stories and one 15 stories, now stand. A 7,800-square-foot residential courtyard connects the two buildings, and an 8,000-square-foot landscaped community space spans the block connecting Boone Avenue to West Farms Road. Both outdoor spaces provide walkways and benches for pedestrians and the landscaping includes various shrubbery and perennials, as well as, recycled bedrock and boulders produced during construction of the development. Notably, the mid-block landscaped area will ease the flow of pedestrians as redevelopment of Crotona Park East/West Farms rezoning area continues.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership Would Like to Thank

Event Partner

New York Law School, Center for Real Estate Studies

Gold Event Sponsors

Alpha Analytical
Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE)
Brown Sharlow Duke & Fogel, P.C.
Tenen Environmental, LLC

After-Party Sponsor

Langan

ONENYC: Mayor Announces Environmental Remediation of 500th Property and Achievement of 75% of Goal

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:23:35 GMT

Program milestone 18 months ahead of schedule

NEW YORK – To kick off Earth week, today Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the completion of environmental remediation on the 500th tax lot under NYC oversight since his administration began in 2014, achieving 75% of his OneNYC cleanup goal 18 months ahead of schedule. Each of the remediated properties has achieved rigorous state cleanup standards. The remediated land has been redeveloped with over 27 million square feet of new building space, representing private investment of $8.2 billion in new construction and producing an estimated 3,700 permanent new jobs, 3,600 new units of affordable and supportive housing and is expected to generate over $960 million in new, long-term tax revenue for NYC and a comparable amount to New York State. Construction of these new buildings also employed over 13,500 construction workers. Remediation since 2014 has cleaned up a total of 138 acres of land, including removal of more than 300 underground storage tanks.

“We are cleaning up vacant lots and revitalizing neighborhoods across the city – and hitting our goals a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “New York’s city cleanup program is a commitment to combatting pollution that disproportionately affects already disadvantaged communities. Our environmental remediation program is also a boon to the economic vitality of neighborhoods, creating jobs and cleaning up land to welcome new businesses and housing.”

These cleanups eliminate pollutant exposure and have occurred in many NYC neighborhoods, with over 50% of the 577 remediated lots located in moderate- and low-income communities. All of these lots have been redeveloped, enabling safe reuse and revitalization of property that has been vacant for an average of over 10 years. Eighty-one (81) of these remediated properties are located in the coastal flood zone, where pollutant removal reduces risks from storm surge, achieving over 80% of the OneNYC goal to clean up sites in the floodplain. Remediation is managed by the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) which operates the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) under a collaborative agreement with New York State that delivers high quality cleanups that meet stringent state land remediation standards. The VCP is the only municipally-run environmental remediation program in the nation, and it manages lightly- and moderately-contaminated property. OneNYC is Mayor de Blasio’s plan for a strong and just city.

Mayor de Blasio also announced the establishment of new grants under OneNYC to assist community-directed revitalization of vacant land in city neighborhoods. These grants, part of OER’s Place-Based Community Planning program for vacant land, provide between $10,000 and $25,000 to help community-based organizations and faith-based developers identify strategic vacant and contaminated properties and plan environmental remediation to pave the way for community-oriented development.

The 500th remediated tax lot is located on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and West 127th Street in Central Harlem. The property has been redeveloped with a 10-story building that is now the home for Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children & Family Services and The Children’s Village, two of the oldest charitable organizations in the U.S. (founded in 1836 and 1851, respectively), 47 units of affordable housing, and 12 units of supportive housing for youth at risk of homelessness as they transition out of foster care. The project was funded by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development and the NYC Housing Development Corporation and is a joint venture with affordable housing developer Alembic Community Development. The project created 117 construction jobs and will support 85 permanent jobs, including 20 new jobs that include local Harlem residents. Children’s Village serves families and vulnerable children across NYC.

Harlem Dowling provides child-care and foster care services and established the first orphanage for children of color located on West 12th St. near Sixth Avenue. In the next decade, larger quarters were constructed on Fifth Avenue between 43-44th Streets. This facility was burned down during the NYC draft riots in 1863, forcing the organization to relocate several times since. The new building, known as the Home for Harlem Dowling, is dedicated to the original building that was destroyed. The remediation resulted in the removal and regulated disposal of over 7,000 tons of soil and achieved the highest standard for soil cleanup established by New York State. The property was awarded a Green Property Certification by OER, signifying that it is now one of the safest buildings in NYC to live and work. The project also received $70,000 in cleanup grant funding from OER. The property was vacant for 23 years before remediation and redevelopment.

“We have limited available land for new development, and it is vitally important to rehabilitate our vacant and abandoned land. This administration recognizes the disproportionate impact of environmental pollution in low-income communities and has focused city resources in disadvantaged areas to pursue greater equity in environmental quality and economic opportunity,” said First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris. “We will continue to build new programs and find innovative ways to improve our environment and help communities achieve their grass-roots vision for reuse of vacant land.”

“Cleanup of contaminated land is one of the most important environmental success stories of our generation. With our colleagues at New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NYC is working to reverse 150 years of land pollution, one property at a time. This effort is critically important in low-income communities where the impacts of pollution and land vacancy hit hardest,” said Dr. Daniel Walsh, founding Director of OER.

“Ensuring that historic brownfields are remediated and contributing to the city’s economy is a vital part of creating healthy and affordable neighborhoods,” said Daniel Zarrilli, Senior Director of Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer for the NYC Mayor’s Office. “Today, we celebrate the achievements ahead of schedule by our colleagues at the Office of Environmental Remediation to reach the completion of environmental remediation on the 500th tax lot since 2014 representing 75% of our cleanup goals. This illustrates the commitment of the City and partners and ensures that our land is not only clean and livable, but resilient in the face of climate change.”

“Contaminated sites put our communities at risk, lower people’s quality of life and can lead to economic blight,” said Catherine McCabe, Acting U.S. EPA Regional Administrator. “The EPA provides support to local and state partners to clean up contaminated properties such as those in New York City’s Office of Environmental Remediation program. We applaud their hard work and the accomplishment of their 500th remediated lot.”

“Along with clean air and water, clean land is one of our most important natural resources. However, our cities carry the burden from many decades of indiscriminate pollution of land. We are pleased to see the leadership that New York City has shown in operating the only city-run land remediation program in the country and the difference this program has made for our environment in such a short time. We are glad that OER works closely with New York State DEC to ensure rigorous state standards are met. We need new ways to improve the environment, and this is a model other cities can consider to address their own legacy of pollution,” said Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

“We are very pleased to see the progress the de Blasio administration is making with its land remediation program. Land cleanup is important in cities because many contaminated properties are located in disadvantaged communities, cause a disproportional burden of pollution to residents and are a significant source of environmental injustice. Cleanup under OER oversight lowers this pollution burden and also enables revitalization of abandoned properties in ways that can serve community needs, such as creation of new affordable housing, jobs, and community facilities. The environmental remediation that is happening in the coastal flood plain also lowers the risks of storm surge and removes contaminants from our communities,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.

“Regulation of cleanup of land pollution is an important function of government. When Environmental Defense Fund supported the NYC Brownfield bill in NYC City Council hearings several years ago, we recognized that this would result in the first city-run land remediation program in the country. We are pleased with the remarkable progress OER has made in just a few years. Importantly, New York City is showing other cities that they can lead in the effort to overcome land pollution and improve the quality of our environment for future generations,” said Jim Tripp, Senior Counsel at Environmental Defense Fund.

“For decades, our neighborhoods were the dumping grounds for the city, particularly in low-income communities of color, and residents were forced to bang their heads against the wall as more and more vacant properties became polluted eye sores that were left to fester by the city,” said Council Member Donovan Richards. “Finally, we are making common sense decisions to protect and improve our environment while also lifting up neglected communities. I’d like to thank and congratulate Mayor de Blasio for delivering environmental remediation that will help revitalize distressed areas and capitalize on their vacant land to ensure that these properties are used to improve long-forgotten neighborhoods.”

“This is not just a physical restoration of our historically neglected communities,” said Council Member Stephen Levin. “It is also a restoration of the commitment that all communities, no matter their wealth or location, matter. Instead of polluted vacant lots, our neighborhoods can now welcome affordable housing and new businesses. I applaud the Mayor’s steadfast commitment to environmental and economic justice for today’s generation and beyond.”

“We applaud the de Blasio administration for demonstrating such a strong focus on improving the quality of land and at the same time facilitating revitalization of vacant land in New York City communities. Clean land is good for the health of New Yorkers, and new buildings provide space for housing and enables growth of businesses, creating jobs and building our economy. Congratulations for achieving this important milestone,” said Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City.

“The City of New York has put significant effort into working with site owners and developers to remediate their land and achieve redevelopment goals. OER has been a responsive partner in the implementation of improvements to make the process for clean-up and accessing clean soil more predictable, successful, and cost-effective,” said John H. Banks, President of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Council Member Costa Constantinides, Chair of the Council’s Environmental Protection Committee, said, “Now more than ever, our city must lead the way on the environment. The Office of Environmental Remediation’s Voluntary Cleanup remediation program, the only municipal environmental remediation program in the nation, helps make our city cleaner and less polluted. This newly-completed remediated lot will be redeveloped with affordable housing and help produce new jobs, which brings benefits for our environment as well as our economy. Thank you to OER for implementing this important program.”

“We enjoyed working with OER in the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program to make this property safe and were impressed with their willingness to work hard to find ways to help us. OER’s programs helped save us $600,000 in state taxes and fees for the cleanup and provided grant funding that helped make this project work. We would recommend this program to anyone trying to revitalize contaminated land in NYC,” said Mike McCarthy, Director of Alembic’s New York office.

“Remediating 500 properties over one-and-a-half-years across all five boroughs of NYC is a tremendous accomplishment unprecedented at the municipal level anywhere in the United States,” said Mimi S. Raygorodetsky, President of the NYC Brownfield Partnership. “Returning this land to productive use has transformed many neighborhoods across the city.”

###

2016 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Tue, 17 May 2016 14:21:27 GMT

The NYC Brownfield Partnership is proud to recognize the following outstanding New York City remediation projects through their annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards.

Supportive/Affordable Housing: Third Avenue Residence

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Supportive/Affordable Housing is presented to Third Avenue Residence, a 7-story low income/supportive housing residential building located in the South Bronx. The Site, which began as a vacant lot, was remediated through OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program to the strictest (Track 1) standards. The residence provides housing for low income individuals from the surrounding area, people who are in recovery from mental illness and people who were formerly homeless. Due to the high quality site remediation orchestrated by the project team and the OER project manager (Horace Zhang), Third Avenue Residence will provide a helping hand to the South Bronx community for years to come.

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the Third Avenue Residence team is Rachel Ataman of Hydro Tech Environmental.

BOA Connectivity: 2477 Third Avenue Bronx

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Brownfield Opportunity Area Connectivity is presented to 2477 Third Avenue, a 4-story hotel also located in the South Bronx. As part of the Port Morris BOA process, brownfield stakeholders in this South Bronx community identified 2477 Third Avenue, a previously abandoned gas station, as a ‘Strategic Site’ for hotel development. Half of the Site was remediated under DEC’s Brownfield Cleanup Program and the other half under OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. The tremendous collaboration amongst the project team, DEC’s project manager (Sarah Quandt), and OER’s project manager (Zach Schreiber) played a big role in ensuring the success of the remedial aspect of the redevelopment.

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the 2477 Third Avenue Bronx team is Bharat “BL” Patel of Jiten LLC.

Economic Development: 2040 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Economic Development is presented to 2040 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a 12-story, mixed-use residential/commercial building located in Harlem. The Site was developed as the result of of the 2003 South-Central Harlem Rezoning and was remediated under DEC’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. As a condition of development, 100% of construction contracts were awarded to WBE/MBE firms, which resulted in the creation of 300 temporary jobs. Additionally, the new development will create upwards of 100 permanent jobs, most of which will be staffed by the community through the NYC EDC. The project team worked hand-in-hand with DEC’s project manager (Dana Mecomber) to achieve successful remediation of this previously condemned site.

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the 2040 Frederick Douglass Boulevard team are Nelson Bermeo, Elysa Lomangino, and Lilach Musman of Artimus Construction.

Environmental Protection: Brooklyn Bay Center

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Environmental Protection is presented to Brooklyn Bay Center. This former illegal dumping ground was remediated under OER’s E-Designation Program. Remediation included the removal and/or excavation of 19 underground storage tanks, petroleum-impacted soil and free product, soil contaminated with hazardous levels of arsenic, and upwards of 33,000 cubic yards of screened trash. The resulting development is a beautiful waterfront esplanade and public park located along the Brooklyn shoreline and an adjacent retail building that has brought about 250 jobs to the surrounding community. This fantastic turnaround would not have been possible without the thoughtful work undertaken by the project team and the OER project manager (Zach Schreiber).

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the Brooklyn Bay Center team is John Gavras of GZA.

Green Building: 345-353 State Street

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Green Building is presented to 345-353 State Street located in Brooklyn. This site, which was once comprised of dilapidated residences and a parking structure, was remediated under OER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program. The new development has been granted LEED Gold Status for homes and includes seven, 4-story townhouses, each with a cellar and a rear yard. The townhomes include an aggressive energy package comprised of high efficiency appliances, insulated windows, and an innovative foundation and wall system that was constructed using Insulated Concrete Form. This energy efficient development has proven to be 25% more efficient than NYC code requirements and 10% more efficient than Energy Star Ratings. Remediation of this lot was successfully coordinated by the project team and OER’s project manager (Hannah Moore).

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the 345-353 State Street team is Erica Johnston of Hydro Tech Environmental.

Open Space Award: Bush Terminal Park

The Big Apple Brownfield Award for Open Space is presented to Bush Terminal Park, an exquisite new public space that will jumpstart revitalization of Brooklyn’s industrial Port of New York. This development sits atop what was once a Class 3 Inactive Hazardous Waste Landfill. Site remediation was achieved through the Clean H2O and Clean Air Bond Acts. The Bush Terminal Park of today provides enhanced waterfront access and enjoyment to the surrounding residential community and promotes a strengthened ecosystem of tidal pools, the shoreline, and loosely wooded areas of the park. This beautiful waterfront escape from urban life would not be what it is today if not for the tirelessly coordinated efforts of the project team and the DEC project manager (Nigel Crawford).

Accepting the Big Apple Brownfield Award on behalf of the Bush Terminal Park team is James Peronto of TRC Engineers.

NYSDEC Proposes Revised Definition of “Underutilized” for Tangible Property Tax Credits

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 14:16:59 GMT

On March 9, 2016, NYSDEC proposed a new definition of “underutilized” for use in determining whether a site is eligible for tangible property tax credits under the NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program. To learn more, click on the following link to an article authored by Partnership Board member, David J Freeman, Gibbons P.C.

http://www.rpelawalert.com/2016/03/articles/developmentredevelopment/nysdec-proposes-new-definition-of-underutilized-for-tangible-property-tax-credits-at-new-york-city-brownfield-sites/

2015 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 14:15:01 GMT

On April 28, 2015, the New York City Brownfield Partnership hosted the seventh annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABAs) at New York Law School. The event was well attended by developers, consultants, attorneys and representatives from the non-profit and government sectors. In addition to highlighting seven exceptional New York City redevelopment projects, the Partnership also recognized the collaboration between the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation in promoting and furthering brownfield redevelopment in New York City. The award was accepted by Robert Cozzy, Director – Remedial Bureau B, DER, NYSDEC; Jane O’Connell, Chief, Superfund & Brownfield Cleanup, NYSDEC Region 2; and Shaminder Chawla, Deputy Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation

The keynote address was delivered by New York City Council Member Donovan Richards Jr., Chair, Committee on Environmental Protection.

The attendees were welcomed on behalf of Partnership President Deborah Shapiro by Executive Director Sue Boyle, who reviewed the year’s accomplishments, including the first networking event for Young Brownfield Professionals, the efforts of the Partnership’s Legislative Committee regarding the proposed revisions to the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program Regulations, the update of the 2014 study on the impact of the BCP on site remediation and redevelopment, and the expansion of the Partnership’s pro bono program.

Mimi Raygorodetsky, Chair of the Events Committee, introduced the award segment, and Michele Rogers and Kendra Logan, the event Co-chairs, introduced the following winning projects.

Sustainable Remediation Award

52-01 Queens Boulevard, Queens, NY. The redevelopment of this property transformed it from a vacant industrial space to a vibrant, mixed-use space. Through participation in OER’s Clean Soil Bank Program, approximately 95 percent of excavated material was beneficially re-used within the five boroughs, with much of the soil used to build a new park at Bush Terminals, Brooklyn. With so little reliance on out-of-state landfills, the development’s carbon footprint and expenditures were reduced significantly and the use of a vapor barrier and ventilated parking garage to minimize soil vapor impacts will significantly minimize the energy costs associated with continued operation and maintenance of an active system.

Green Building Award

Chelsea Park, Manhattan, NY. One of the most impressive features of this LEED- Silver certified building is the tenant-accessible green roof. Incorporating this feature reduced the heat island effect, reduced storm water runoff and provides outdoor space and panoramic views. Other green features of this development include low-flow fixtures throughout the project, thereby achieving a water use reduction of 30 percent. Through a high-efficiency condensing boiler, BMS management system, energy star appliances, LED lighting, and high quality air sealing techniques, this project achieved a 24 percent energy savings. Construction wastes were diligently tracked with over 75 percent of generated material diverted from landfills and incineration facilities.

Community Outreach Award

551 Tenth Avenue, Manhattan, NY. 551 Tenth Avenue, a former auto repair shop located in Hell’s Kitchen, lies adjacent to Saint Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory, a structure that has been standing since the earlier part of last century. Throughout construction, the 551 Tenth Avenue team went the extra mile to protect the church’s integrity, utilizing vibration monitoring and stained glass window protection, and holding weekly meetings with church staff. The church’s basement event space remained easily accessible during construction, with the developer providing additional parking and support for church events. Most notably, six floors of the 52-story mixed-use building will be dedicated to community use as schools, dorms and non-profit offices and the western façade of the new structure will be dotted with light sources mimicking the sun shining through the affected church windows.

Environmental Protection Award

Former Nessen Lamps, Bronx, NY. This Bronx property is fully occupied by a former manufacturing building that has been most recently utilized as a public school. The property has historically been used as a garage with gasoline storage, a drug company and a lamp factory. The Site building also served as a public school through 2011. The need to work within the existing building, (immediately adjacent to a residential apartment building and aboveground and underground NYCT subway structures), combined with complicated geology and elevated levels of chlorinated VOCs, necessitated ongoing coordination of various technologies to address environmental concerns and successfully complete the investigation and remediation over an accelerated timeframe. Subsequent to development of a conceptual site model, multiple remedial technologies were implemented to eliminate all exposure pathways and remediate the Site in accordance with the approved remedial plan and applicable regulatory requirements.

Collaboration Award

44 Withers Street, Brooklyn, NY. The 44 Withers Street site is a former gas station and auto repair shop located in the Green Point section of Brooklyn with soil contaminated with petroleum and high levels of heavy metals. A spill was reported during the due diligence investigation and the developer proactively contacted NYSDEC and NYCOER, and explained the need to make decisions within the small amount of time allotted to close on the property. Considering the data in the context of the proposed development scenario, both agencies assisted the developer to lay out a remedial scenario that propelled the property sale and eventual redevelopment forward in this extremely short time period. As a result, this formerly vacant lot is now the location of three four-story residential buildings with dedicated commercial space. 44 Withers Street is a prime example of what can be accomplished when all parties involved collaborate openly and effectively.

Economic Development Award/Brownfield Opportunity Area Award

One Fulton Square, Queens, NY. The winner of both the Economic Development and Brownfield Opportunity Area awards, One Fulton Square is located in downtown Flushing, Queens. Historically, the Site contained an auto body repair shop, garage, and a gasoline station. Prior to remediation, the Site was a vacant lot and a parking lot, which was being operated since 2001. The Site is now occupied by a 168-room Hyatt Place hotel built atop of a three-level glass retail podium. The new Hyatt boasts two fully equipped gyms, a yoga studio and a rooftop swimming pool. It will also have approximately 1,000 square feet of meeting space. A separate office condominium will contain 22 professional and medical offices, 43 residential condominiums, and 300 parking spaces. The retail space encompasses 330,000 square feet and the entire project is one million square feet in size. This $125 million project is in its final stages of completion.

This project will produce approximately 940 new jobs and has employed 250 construction workers, creating a positive effect on the community and creating millions of dollars in tax revenue generation.

The project is located within the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation (FWCLDC) Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA). The Flushing BOA Plan is intended to further the community’s vision for the Flushing area by updating and integrating stakeholder’s ideas and concerns, leading to the formulation of recommendations for spurring reinvestment in the area. One of FWCLDC’s principal objectives for the BOA program is to encourage greater connectivity and linkages between Flushing’s waterfront and downtown Flushing. In August 2011, FWCLDC designated One Fulton Square a BOA Strategic Site because of its location straddling Flushing’s waterfront and downtown Flushing and its role in attracting additional investment in the area.

Big Apple Brownfield Award

Hour Apartment House III, Queens, NY. Hour Apartment House III is located in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens – a neighborhood characterized by a mix of industrial, residential and commercial spaces. Prior to redevelopment, the property was occupied by three small buildings, which housed offices for the non-profit organization, Hour Children, as well as residences and a thrift store. As part of site redevelopment, impacts to soil, groundwater and soil vapor were remediated and in the process an NYSDEC spill was closed. The resulting structure is a 25,000-square-foot, sustainably designed building that serves a dual purpose: it serves as headquarters for the non-profit Hour Children and it provides much-need affordable housing to formerly incarcerated mothers and their children. The housing is welcoming and bright and it is obvious that much thought went into the design of these spaces, which function as a stepping-stone for families post-incarceration.

The Partnership also recognized the 2015 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholars and the 2014-2015 Brownfield Interns.

2015 ABBEY DUNCAN BROWNFIELD SCHOLARS:

Kevin Barrow, New York University

Sara Perl Egendorf, Brooklyn College

Raiana Phuong Frey, New York University

2015 BROWNFIELD INTERNS:

Alyssa Baldassini, Brooklyn Law School

Sarah Baldwin, Fordham Law School

Jack Donelan, University of Tennessee

Garrett Gissler, Columbia University

Catherine Hatt, Pace Law School

Mary Lorper, SUNY Binghamton

Catherine Lyster, Pace Law School

Brian McGrattan, Columbia University

Michelle Sarro, Vermont Law School

Rebecca Sorenson, New York Law School

Haijun (Navy) Su, CUNY Queens College

Yi Xiao, NYU Polytechnic University

Ruijie Xu, NYU Polytechnic University

Partnership Releases Updated NYU Study on NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program

Mon, 20 Apr 2015 14:11:24 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership, a non-profit public-private partnership promoting the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York City, has just released an update of its groundbreaking 2014 study analyzing the impact of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) on the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York State. Both the 2014 study and the update were authored by Barry F. Hersh, Clinical Associate Professor at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, with financial support from the Partnership.

The update, which analyzes newly-available data from tax years 2013 and 2014, confirms the conclusion of the 2014 study: that the most seriously-criticized aspects of the BCP were, to a significant degree, addressed by changes made to the program in 2008 by the state legislature.

The key conclusions of the 2015 update include the following:

– Sites admitted into the BCP since 2008 tend to be smaller, more geographically diverse, more likely to be located in low income areas, and more likely to have industrial or affordable housing end uses than sites admitted in the 2003-2008 period.

– The post-2008 projects are, at least to date, substantially less expensive to the state treasury than those admitted in the 2003-2008 period. The average tax credit cost for those sites to date is approximately $6 million, compared to $13 million for pre-2008 projects.

– A much greater percentage (36%) of credits of tax credits for post-2008 projects have been earned as a result of site cleanup expenses rather than development costs (64%). The comparable percentages for pre-2008 projects are 6% (cleanup expenses) and 94% (development expenses).

For further information about the updated study, please contact Deborah Shapiro, President of the New York City Brownfield Partnership, at (646) 388-9544, or David J. Freeman, Chair of the Partnership’s Legislative/Policy Committee, at (212) 613-2079.

Click here to view the full study.

New York Governor and Legislature Reach Agreement on Brownfields

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:09:29 GMT

David J. Freeman, Director, Real Property & Environmental Law Gibbons P.C.

Governor Andrew Cuomo and leaders of the New York State Senate and Assembly have reached an agreement with respect to extension and reform of the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), a significant development in view of impending expiration of tax credit eligibility on December 31, 2015.

The essential elements of the deal are as follows:

All sites currently in the Program, and those which are admitted prior to December 31, 2022, will be eligible for tax credits if they obtain their Certificates of Completion (COCs) by March 31, 2026.

Sites admitted on or after the later of (a) July 1, 2015 or (b) the date on which the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) proposes regulations defining “underutilized” (see below) will be subject to newly-enacted limits on tangible property (development) credits.

Sites admitted prior to June 23, 2008 will be “grandfathered” into the existing tax credit scheme if they obtain their COCs by December 31, 2017. Sites admitted from June 23, 2008 until the later of (a) or (b) above will be grandfathered if they obtain their COCs by December 31, 2019. If they fail to meet those deadlines, they can still obtain tax credits under the Program, but only under the more stringent guidelines applicable to newly-admitted sites.

Despite efforts to restrict the types of expenses that qualify for site cleanup credits, eligibility for such credits remain broadly defined. The one major new limitation is that applicants will not be able to count expenses of foundations that exceed the cost of cover system requirements under applicable regulations.

Sites in New York City that are newly-admitted, or that are currently in the program but fail to obtain their COCs in time to be grandfathered, will need to meet one or more of the following criteria to qualify for development credits:

– being located in an Environmental Zone;

– meeting the definition of “affordable housing”; or

– being “upside down” (i.e., with the projected cost of investigation and cleanup exceeding 75% of the value of property if uncontaminated) or “underutilized” as defined by regulations to be promulgated by DEC by October 1, 2015. Since this will be the only category under which many New York City sites can potentially qualify for development credits, how DEC defines ”underutilized” will be of critical importance to the regulated community.

Development credits will be increased for qualifying sites that are in Environmental Zones or Brownfield Opportunity Areas, achieve Track 1 cleanup standards, provide affordable housing, or are used primarily for manufacturing activities.

Payments to “related parties” (those with 10% or more common ownership) have been limited, but by far less than under prior proposals. Only payments of “service fees” (defined as fees calculated as a percentage of project or acquisition costs) will be disallowed, and even such fees can count toward development credits if and when actually paid.

“Brownfield site” will be newly defined as a site which has contamination in excess of standards set by DEC based on the reasonably anticipated use of the property.

There will be a new, streamlined cleanup program for sites willing to forego tax credits.

Class 2 (significant threat) sites will be eligible for entry into the BCP if being cleaned up by a Volunteer (a party not responsible for the original contamination) and DEC has not identified a viable responsible party who can pay for the cleanup.

DEC oversight fees will be waived for Volunteers, and DEC is authorized to negotiate reasonable flat fee arrangements for other BCP participants.

State hazardous waste disposal taxes and fees are waived for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or court-ordered cleanups under the federal Superfund law, and for cleanups under written agreements with a municipality having a memorandum of agreement with DEC.

Legislation embodying these terms expected to be passed by both houses of the legislature and signed by the Governor by April 1, the beginning of the state’s fiscal year.

Please contact the Partnership at info@nycbrownfieldpartnership.org if you would like additional information.

This article is based on the blog originally posted on the Gibbons Real Property & Environmental Law Alert blog site at www.rpelawalert.com.

Partnership Statement Addresses NY State Bar Association Memorandum on BCP Reform

Mon, 26 Jan 2015 15:07:26 GMT

On January 26, 2015, the New York City Brownfield Partnership released a statement regarding the New York State Bar Association Environmental Law Section’s January 8, 2015 “Memorandum and Recommendations Regarding Proposed Extension and Reform of the Brownfield Cleanup Program.”

The memorandum was prepared by David J. Freeman and Larry Schnapf, members of the Partnership’s Board of Directors.

Click here to view the full memorandum.

The New York City Brownfield Partnership (the Partnership) supports the efforts of the Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association to create broad dialogue on the proposed extension and reform of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), as expressed in the Bar Association’s memorandum dated January 8, 2015. The Partnership agrees with the conclusion that the BCP needs to be revised and extended to continue environmental cleanup and economic revitalization throughout New York State. We offer our assistance to join the Bar Association’s work with the Governor’s office and the New York State Legislature to continue and enhance the state’s brownfields efforts.

The Partnership, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves as a primary resource for information on brownfields and brownfield redevelopment in New York City. Our efforts advance public awareness and understanding of the benefits, opportunities, and best practices of brownfield redevelopment by fostering collaborative relationships among brownfield developers, property owners, government agencies, and community groups. We promote excellence in brownfield redevelopment by honoring successful brownfield projects through our annual event called “the Big Apple Brownfield Awards”, support the education and training of brownfield professionals through our scholarship program, and provide pro-bono counseling to community residents, groups and corporations, that require assistance in understanding the implications of brownfield remediation and cleanup in their communities.

Due to the Partnership’s commitment to New York City brownfield efforts, we are particularly supportive of recommendations 4, 10 and 11 in the Bar Association’s January 8, 2015 memorandum, all of which will enhance the efforts of the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation (NYCOER) and benefit the entire State. Creating an expedited cleanup process for properties that do not pose a significant environmental threat and for applicants who are willing to waive the tax credits but want/need to obtain liability release (Recommendation 4), exempting sites under municipally-run cleanup programs from the hazardous waste program fee and special assessment (Recommendation 10), and allowing municipally-submitted sites with tax lien sales into the BCP (Recommendation 11) will all enhance the brownfield cleanup and property revitalization efforts in New York City. These recommendations are consistent with our support of NYCOER’s programs and the overall goals of the Partnership.

The Partnership enthusiastically supports the continuation of and improvements to the New York State BCP and reiterates our support for the Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section’s efforts to bring brownfield stakeholders, including the Partnership, together to continue discussions regarding the important issues contained in the Section’s January 8, 2015 “Memorandum and Recommendations Regarding Proposed Extension and Reform of the Brownfield Cleanup Program”.

Contact Deborah Shapiro, NYCBP President at (212) 696-0670 or dshapiro@nycbrownfieldpartnership.org for further information.

EPA Announces FY2015 Funding for Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Grants

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:06:12 GMT

EPA Announces FY2015 Funding for Brownfields Assessment and Cleanup Grants – Proposal Submission Deadline is December 19, 2014

Funding opportunities include Brownfields Assessment Grants and Brownfields Cleanup Grants. Click HERE for more information.

USEPA issues RFP for FY 2015 Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (BF AWP) Grants

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:04:33 GMT

EPA is announcing the availability of funding to eligible entities wishing to develop an area-wide plan for brownfields assessment, cleanup, and subsequent reuse. This funding is for research, technical assistance, and/or training activities directed to one or more brownfield site(s) located in a specific area (such as a neighborhood, district, local commercial corridor, community waterfront or city block).

Each project funded under this grant must result in an area-wide plan which includes specific plan implementation strategies for assessing, cleaning up, and reusing the brownfields site(s) as well as related brownfields and project area revitalization strategies. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 20 projects in total, funded at up to $200,000 each. Please note that applicants who received a BF AWP grant from EPA in Fiscal Year 2010 or 2013 (FY10 or FY13) are not eligible to apply under this competition. The proposal submission deadline is September 22, 2014.

EPA will provide two guidelines outreach webinars. The same information will be presented at each webinar. For information on how to join each webinar click here. The Webinar times/dates are:

– July 30, 2014 from 12:30 – 1:30pm EDT

– August 14, 2014 from 2 – 3:00pm EDT

More information on EPA’s BF AWP Grant program can be found on the EPA Brownfields Website.

Partnership Walking Tour of the High Line in NYC is a Big Success

Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:43:47 GMT

On May 13, 2014, over 65 people joined the Partnership for a guided tour of the High Line Park, focusing on six ongoing or completed brownfield development sites along the park that are being remediated for reuse. The highlighted projects and speakers included:

Hudson Yards, a large mixed-use development at 30th Street (Jason Hayes, Langan)

507 West 28th Street, a residential development (Joe Good/Langan)

76 11th Avenue, a former MGP site (Mike Burke/Langan, Mike Perciballi/Posillico)

820 Washington Street, new location for the Whitney Museum (Axel Schwendt, AKRF)

The tour was led by Dan Walsh, Director of the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation (OER). Additional background was provided by Partnership Board member Gary Rozmus (GEI Consultants), who spoke about CSX’s decision process prior to allowing the defunct rail line to be used for recreational purposes.

The tour concluded at the Biergarten, at the Standard Hotel under the High Line. Based on the participants’ feedback, this is an event that will definitely be repeated!

2014 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Mon, 23 Jun 2014 18:40:50 GMT

On April 28, 2014, the New York City Brownfield Partnership hosted the sixth annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards (BABAs) at New York Law School. The approximately 200 attendees included developers, consultants, and attorneys as well as representatives from the non-profit and government sectors. In addition to highlighting six exceptional New York City redevelopment projects, the Partnership also recognized Jody Kass, Executive Director and co-founder of New Partners for Community Revitalization, for her contributions to brownfield redevelopment. The keynote address was delivered by John Gearrity, Assistant Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (NYCHPD) who, in keeping with New York City’s “Poem in Your Pocket” initiative, read the following:

An Ode to Brownfields:

I sometimes sit and wonder Why,

Why – do we have such love for Brownfields

They may represent a time of great industrialization,

They may represent an age when people flocked to our shores seeking opportunity

But a Brownfield is a remnant, a brownfield is an eyesore

They remind us of divestment, of urban flight and selective-segregation

A time when it was acceptable to use, rather than to nurture

A time when it was acceptable to exhaust, rather than to conserve

A time when it was acceptable to hate and fear, rather than to love and embrace

So why do we love them, is it because they have taught us.

Taught us that when we communicate, we find that we can collaborate

Taught us that when we work together, we find we don’t need to stay apart

Is it because they show us

They show us thru mutual respect, we can overcome disparity

They show us – that by acknowledging the shortcomings of our past, we make for a stronger future

That must be why we love them

The attendees were welcomed by Deborah Shapiro, President of the Partnership’s Board of Directors, who recapped an eventful year that included sponsorship of a study examining the impact of the brownfield cleanup tax credits on cleanup and redevelopment of NYS brownfield sites, educational activities undertaken by the Legislative Committee and continued work by the Pro Bono Committee in advising property owners. She concluded by thanking current members for their support, and encouraging those who are not members to consider joining the Partnership.

David Freeman, Past President of the Board of Directors, introduced the award segment, and Mimi Raygorodetsky and Kris Almskog, the event Co-chairs, introduced the following winning projects.

Economic Development Award

2329 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Manhattan (H&H Builders, Inc.). This redevelopment site was formerly used for printing, dry cleaning, as a photo lab and for various types of manufacturing. The historic fill on the property was contaminated with dry cleaning solvents, and fuel oil tanks were buried on the site. The 20,000 square-foot property was remediated under the New York City Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP), with cleanup activities including removal of impacted soil, treatment of contaminated groundwater via hydrogen-releasing compounds, and installation of a vapor barrier and depressurization system. A Track 1 cleanup was achieved and the site is now a vibrant commercial center, generating 150 full time and 25 part time permanent jobs.

Affordable/Low Income Housing Award

Putnam Court, Brooklyn (Dunn Development Corporation). A former illegal parking lot and auto repair facility, this project was remediated through the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) E-designation program. Results of Phase II sampling indicated levels of metals (including barium, lead and mercury) above the pertinent NYSDEC Part 375 levels and the presence of semi-volatile compounds in historic fill material, and low-level volatile compounds in soil vapor. Remediation included site-wide excavation concurrent with foundation ex The project, located in an area where gentrification is displacing the local population, has provided 59 rent-stabilized housing units, 34 of which are supportive housing for mentally ill, formerly homeless adults, who are provided full-time on-site support services by a Brooklyn-based social services agency.

Innovation Award

Former East Coast Industrial Uniforms, Brooklyn (39 Skillman Street LLC/Riverside Developers). Remediation of this former manufactured gas plant (MGP) and dry cleaner was accomplished using innovative remedial techniques integrated with construction activities. In order to address chlorinated solvent and petroleum contamination concurrent with development and construction, a series of manifolded chemical oxidant injection galleries and well points were installed within the basement and living area of a residential building and routed into a parking garage area to allow remote access. The property now contains three new six-story apartment buildings, designed to address the needs of the local Orthodox community.

Environmental Protection Award

264 North 10th Street, Brooklyn (250 North 10th Street, LLC c/o LCOR, Inc.). Located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, this site was formerly used as a chemical works, iron works, rubber products factory, bag filter manufacturer, auto painting shop, and metals manufacturing. Contamination on the 50,000-square foot property included elevated SVOCs and metals in soil and groundwater and elevated VOCs in soil vapor. The redevelopment plan includes a six-story residential building with an open common area connected to the base level parking garage. Site remediation, conducted under the New York City VCP, included removal of underground storage tanks and contaminated soil, installation of a vapor barrier, and development of a parking garage with a high volume air exchange system.

Green Building Award

Former Brooklyn Rapid Transit Rail Yard, Brooklyn (The Domain Companies). A New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) site, this property was formerly occupied by a rail car barn, warehouse, and rag distributor. The site was addressed as a Track 1 cleanup, involving remediation of semi-volatile organics, metals, and petroleum via removal of contaminated soil and groundwater, chemical oxidation, and beneficial reuse of 10,500 tons of soil. The property is currently being developed as a mixed-use, mixed-income rental development and has been designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification, Energy Start Certification and Enterprise Green Community Standards. “Green” features include Energy Star appliances, high-efficiency HVAC and hot water systems, and use of green materials for all interior components.

Community Outreach

Borinquen Court, Bronx (West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing). Remedial investigation of this 1.8-acre senior and disabled housing complex indicated significant impacts related to the site’s historic use as a gas station auto repair shop and car wash. Remediation was conducted under the NYS BCP and included removal of underground tanks and contaminated soil, and construction of composite cap to prevent future exposure. This project involved close collaboration with local housing and community groups and significant upgrades to the property. Borinquen Court is an excellent example of how community outreach can restore a needed project while remediating and restoring a property under the NYS BCP. The project is unique in that it entailed the preservation and refurbishment of existing low-income residences through collaboration among local community groups, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and NYC HPD and NYC Housing and Development Corporation (HDC).

As in prior years, the Partnership also recognized the 2014 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholars and the 2013-2014 Brownfield Interns.

2014 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholars:

Cody Bachu, CUNY Queens College
Marlon Ramlogan, CUNY Queens College
Satwika Reddy, CUNY Queens College

2014 Brownfield Interns

Barbara Ang, CUNY Queens College
Bianca Caraballo, NYU Polytechnic University
Maggie Chan, NYU Polytechnic University
Yi Jean Chow, Harvard University
Katelyn Ciolino, Brooklyn Law School
Meaghan Colligan, Pace University School of Law
Garrett Gissler, Columbia University
Catherine Hatt, Pace University School of Law
Aaron Hopkins, Rutgers University School of Law
James Huang, Stony Brook University
Yili Jiang, CUNY Queens College
Marcus Johnson, CUNY Queens College
Catherine Lyster, Pace University School of Law
Brian McGrattan, Columbia University
Rebecca Sorenson, New York Law School
Haijun Su, CUNY Queens College
Yong Yu, Columbia University

BCP Reform Not Part of Governor’s Budget Deal

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:39:40 GMT

The BCP reform, specifically changes to the Brownfield Tax Credits (BTCs) and the refinancing of the Superfund refinancing were not viewed as issues for 2014/15 fiscal year.

To read the complete article by Partnership Board member, Larry Schnapf of Schnapf LLC, please click HERE.

NYSDEC announces Streamlined Procedures for Environmental Easements in State Cleanup Programs

Mon, 24 Feb 2014 19:37:30 GMT

NYSDEC has announced streamlined procedures designed to expedite execution of environmental easements in the State’s Brownfield, Superfund and Environmental Restoration Programs. For most properties, the need for a title report and title insurance has been waived and the requirements for site surveys have been simplified.

For more information, see the following pages on NYSDEC’s website:

Bloomberg BNA Publishes Article on Partnership-Supported NYU Tax Credit Study

Fri, 07 Feb 2014 19:36:06 GMT

More than 60,000 brownfield sites in New York with potential contamination make a robust state brownfield redevelopment program important, according to a report released Jan. 29.

This importance is reflected in a relatively consistent number of annual applications for the state’s brownfield cleanup program, said the report, ‘‘New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program and Tax Credit Analyses.’’ Applications number 30 to 40 per year, fluctuating with policy, court decisions and market conditions, the study said.

Sponsored by the New York City Brownfield Partnership (NYCBP), the study analyzes the impact of the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP), and specifically the impact of brownfield tax credits, on the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in the state. NYCBP is a nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites in New York City.

Click to view full report.

Partnership releases NYU Study on Economic Impacts of Cleanup and Redevelopment of NYS Brownfield Sites

Wed, 29 Jan 2014 19:34:29 GMT

The study was directed by Barry F. Hersh, Clinical Associate Professor at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, with financial support from the Partnership, and focuses on the impacts of the significant changes made to the Program in 2008. Key findings include:

• Sites admitted into the BCP since 2008 tend to be smaller, more geographically diverse, more likely to be located in low income areas, and more likely to have industrial or affordable housing end uses than sites admitted in the 2003-2008 period.

• The post-2008 projects are, at least to date, significantly less expensive to the state treasury than those admitted in the 2003-2008 period. The average tax credit cost for those sites to date is approximately $1 million, compared to $14 million for pre-2008 projects.

• A much greater percentage (74%) of credits of tax credits for post-2008 projects have been earned as a result of site cleanup expenses rather than development costs (26%). The comparable percentages for pre-2008 projects are 7% (cleanup expenses) and 93% (development expenses).

• The approximately $1 billion of the BCP tax credits has stimulated approximately $8 billion of direct investment of cleanup and development dollars. Using well-accepted economic modeling, the study estimates that the total economic activity stimulated by the BCP to date is approximately $15.5 billion.

Click here to view full study.

Governor Cuomo’s Proposed Amendments to Brownfield Program

Mon, 27 Jan 2014 19:33:35 GMT

Please see below for an excerpt from the governor’s press release and a link to an article by Partnership Board member Larry Schnapf of Schnapf LLC.

“The Executive Budget includes legislation to extend the Brownfields Cleanup Program for ten years, with important reforms to protect taxpayers and promote brownfield redevelopment, particularly in Upstate New York. Under the reformed program, remediation tax credits will only cover actual cleanup costs and redevelopment credits will be available for sites that have been vacant for over a decade, worth less than the cleanup costs, or are priority economic development projects. In addition, the Budget includes a new $100 million appropriation to extend the State Superfund cleanup program, including $10 million through the Environmental Restoration Program to address municipally-owned brownfields.”

http://www.environmental-law.net/2014/01/governor-cuomo-proposed-amendments-to-brownfield-program/

Mayor Bloomberg Announces Completion of Fourteen Brownfield Cleanup Projects and Launches New York City Clean Soil Bank to Fulfill Milestone of “A Stronger, More Resilient New Year”

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 19:31:31 GMT

70 Percent of all Brownfield Cleanup Sites are in Historically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods

Properties in NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program have Average Vacancy of about 18 Years Prior to Enrollment and Cleanup

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the completion of 14 environmental cleanup projects in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan as a part of the New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program. The cleanups resulted in the removal of more than 195,000 tons of soil and remediation of 5.6 acres of land. Construction of new buildings on these 14 properties is now nearly complete and will include over 1.7 million square feet of new industrial, commercial, retail and residential building space – representing over $820 million in new private capital investment. These fourteen projects will create over 500 new jobs, 250 units of affordable housing and generate over $147 million in new revenue for the City. The New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program, which was an initiative under PlaNYC, is the nation’s first municipally run cleanup program and is operated by the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation. The Mayor also announced the launch of the New York City Clean Soil Bank, a landmark soil exchange that will enable recycling of clean native soil excavated during development of remediated properties for reuse on City and other construction sites, saving the City up to $5 million in soil purchase costs each year and lowering truck traffic, congestion and associated vehicle emissions. The clean soil can be used to elevate properties and build protective barriers to protect against storm surges and fulfills a milestone of the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency. The NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program was established in January 2011 and has approved over 150 cleanup plans in its first 32 months of operation. Collectively, these projects will result in cleanup of over 320 tax lots and will enable approximately $4.5 billion in new capital investment, over 13 million square feet of new building space, over 2,200 units of affordable housing and will create over 4,400 permanent new jobs.

“The NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program is bringing dozens of dormant and contaminated properties back to life throughout the five boroughs,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Working with private developers we are cleaning up these lots and building housing and commercial space that will attract families and businesses to the communities where they are located. In just 2.5 years, this unprecedented program is making possible 13 million square feet of residential and commercial development – including 2,200 units of affordable housing – that will generate more than 4,000 permanent jobs.”

“The NYC Clean Soil Bank matches projects that generate clean soil with city and other construction projects that need it,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Cas Holloway. “This program will lower brownfield development costs and accelerate cleanups. The Clean Soil Bank will not only reduce City construction costs, it is an innovative reuse of material that otherwise would have ended up in landfills, open solid waste transfer stations and at sites outside of the city. Congratulations to Dr. Dan Walsh and his team on their tremendous success on the Clean Soil Bank and the entire NYC Brownfield Cleanup program.”

The NYC Clean Soil Bank enables transfer of clean, native soil excavated from remediated brownfield sites on nearby City capital construction projects and brownfield projects that need clean soil, eliminating soil disposal and purchase costs and reducing transport costs. The program is expected to recycle over 100,000 tons of clean native soil each year.

“For decades, vacant brownfield properties have accumulated in some of our most disadvantaged neighborhoods,” said Dr. Daniel Walsh, Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation which operates the Brownfield Cleanup Program. “The City Brownfield Cleanup Program is now achieving high quality cleanups on these brownfield sites, reversing this harmful trend and enabling community growth and revitalization. This would not have been possible without PlaNYC and the strong support of community leaders, the environmental industry and Commissioner Joseph Martens and his staff at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”

“The NYC Clean Soil Bank provides the City with sustainable and cost-effective tools to make properties more resilient to climate change,” said Daniel Zarrilli, Director of Resiliency for the City of New York. “Clean soil from this program could be used to raise low-lying properties and vulnerable shorelines to reduce the risks of sea level rise and storm surge. This initiative is helping to build a stronger, more resilient New York.”

“Reuse of soil within the NYC Clean Soil Bank is consistent with the State’s goal to maximize beneficial reuse of recyclable material,” said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens. “This cost effective solution advanced by our partnership with New York City promotes sound environmental practices. We are pleased to work with OER to help provide the basis to operate this innovative new program.”

“Mayor Bloomberg made a major commitment to cleaning up brownfields when he released PlaNYC in 2007,” said Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Now we are seeing the return on that commitment, with 150 cleanup projects underway in communities throughout the City. The NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program not only makes our communities healthier to live in, it has also shown other cities around the nation that local government can play a major role in revitalizing blighted land.”

“The Brownfield Cleanup Program, coupled with smart rezoning, demonstrates the success the City can achieve by repurposing underutilized, contaminated land and focusing future development on job creation and the expansion of economic opportunity,” said Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City.

“New York City Environmental Justice Alliance believes that brownfield cleanup in our low income communities must be a high priority,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “I am very glad to see that the NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program has made so much progress in this area. We need to continue to build on this success.”

“The high quality cleanup of brownfield sites that is achieved in the city Brownfield Cleanup Program is an important mechanism for improving our communities,” said Deborah Shapiro, President of the New York City Brownfield Partnership. “The NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program and the other new programs that the Office of Environmental Remediation has established have made brownfield cleanup more predictable and more cost effective than ever before. We look forward to continued success of the program in the years ahead.”

“In just a few years, the NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program has become an effective and highly regarded government program to facilitate environmental cleanup and provide essential liability protection for developers cleaning up brownfield sites,” said Steven Spinola, President of REBNY. “Considering the large number of brownfield sites in New York City, this program is important for development and an important environmental legacy for the Bloomberg administration.”

“The NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program kept our project on schedule and helped us with funding that made cleanup of the property more affordable,” said Eric Bluestone, a partner in Bluestone Jamaica I, LLC which developed one of the sites cleaned up in the NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program. “OER staff put a lot of effort into our project to help it succeed.”

The fourteen recently completed cleanups are located at 90-11 161st Street in Jamaica, Queens; 23-10 41st Avenue in Long Island City, Queens; 39-16 Prince Street in Flushing, Queens; 224-01 Merrick Blvd in Laurelton, Queens; 2329 Frederick Douglas Blvd in Harlem; 312 West 37th Street, 400 Park Avenue South, and 529 West 29th Street in Manhattan; 105 Metropolitan Avenue, 386 Wallabout Street, 264 North 10th Street, and 210 North 12th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 547 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn; and 125 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn. This brings the total number of completed Sites in the NYC Brownfield Cleanup Program to twenty-one. Each of these properties will receive the New York City Green Property Certification, demonstrating that the new buildings are among the safest places in New York City to live and work.

NYS Tax Department Rules on Eligibility of Post-COC Costs for BCP Tax Credits

Fri, 06 Dec 2013 19:30:19 GMT

See below for an article by Board member Larry Schnapf of Schnapf LLC.

During the Great Recession, many brownfield sites in the lost their project financing. In New York, sites that were remediated and received a Certificate of Completion (COC) remain valuable because owners have ten years to develop the sites and claim the lucrative qualified tangible property (QTP) tax credit (explained below). As market conditions have stabilized, these remediated New York brownfield sites have become attractive investments for developers.

Since the new investors may have development plans that differ from the original project, it may be necessary for the purchaser to incur additional cleanup costs. Recently, the New York Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) issued an advisory opinion discussing if a purchaser of site with a COC could claim additional site preparation tax credits for additional remediation expenditures incurred to prepare the site for construction of an industrial manufacturing facility.

Under the BCP, applicants may be eligible for a number of tax credits including the Site Preparation Tax Credit and the qualified tangible property (QTP) tax credit. The BCP tax credits are only available for costs incurred after the brownfield cleanup agreement as been executed. Only those parties on the BCA may be named on the COC and only those parties on the COC may claim the BCP tax credit unless the COC is subsequently transferred in accordance with NYSDC regulations.

The site preparation costs include all costs incurred to prepare the site for development and includes cleanup costs as well as costs of excavation, shoring, sheeting, dewatering, fencing, etc. that are incurred to qualify the site for a COC. Additional site preparation tax credits may be available for five taxable years after the COC for costs that are incurred to place the property into service. Since this site was accepted into the BCP in 2006, the site preparation tax credit would be equal to 12% of the site preparation costs paid or incurred by the taxpayer. The applicable percentage that may be claimed could be increased by 8% if the property is in an environmental zone and another 22% if the property been remediated to a track 1 (unrestricted) cleanup standard for a maximum percentage of 22%. This credit component can be first claimed in the taxable year in which the effective date of the COC occurs and it is available for up to five taxable years after the issuance of the COC.

Likewise, the QTP tax credit component for this property would be equal to 12% of the cost of the improvements that were constructed on the brownfield site but could be increased to 22%. The QT tax credit for the tax year that the property is placed into service and for up to ten years after the COC has been issued.

Previously, the DTF has ruled that new buildings, including structural components of buildings, constructed on remediated land meet may be eligible for the QTP tax credit. NY Adv Op Comm T & F TSB-A-04-(1)I. Moreover, the DTF has ruled that costs incurred to rehabilitate existing buildings and construct of new buildings will be eligible for QTP tax credit. NY Adv Op Comm. T & F TSB-A-05-(4)C.

As is the practice with advisory opinions, the identity of the petitioner and the site were redacted. The generic facts are that the petitioner was considering purchasing approximately 15 acres of currently vacant land that had been was accepted into the BCP in 2006. DEC subsequently issued a COC (the date of the COC was redacted) to the current owner. The purchaser planned to enter into an amendment to the Brownfield Cleanup Agreement (BCA) and arrange to have the COC transferred to it in accordance with NYSDEC regulations. The Purchaser planned to construct a manufacturing facility on that site and lease that facility to another entity whose name was also redacted.

Because the additional site preparation costs would have been incurred more than five years after the COC was issued, the DTF concluded that the purchaser could not claim the site preparation credit. NY Adv Op Comm. T & F, TSB-A-13(10)C, Petition No. C130607A (9/10/13).

NYCOER Announces Environmental Review and Assessment Letter Program

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:29:01 GMT

Beginning in December 2013, the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation may issue a letter providing the results of Environmental Review and Assessment where the presence of light to moderate contamination at private property in the city of New York may affect the closing of a financial transaction.

OER will issue an Environmental Review and Assessment letter (ERA letter) that may comfort parties engaged in a financial transaction where it determines that existing conditions at a property are protective of public health. An ERA letter is generally not issued where contamination requires further action beyond that contemplated under the transaction to render a property protective for its intended use.

A party that requests an ERA letter will meet with OER to discuss the nature of the financial transaction, the property, prior and current site uses and operational history, known site contamination of soil, groundwater and soil vapor, the extent of current site development, the requestor’s plans for the property, the site’s future use following the anticipated financing and an indication of the role the ERA letter from OER may play. The requestor must also provide OER with copies of all environmental reports on the property, including a Phase I and all Phase II studies, and environmental data and information, including information about any environmental violations at the property.

OER will review and assess the property data and information, compare reported contamination levels with state cleanup standards found at 6 NYCRR §375, consider customary requests for public health protection and determine whether it can provide a written assessment indicating that existing or proposed property conditions are protective of the property’s future use. Where further environmental study or remedial action is indicated by the review, at the agreement of both parties, the ERA letter will identify those studies and remedial actions in the agreement or the request for the letter may be withdrawn.

If the requesting party decides it wants an ERA letter, it shall submit payment to OER of $3,500 to cover the cost of the office’s review, preparation and issuance of the ERA letter.

OER reserves the right to elect not to issue an ERA letter if, upon completion of its review, it determines the site is not protective of public health, or for other factors at the sole discretion of the director.

Dr. Daniel A. Walsh is 2013 Recipient of Prestigious American Bar Association Environmental Award

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 18:27:07 GMT

The New York City Brownfield Partnership is pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel A. Walsh, Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, will be presented with the 2013 American Bar Association Award for Excellence in Environment, Energy and Resources Stewardship.

The Partnership, and three of its Directors, David Freeman, Roberta Gordon, and Larry Schnapf, nominated Dr. Walsh in recognition of his leadership and significant contributions to brownfield redevelopment in New York City. Past recipients of the Award include a founder and early President of the Environmental Law Institute, one of the nation’s leading environmental think tanks; the President of CERES, a prominent coalition of corporations, investors and public interest groups that promotes sustainable investment; and the Director of Environmental Support for the company responsible for arranging for remediation of hundreds of former General Motors Corp. properties nationwide.

This prestigious award will be presented at the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Fall Conference on Friday, October 11, 2013 at the Hilton Baltimore. A number of Partnership Directors and members are planning to attend the awards ceremony and hope that others will consider joining us to honor Dan on October 11.

A Stronger, More Resilient New York

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:21:21 GMT

Mayor Bloomberg presented “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” a plan that prepares the City for the impacts of climate change. A statement on “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” and the Mayor’s remarks can be found below.

When Mayor Bloomberg gave his remarks on “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” the Mayor provided a presentation on the report.

Mayor Bloomberg today presented “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” the comprehensive and ambitious report that analyzes the city’s climate risks and outlines recommendations to protect neighborhoods and infrastructure from future climate events. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg launched the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency and charged it with recommending steps the City should take to protect against the impacts of climate change.

Under the leadership of Seth W. Pinsky and using the foundation built through the City’s comprehensive sustainability agenda, PlaNYC, the Special Initiative produced the 430-page report, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” with more than 250 specific recommendations to further fortify the city against climate events. The Mayor released the report today in an extensive presentation to elected officials, business and community leaders and leading climate experts at the Duggal Greenhouse – which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy and has since reopened as one of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 330 businesses. The following is an overview of the innovative recommendations proposed in the report, available on www.nyc.gov, and excerpts from the Mayor’s prepared remarks.

“Six years ago, PlaNYC sounded the alarm about the dangers our city faces due to the effects of climate change and we’ve done a lot to attack the causes of climate change and make our city less vulnerable to its possible effects,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “But Hurricane Sandy made it all too clear that, no matter how far we’ve come, we still face real, immediate threats. These concrete recommendations for how to confront the risks we face will build a stronger more resilient New York. This plan is incredibly ambitious- and much of the work will extend far beyond the next 200 days – but we refused to pass the responsibility for creating a plan onto the next administration. This is urgent work, and it must begin now.”

“‘A Stronger, More Resilient New York’ outlines a comprehensive strategy that will not only help our City’s most-affected neighborhoods to rebuild stronger and safer, but will help make our entire City less vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” said Pinsky, Director of the Mayor’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency. “In the 21st Century, it is the cities that confront climate change head-on that will be best positioned to survive and thrive. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg’s vision and leadership, New York City is doing just that, setting our city up, once again, as a model for the rest of the world.”

“‘A Stronger, More Resilient New York’ is the result of a massive effort by the Bloomberg Administration with the active involvement of an array of City agencies and expert advisors,” said Marc Ricks, Chief Operating Officer of the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency. “We also benefited from a close partnership with State and Federal agencies, and from extensive input from elected officials, community groups, and over a thousand New Yorkers who participated in our public workshops. With this level of collaboration, I am confident that this report represents the very best thinking about how to make New York safer in the years to come.”

New York City’s Climate Risks

“As bad as Sandy was, future storms could be even worse. In fact, because of rising temperatures and sea levels, even a storm that’s not as large as Sandy could – down the road – be even more destructive… We have to look ahead and anticipate any and all future threats, not only from hurricanes but also from droughts, heavy downpours and heat waves – which may be longer, and more intense, in the years to come.”

In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change – making New York one of the first American cities to organize a group of leading climate and social scientists to develop local climate change projections. Their findings, released in a groundbreaking report in 2009, described the climate impacts New York could expect in the future – which include not just sea level rise and more frequent coastal storm surge, but increased heat and more frequent and intense downpours. In September 2012, the City passed Local Law 42 to establish the Panel on Climate Change as an ongoing body to advise the City on the latest climate science.

Following Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg re-convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change to update its projections and develop future coastal flood risk maps – all of which would inform the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency.

The new data from the Panel shows:

Sea levels could rise at a faster rate than forecast just four years ago – potentially by more than 2.5 feet by the 2050s.

By the 2050s, the city could have three times as many days at or above 90 degrees – leading to heat waves that threaten public health and the power system, among other infrastructure systems.

The number of days with more than two inches of rainfall will grow from three in the last century to five in the 2050s.

The Panel’s full report, complete with detailed insight of their methodology and findings, is available on www.nyc.gov and informed the development of the proposals outlined in “A Stronger, More Resilient New York.”

Finally, the analysis from the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency shows that the costs of storms will increase: Sandy totaled $19 billion in damage and economic loss; in 2025, that cost grows to $35 billion and by 2055, $90 billion.

Coastal Protection Proposals

“For decades, the City allowed the waterfront to become polluted, degraded and abandoned. We have spent the last 11 years reversing that history and reclaiming the waterfront for all New Yorkers to enjoy – and we are not going to stop now.”

New York City’s 520-mile coastline is longer than those of Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco combined. According to the latest projections from the Panel on Climate Change, sea level rise of up to 11 inches in the 2020s and 31 inches in 2050, coupled with more frequent and intense storms, put the city’s coastline in jeopardy. However, with 535 million built square feet and nearly 400,000 residents living in the existing 100-year floodplain, the coastline is critical to New York’s future. The coastal protection strategies developed by the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency focus on fortifying defense and expanding natural protections, rather than retreating from the waterfront. These strategies include a series of first-phase measures that can be implemented immediately to protect the most vulnerable assets and shoreline, as well as a number of additional “full-build” projects to protect most of the vulnerable shoreline within the city. These additional projects can be implemented as additional resources are secured.

Install Adaptable Floodwalls and Other Measures: Known as integrated flood protection systems, measures like flood walls and levees can reduce the risk of flooding during storm surges. They can also be integrated with the urban environment to provide access to the waterfront for recreational, transportation and commercial uses. The City will work to install, in a first phase, integrated flood protection systems in Hunts Point in the Bronx to protect the Food Distribution Center; on the East Harlem Waterfront along the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive; at Hospital Row north of East 23rd Street in Manhattan; the Lower East Side; Chinatown; the Financial District; and in Red Hook in Brooklyn.

Staten Island Levee and Floodwall System: The City will construct an extensive system of permanent levees, floodwalls and other protective measures along the East Shore of Staten Island – from Fort Wadsworth to Tottenville, including Midland Beach. The project will rise as high as 15 to 20 feet, protecting communities that were devastated by Sandy and that have seen coastal flooding even during regular nor’easters for years.

Install Storm Surge Barrier at Newtown Creek: The City will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and install a storm surge barrier with gates and connecting levees at Newtown Creek that is navigable in non-storm conditions. In extreme weather, the barrier system close, keeping water from flowing into the creek and creating “backdoor flooding” in neighborhoods from Long Island City and Greenpoint in Maspeth.

Study Future Surge Barriers for Jamaica Bay and Other Regions: The City will also work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the feasibility of surge barriers across the mouth of Jamaica Bay to protect the communities of Gerritsen Beach, Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Canarsie and Mill Basin, the Rockaway Inlet, as well as the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

Install Tidal Barrier Along Coney Island Creek: Known as revetments, stone shorelines protect against erosion and rising sea levels. The City proposes installations across Coney Island Creek, to prevent “back-door flooding” from smaller storms.

Install Dune Systems in Staten Island and Rockaway Peninsula: The City will also complete the construction of a dune system from New Dorp Beach to Oakwood Beach in Staten Island, and complete dune improvements on the Rockaway Peninsula from Beach 9th Street to Beach 149th Street. The City will work with the Army Corps to study and construct a dune project along the Rockaway Peninsula, starting with a double dune system at Breezy Point, and also study a dune project for Coney Island.

Install Bulkheads: Bulkheads are typically made of stone or concrete and hold shorelines in place, while also protecting against sea-level rise and preventing erosion. The City will implement a program to raise bulkheads in targeted neighborhoods throughout New York, for example the bayside of the Rockaway Peninsula, Broad Channel and Howard Beach in Queens; Greenpoint in Brooklyn; the North Shore in Staten Island; West Midtown in Manhattan; and Locust Point in the Bronx and other low-lying locations. The City will also repair bulkheads on the Belt Parkway that failed during Hurricane Sandy; and repair and improve bulkheads from Beach 143rd Street to Beach 116th Street along Beach Channel Drive in Rockaway.

Study Construction of ‘Seaport City’: By installing a multi-purpose levee with raised edge elevations, the City could both protect much of the East River shoreline south of the Brooklyn Bridge from inundation and create a new area for both residential and commercial development. Using the model of Battery Park City, which was designed to withstand major flooding, the City will work with local communities, businesses and property owners to explore opportunities for a new neighborhood.

Restore and Maintain Beaches: The City will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to replace sand and expand the beaches – a critical storm barrier – lost during and before Hurricane Sandy. This will include ongoing restoration at Coney Island Beach, including 1 million cubic yards of sand; Rockaway Peninsula, which will include 3.6 million cubic yards of sand; and South Beach, Crescent Beach and Tottenville in Staten Island.

Complete Floodgate and Tide Gate Repairs: The City will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete floodgate repairs at Oakwood Beach in Staten Island and complete a tide gate repair study at Flushing Meadow Corona Park in Queens.

Minimize Wave Zones: The City will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study and install: offshore breakwaters that absorb the force of waves adjacent to and south of Great Kills Harbor in Staten Island. The City will also work with the Army Corps to study the feasibility of offshore breakwaters near City Island, the Bronx, and west of the Rockaway Peninsula.

Expand Natural Areas for Wave Protection In Queens and Staten Island: The City will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study and install a wetlands restoration project to weaken waves along Howard and Hamilton Beaches and elsewhere in Jamaica Bay in Queens; and a living shoreline of oyster reef breakwaters and sand in Tottenville in Staten Island. The City will also work with the Army Corps to use their existing Congressional authorization to expand wetlands throughout Jamaica Bay and citywide, including the North Shore of Staten Island the upper reach of the East River.

Protect Con Edison’s Farragut Substation: The City will work with Con Edison to help it protect the Farragut substation, which serves nearly 1.25 million people and was nearly flooded during Hurricane Sandy due to its location on the Brooklyn waterfront.

Explore a Series of “Full Build” Defenses, including Beginning the Analysis and Design Process for Seaport City: By installing a multi-purpose levee with raised edge elevations, the City could both protect much of the East River south of the Brooklyn Bridge from inundation and create a new area for both residential and commercial development. Using the model of Battery Park City, which was designed to withstand major flooding, the City will work with local communities, businesses and property owners to explore opportunities for a new neighborhood.

Buildings

“However, for all we do, we can’t entirely prevent water from entering our neighborhoods. So our plan is designed to ensure that when flooding and other extreme weather do happen, buildings can survive with less damage.”

After Hurricane Sandy, the City assessed building damage data and found that, while small, light buildings built before 1961 – when the City updated its building codes – represented just 18 percent of buildings in the Sandy inundation zone, they comprised 73 percent of those destroyed or structurally compromised. In the case of most other buildings, damage tended to be primarily to critical building systems, such as electrical systems, elevators, boilers and drinking water systems; there were relatively fewer modern and larger buildings that experienced significant structural damage. These findings – among others – demonstrate that construction and zoning codes play a crucial role in ensuring that the city’s building stock can withstand flooding and other destructive forces, and that protection of critical building systems must be a priority. The City’s proposals will improve the existing 68,000 buildings now in the 100-year floodplain through retrofitting and updating current regulations so that new construction meets higher standards.

Designate $1.2 Billion for Flood Resistance Measures: The City will make $1.2 billion in loans or grants available to building owners to complete flood resiliency measures, including: elevating or protecting critical building equipment, fire protection systems, electrical equipment, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; upgrading foundations; and reinforcing exterior walls to flood-proof buildings. Funds will be set aside for particular affected building types and areas, including: $100 million for 1- to 3- family homes; $500 million to be divided among the boroughs based on their share of buildings in the 100-year floodplain; and $100 million for affordable housing projects.

Update Zoning and Construction Codes: The City has proposed an amendment to the Zoning Resolution to allow buildings to be elevated without being penalized for height limitations; update the Building Code to require new construction to meet specific elevations as predicted by flood risk and clarify wind-resistance specifications; and amend the Construction Codes to better protect systems, including fire protection, electrical, and telecommunications systems.

Rebuild Damaged Housing Stock: Through the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, the City will deploy the initial Federal allocation of $530 million to rebuild and improve properties damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Retrofit Public Housing: The City will strengthen New York City Housing Authority developments and use $108 million in Federal Hurricane Sandy aid to begin the first phase, focused on power resiliency and the installation of emergency generators or other alternative measures.

Launch Sales Tax Abatement Program: The City will launch a sales tax abatement program for industrial businesses concentrated in coastal areas to subsidize the cost of making flood resiliency improvement. The program will be implemented by the New York City Industrial Development Agency and benefits will be capped at $10 million.

Insurance

“Another enormous challenge facing communities is the price of flood insurance. For the most part, the Federal government will cut you a break on insurance only if you elevate your home. This one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work and today, we’re proposing a solution to this problem: a partial rate reduction for homes that make flood-related improvements – even if they do not elevate.”

Hurricane Sandy highlighted the impact recent reforms to the Federal flood insurance program will have on New Yorkers. Properties located in the 100-year floodplain (determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood maps) are required to have flood insurance if they have a Federally-backed mortgage. Last year, before Hurricane Sandy struck, Congress passed legislation that will dramatically increase the cost of Federal flood insurance for many New Yorkers. That means that for a typical family living in Tottenville, Staten Island (a community with a median household income of $80,000), the cost of flood insurance alone may be up to $10,000 per year – 20 percent of the family’s after-tax income. The City’s proposals intend to reform the Federal flood insurance program so that it’s both more flexible and affordable, while encouraging property owners to take steps to reduce their risk of flood damage.

Reduce Rates for Different Resiliency Measures: Under Federal guidelines, the cost of flood insurance is reduced if buildings are elevated – but that’s simply not possible in New York. Approximately 26,000 buildings in the newly expanded floodplain would not be able to elevate easily – if at all – and so would not qualify for reduced flood insurance rates. The City will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a system that allows proven mitigation measures other than elevation to qualify for premium reductions.

Create Flexible Pricing Options: Flexible pricing options can encourage more people, especially those not required to carry insurance, to purchase coverage that meets their needs. A high-deductible could help reduce rates and offer protection to those who either aren’t required to have insurance or outside of a flood zone but would still like a policy.

Healthcare System

“We have to make sure the facilities we depend on in emergencies are there for us when we need them most. So we’ll amend the Building Code to require new facilities to meet high level flood resistance and have access to backup capacity for power and other critical systems, not only in the case of flooding, but also heat waves.”

The City’s healthcare system must maintain sufficient capacity to meet patients’ needs during disasters and be prepared to resume normal services as quickly as possible. The recommendations will help ensure that medical facilities can stay open and continue to serve New Yorkers.

Improve New Hospital Design and Construction: The City will amend the Construction Codes to require hospitals to build to the 500-year flood elevation standards, which are higher than the 100-year flood standards required today.

Require Existing Hospitals to Meet Higher Standards: The City will require existing hospitals in the 500-year flood-plain to adopt retrofits that protect their electrical equipment, emergency power systems and domestic water pumps by 2030. The City will adopt similar requirements for nursing homes and adult care facilities in the 100-year flood plain.

Launch $50 Million Mitigation Program for Nursing Homes and Adult Care Facilities: The City will make up to $50 million available to qualifying nursing home and adult care facilities that invest in mitigation retrofits, including protecting power, water, air conditioning and heating systems.

Power, Telecommunications and Other Critical Systems

“Millions of New Yorkers lost power during Sandy – and hundreds of thousands lost heat, internet service or phone service. Fuel supplies were also knocked out, resulting in long waits at the pump. Most of these networks are not run or regulated by the City – but the time has come for all of our private sector partners to step up to the plate and join us in protecting New Yorkers.”

In the future, stronger storms and longer and more intense heat waves will pose to challenges to the city’s infrastructure and systems need to be upgraded. Fifty-three percent of New York City’s power plants are in the 100-year floodplain and by the 2050s, 97 percent will be; fuel suppliers are not required to harden supply lines, although many are in areas at risk of flooding or power outages; and significant gaps in telecommunications regulations have left cable TV, broadband, wireless and wired voice system networks exposed.

Require Utilities to Address Climate Risks: The City will work with utility companies, regulators and climate scientists to analyze the risks and require plans that will update systems so that they can withstand events like Hurricane Sandy. The City will also work with suppliers and regulators to harden key power generators and electric transmission and distribution substations against flooding; strengthen overhead lines against winds; and protect the natural gas and steam systems against flooding.

Develop Power Restoration Standards: Currently, utilities are not held to service restoration standards during severe weather events like Sandy. Thus, the City will work with the Governor’s Office, the State Public Utility Commission, Con Edison and LIPA to create these standards, and also to develop strategies to assess power conditions in real-time and restore service more quickly.

Set Resiliency Requirements for Telecommunications: The City will include resiliency standards – including repair timelines – a part of its oversight of telecommunications providers. The City will establish the Planning and Resiliency Office within the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to work with service providers to increase the resiliency of their respective systems within New York.

Diversify Energy Sources: The City will work with utility companies, technology developers, and building owners to increase the flexibility of the grid and strengthen it with the integration of distributed generation and renewable resources.

Develop Fuel Security Strategy: The City will work with the Federal government to convene a regional working group to create a plan to harden fuel pipelines, refiners and other terminals so that fuel supplies remain intact during climate events. The City will also develop a robust system to provide fuel during supply disruptions caused by severe weather events, supply emergency response and other critical fleets.

Community Rebuilding and Resiliency Plans

“Our analysis of critical infrastructure was citywide, but focused especially on the most vulnerable areas. To help make those areas less vulnerable, our report also includes a number of big ideas to help the communities move forward.”

Aside from looking at citywide vulnerabilities and strategies to strengthen the five boroughs, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York” details specific strategies for the communities severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy. These community rebuilding and resiliency plans are described in chapters designated to the following areas:

Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront

East and South Shores of Staten Island

Southern Queens

Southern Brooklyn

Southern Manhattan

Cost/Implementation

The total cost of the more than 250 recommendations detailed in the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency report is nearly $20 billion – a sum that assumes each proposal is implemented along the suggested timeline. The City can rely on $10 billion provided through a combination of City capital funding already allocated and Federal relief, as well as $5 billion from additional, expected Federal relief already appropriated by Congress. The report lists several strategies to cover the remaining $4.5 billion gap, including additional Federal funding and City capital.

Credit: www.mikebloomberg.com

2013 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:11:00 GMT

On April 24, 2013, the NYC Brownfield Partnership held its fifth annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards at the NYU School of Law, recognizing seven outstanding New York City remediation projects. The awards ceremony was attended by over 200 people, including developers, regulators, consultants, and attorneys. The Partnership awarded its 2013 Distinguished Service Award to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in recognition of his work in supporting environmentally responsible development within economically diverse communities throughout the five boroughs. Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway, in accepting the award, conveyed the Mayor’s thanks and praised the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation and the Partnership for their role in returning properties to productive use. Additional speakers included Dr. Daniel Walsh, Director of the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation; David Freeman, President of the Partnership’s Board of Directors; Jennifer Chernowski, Brownfield Grants Specialist, USEPA, Region 2; and Venetia Lannon, Regional Director and Jane O’Connell, Chief, Superfund and Brownfield Cleanup Section, NYSDEC, Region 2. Prior to the award presentation, Dr. Walsh also dedicated a sculpture in memory of Abbey Duncan, which, to honor Abbey’s commitment to the arts, children and the environment, will be installed at the Sugar Hill Children’s museum, part of a redevelopment project conducted under the NYC Voluntary Cleanup Program.

Project Location:

205 North 9th Street, Brooklyn

Project Team:

North Driggs Holding, LLC
Karl Fischer Architect
Sive, Paget & Riesel, PC
P.W. Grosser Consulting

This former industrial site was rezoned for redevelopment by North Driggs Holding, LLC. Remediation was performed under the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation (NYCOER) E-designation program. The mixed residential and retail project includes three multi-level residential buildings incorporating common and commercial space. Redevelopment and remediation, which began in 2006, continued throughout the recession and was completed in 2011, providing much needed construction jobs in the area.

Project Location:

920-924 Westchester Ave, Bronx

Project Team:

Westrock Development, LLC
MJM Construction Developers
C&S Construction
Hydro Tech Environmental, Corp

Redevelopment of this South Bronx former service station and bottling plant was undertaken by Westrock Development, LLC, with the remediation performed under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP). The eight-story building includes 110 units of affordable housing, retail space, a community facility and parking garage. A retail store within the commercial space provides at least 20 jobs, with additional jobs provided by the parking garage and building maintenance. A physical therapy facility, a necessary community service, currently occupies the community space.

Project Location:

129-11 and 127-03 Jamaica Ave, Queens

Project Team:

The Arker Companies
Phillips Nizer
Aufgang + Subotovsky Architecture and Planning
AMC Engineering PLLC
Environmental Business Consultants

This former commercial laundry and gas station/auto repair site was developed by The Arker Companies and remediated under the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program. The property, located in Richmond Hill, Queens, is now occupied by a six-story, 65-unit building set aside for seniors, with 20 percent of the units set aside for formerly homeless households. The project was developed through a 50-year regulatory agreement with NYS HCR, using a complex network of funding sources including NYCHDC, NYCHPD, NYSERDA, NYSHCR, Bank of America, and deferred developer fees. The project also received NYS brownfield tax credits. Coordinating these multiple funding sources involved a combination of timing and balancing, requiring the development team to track and meet all submittal requirements and deadlines.

Project Location:

1224 Prospect Ave., Bronx

Project Team:

Prospect Court, LLC
Great American Construction Corp.
Ecosystems Strategies, Inc.
Morris Associates Engineering Consultants

Remediation at this former gas station and auto repair shop was performed under the NYSDEC BCP and included excavation of soil and bedrock, removal of underground gasoline tanks, topical application of RegenOx ™ and injection of PersulfOx TM, and installation of injection laterals, terminating in dispersion pits dug into the bedrock. The configuration of the laterals allowed the injected oxidant to pool in the pits and enter the bedrock fractures and enabled multiple applications of oxidant. The ongoing groundwater remediation has resulted in significant reduction in total volatile organic contaminant mass and engineering and institutional controls will prevent exposure of building residents to soil vapor and groundwater contaminants. A Certification of Completion was issued by NYSDEC and the ongoing construction will result in an eight-story residential building with 58 units, twelve of which will be set aside for formerly homeless families.

Project Location:

Bright’N Green, Brooklyn

Project Team:

Scarano Realty, LLC
Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.
Rizzo Environmental Services
M Square Construction, Inc.
Laurel Environmental Associates, Ltd.

This project, partially located on the site of a former racetrack in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, was developed by Scarano Realty, LLC, and remediated under NYCOER’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). The Track 1 cleanup enabled installation of an underground earth tube air pre-tempering system, which allows the fresh air entering the building to be conditioned by the uniform temperature of the subsurface. Additional features of this compact urban structure include a rainwater collection system, gray and black on-site water treatment, and the use of the Cupolex system to provide sub slab capping and depressurization and eliminate the need for backfill within the building envelope, thereby reducing the number of truck trips associated with the project. Bright ‘n Green has also received numerous awards and recognition including Net Zero Energy Status, possible LEED Platinum perfect score submission, Green Globes certification, EPA Water and Air Sense Recognition, Passive House Certification and NYSERDA Multifamily and Energy Star Rating.

Project Location:

4-56 47th Road, Queens

Project Team:

Empire State Development Agency
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
Fleming-Lee Shue, Inc.

Redevelopment of this site was a public-private partnership between Queens West Development Corporation and AvalonBay Communities. Remediation, completed under the NYSDEC BCP, addressed contaminants associated with the prior use of coal tar in the on-site manufacture of roofing products. NYSDEC designated Parcel 8 as a Significant Threat Site based upon the presence of an estimated 47,000 pounds of contaminants. Remediation of soil and groundwater at this site was the first use of the RemMetrik SM process, combining estimates of contaminant mass and physical location with use of subsurface pressure waves to open the pore space within the aquifer, resulting in more effective targeting and distribution of the treatment chemicals. The resulting contaminant mass reduction exceeded the 90 percent reduction goal set by NYSDEC. The site is slated for future use as a public library.

Project Location:

383 East 162nd Street, Bronx

Project Team:

Courtlandt Crescent Associated, L.P.
Phipps Houses
CA Rich Consultants, Inc.
Monadnock Construction
Dattner Architects

This project is located within the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Area in the Bronx and was developed by Courtlandt Crescent Associates, L.P. The redevelopment area, a former collection of commercial, residential, industrial and vacant lots, was remediated under the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program. The end result will be a two-building development with 217 units of low-income affordable housing units, a daycare center and a 9,700- square foot landscaped courtyard. The project is consistent with the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Plan, developed with extensive input from City government, residents, elected officials and community organizations. The developer for Courtlandt Crescent worked with the local Community Board to market the new housing units and Community Board preference will be given for 50 percent of the units.

2013 Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholarship Recipients

Eric Carlsen, Brooklyn College
John Driscoll, City College of NY
Eliza Eckstein, City College of NY
Danielle Hagans, Brooklyn College
Ezazul Haque, York College
Sean Martin, Queens College
Ethan Middlebrooks, CUNY School of Law
Jessica Miller, Brooklyn College
Tracey Sheu, Hunter College
Kishan Singh, Brooklyn College
Suzanne Stempel, Brooklyn College
Kimberly White, Baruch College
Sarah Vorsanger, Hunter College

2012-2013 NYC Brownfield Partnership Interns

Alexandra Adams, New York Law School
Ann Aquilina, Stevens Institute of Technology
Cecily Goodrich, Brooklyn Law School
Alan Grotheer, The New School
Jullee Kim, Brooklyn Law School
Rupa Magar, New York Institute of Technology
Samantha Morris, University of Southern California
Vignesh Ramakrishnan, Carnegie Mellon University
Chase Sandler, Brooklyn Law School
Naomi Wasserman, Barnard College
Jiang Yili, Queens College

New York State Budget Includes Money for Brownfields

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:10:10 GMT

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new 2013-14 Executive Budget proposes $22 million for two brownfield programs that are crucial to community revitalization. Pending legislative approval, the Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) program will receive $10 million, and the Environmental Remediation Program (ERP) will be reactivated with a $10 – $12 million appropriation. Meanwhile, reforms of the Brownfield Tax Credits, which expire at the end of 2015, are underway. Administration officials say that the tax credit revisions and changes to the Brownfield Cleanup Program can be expected in the coming weeks.

Credit: New Partners for Community Revitalization

2012 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:05:05 GMT

On May 3, 2012, the NYC Brownfield Partnership hosted its fourth annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards Ceremony at the NYU School of Law. The Partnership recognized three of New York City’s most outstanding brownfield redevelopment projects.

Project Location:

Food Center Drive Hunts Point, Bronx, NY 10474

Project Team:

New York City Economic Development Corporation
Anheuser-Busch
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Project Location:

1778-1800 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460

Project Team:

Exact Capital LLC
Joy Construction Corporation
SoBRO
Environmental Business Consultants (EBC)
AMC Engineering
Body-Lawson Architects and Planners PC

Project Location:

700 Brook Avenue, Bronx, NY 10455

Project Team:

Phipps Houses
Jonathan Rose Companies
Dattner Architects
Grimshaw Architects
CA RICH Consultants, Inc.

Proposed Amendments to the Brownfield Incentive Grant (BIG) Program Rule

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:53:36 GMT

OER has proposed changes to the Brownfield Incentive Grant rule and invites public comment on the proposed amendments by October 3, 2011.

The proposed revisions would clarify the role of qualified vendors; require site contractors who perform cleanup work to insure, but not indemnify the city; and relax the requirement of limited liability companies that seek grant funds to notify the city of their shareholders.

To read the proposed amendments, please click here.

To comment on the proposed amendments, send comments to: nycrules_oer@cityhall.nyc.gov

Have a question, contact Office of Environmental Remediation at brownfields@cityhall.nyc.gov

Office of Environmental Remediation

253 Broadway, 14th Floor

New York, NY 10007

2011 Big Apple Brownfield Awards Ceremony

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:52:04 GMT

On May 25, 2011, the NYC Brownfield Partnership held its third annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards at the NYU School of Law. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn received the 2011 Distinguished Service Award for her work advancing brownfield cleanup in NYC including unanimous passage of the NYC Brownfield Bill in 2009 by the NYC Council and support for the city-state collaborative agreement on liability protection in 2010.

We recognized five of New York City’s most outstanding brownfield redevelopment projects:

Green Building Award – Atlantic Terrace
Affordable Housing Award – La Terraza
Sustainable Remediation Award – New Fulton Fish Market
Economic Development Award – Harlem River Yards
Collaboration Award – Pratt Institute

In addition, Venetia Lannon, the new Regional Director of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation NYC Office, delivered the keynote speech, and the Partnership recognized its 2011 Brownfield Interns and Abbey Duncan Brownfield Scholars.

2011 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:46:44 GMT

On May 25, 2011, the NYC Brownfield Partnership will host its third annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards Ceremony at the NYU School of Law. The Partnership will recognize five of New York City’s most outstanding brownfield redevelopment projects.

Reception sponsored by AKRF, Inc.

At the site of the abandoned Penn Central Railyard, the Harlem River Yards Ventures faced the challenge of cleaning up contaminants that included abandoned underground tanks, lead and other metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons related to coal and ash, and asbestos. The entire site was covered with fill or topsoil, and the new Harlem River Yard Intermodal Transportation and Distribution Center was built on top.

Harlem River Yards directly and indirectly created 700 jobs and created key railroad infrastructure that serves the NY Post, FedEx, and the City by providing a truck-to-rail waste transfer facility.

Created to replace the old Fulton Fish Market formerly located in southern Manhattan, the New Fulton Fish Market site in the Bronx was formerly a manufactured gas plant. Earlier operations had left coal tar, purifier waste, and a petroleum plume that affected three acres of groundwater and that all required remediation. The contaminated material was removed from the site, or recycled and reused on-site whenever possible.

The project employed innovative techniques and incinerated the waste to create energy using a waste-to-energy plant in Buffalo, NY. The contaminated coal tar that was incinerated at the facility reduced waste volume by over 90% and created approximately 7.6 MW of electricity, providing enough electricity to power 10,000 homes for three months.

The La Terraza site was formerly vacant land and an abandoned single story building previously used as a store, upholstery business, and dry cleaner. The dry cleaner operation left the solvent tetrachloroethene as a contaminant in the soil and groundwater. Remediation consisted of chemical treatment and a groundwater pump and treat system.

La Terraza is now an 8-story building with 107 affordable housing units, all allocated for families and individuals earning under 60% of the Area Median Income. Residents also have access to a below-grade parking structure, a shared courtyard, retail space, and community facility space.

The Atlantic Terrace housing development occupies land where a gas station operated until 1969, and was then vacant until 2007. The remedial investigation identified an earlier on-site petroleum spill. Remedial methods included soil removal, the installation of a vapor barrier, and post remediation groundwater monitoring.

The building is on track for LEED Gold certification. Its extensive green building elements include an efficient HVAC system, high-performance windows, a well-insulated exterior wall, locally and sustainably harvested kitchen and bathroom fixtures, Energy Star compliant lighting, and low-flow water fixtures. Atlantic Terrace encourages public and alternative transportation through its proximity to the subway, and the preferred parking rates it offers to tenants with fuel efficient vehicles.

Myrtle Hall of the Pratt Institute is located at the site of a former fast food restaurant in Brooklyn. Remedial activity included the removal of contaminated soils and the installation of a concrete cap. Underground storage tanks were also cleaned and removed before being disposed of at a metals recycling plant.

Myrtle Hall is now an administrative and academic building. Its construction was a collaboration among the Pratt Institute, the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation, and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

2010 Big Apple Brownfield Awards Newsletter

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:42:33 GMT

On June 21, 2010, the NYC Brownfield Partnership hosted its second annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards Ceremony at the New York University School of Law and recognized five of New York City’s most outstanding brownfield redevelopment projects. Awards were presented in the categories of Open Space, Economic Development, Environmental Protection, Green Building, and Affordable Housing.

In addition, the Partnership presented the Distinguished Lifetime Service Award to Council Member James F. Gennaro for his work on brownfields in New York City and recognized the 2010 recipients of the Brownfields Scholarships and Internships. Click here to download the full awards newsletter!

2010 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:37:10 GMT

Located on White Plains Road, the Bronx Park Apartments is a 7-story mixed-use building consisting of 74 units of affordable housing and approximately 11,000 square feet of commercial space on a former gas station and auto repair shop site. The retail component of the building is being leased to a major supermarket chain, a much needed amenity that was pursued by local residents. The business is anticipated to create approximately 50 permanent jobs for managers, warehouse workers, grocery workers, and administrative staff.

Collaborative Partners: The Arker Companie; Phillips Nizer, LLP; Hugo S. Subotovsky, AIA; Environmental Business Consultants; AMC Engineering

Frank Gehry’s innovative IAC headquarters demonstrates excellence in synergy between brownfield redevelopment and green building design. The site, which housed a manufactured gas plant during the 19th century, posed remedial and construction challenges due to contaminated soil and groundwater. After environmental concerns were properly addressed, the subsequent building design integrated innovative approaches to water and energy use reduction including, among other elements, a computer driven shade control system to monitor daylight and constructing the building’s roof with a highly reflective material to reduce the building’s overall heat load.

Collaborative Partners: The Georgetown Company; Gehry Partners; Adamson Associates; Environmental Liability Management, LLC; Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C.; Turner Construction and Urban Construction

The Atlantic Avenue Apartment Complex, located on a former 50,628 square foot vacant lot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, is the product of successful remedial and redevelopment efforts. The property had been vacant since the 1970s. The project was only the fourth multi-family, high-rise building in the country to receive Energy-star certification from the USEPA through NYSERDA’s Multifamily Performance Program (it beat the baseline efficiency of ASHRAE 90.1 by 20%). The 150-unit complex now offers a spacious community room, a beautifully landscaped yard, a children’s play area and a daycare service. Apartments have been rented to households in four income tiers serving families with a broad range of incomes from 40% of Area Median Income (HUD’s annual calculation by county) to 90% of AMI.

Collaborative Partners: Dunn Development Corp; MHANY Management, Inc.; HLS Builders Corp.; SLCE Architects, LLP; CA Rich Consultants, Inc.

Concurrent with American Airlines’ $1.3 billion terminal redevelopment project at JFK International Airport, URS Corp. and American Airlines collaborated to remediate subsurface environmental contamination at Concourses A and B caused by aged infrastructure. In total, approximately 300,000 gallons of free product and 18 million gallons of groundwater were remediated.

Collaborative Partners: American Airlines; URS Corporation

Family owned for four generations, the Atlas Terminals Industrial Park housed a number of industries from 1922 to the 1980s. Damon Hemmerdinger, a fourth-generation developer, was interested in cleaning the property and converting it to a more productive use. In the true spirit of community outreach, the owner wanted to give back to the same community that had sustained his family’s Atlas Terminals Industrial Park for four generations. The Shops at Atlas Park, known as a lifestyle center, the first of its kind in New York State, includes more than two acres of public recreational open space in the center of the development that is surrounded by retail specialty shops, restaurants, and a movie theater. The Shops at Atlas Park is both an entertainment and shopping destination designed to significantly enhance the lifestyle of residents in the immediate Glendale, Forest Hills and Middle Village areas as well as residents throughout the five boroughs and beyond.

Collaborative Partners: ATCO Properties & Management, Inc.; A&Co, LLC; Langan Environmental & Engineering Services, P.C.; Knauf Shaw LLP

2009 Big Apple Brownfield Award Recipients

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:07:44 GMT

On April 13, 2009 the NYC Brownfield Partnership hosted its first annual Brownfields Award Ceremony, and recognized eight of New York’s most outstanding brownfield projects.

A blighted area with urban fill contamination, an underground storage tank, rundown buildings, vacant lots, and rat infestation was transformed to a vibrant mixed-use destination area and community. This project created 700 jobs, 699 apartments, 175 affordable apartments, 181 parking spots, 116,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and 42,700 square feet for a community center.

Collaborative Partners: AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; AKRF, Inc.; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; SLCE Architects

Underutilized for 30 to 40 years with vacant lots, rundown buildings and railroad tracks, this brownfield was transformed into 627 residential units within two “Certified Green” buildings, 13,400 square feet open park space, 4,000 squarefeet retail, 10,000 square feet health club facility, two existing performing arts theater companies with seven condominiums on top, and an arcade.

Collaborative Partners: The Dermot Company; Langan Engineering & Environmental Services, P.C.; Knauf Shaw, LLP; FXFowle; Bovis Lend Lease LMB

A former gasoline station and existing automobile repair shop, located in an underutilized neighborhood, was transformed into a residential building with 110 low-income units including common spaces, 6,800 square feet of commercial space, and plans for a park across the street.

Collaborative Partners: BX Parkview Associates LLC; L&M Development Partners Inc.; Melrose Associates LLC; We Stay/Nos Quedamos; Ecosystems Strategies, Inc.; Bryan Cave, LLP; Magnusson Architecture and Planning, PC

Randall’s Island, formerly a salt water and freshwater wetland, was used as a dumping ground for construction debris since the mid-1800’s. The site was transformed into a salt marsh and a freshwater wetland for recreation, education, and a new habitat for all kinds of plant and wildlife.

Collaborative Partners: Randall’s Island Sports Foundation; New York City Economic Development Corporation; Galvin Brothers; Scenic Design, Inc.; Mercator LLC

An underutilized gated former gas storage and transfer facility site was transformed into a much needed park-a place of refuge for the Queens community. Elmhurst Park upon completion will have over 650 trees planted, a comfort station with bathroom facilities, multi-use performance spaces, play spray fountains, and a children’s playground.

Collaborative Partners: NYC Department of Parks and Recreation; National Grid

Despite formerly being a Rheingold Brewery site, this site was vacant and underutilized by 1996. The site has since been transformed into a 500 plus residential complex with rental apartments, condominiums, two and three family homes, and cooperatives. The site is also home to a community center, retail and office space, a senior center, and a not-for-profit home attendant program.

Collaborative Partners: Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc.; Impact Environmental; The Bluestone Group; Magnusson Architecture and Planning, PC; David Lawrence Mammina Architecture

An underutilized site contaminated by former underground storage tanks and a dry cleaner transformed into an apartment building managed by Jewish Home Lifecare, the largest not-for-profit multi-site senior living homecare providers. The Kenneth Gladstone Building is six stories with 49 one bedroom unit apartments along with common areas for laundry, group activities, recreation, and dining.

Collaborative Partners: Jewish Home Lifecare; US Department of Housing and Urban Development; J.R. Holzmacher; Paul Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP; New York State DEC; New York State DOH

This former gas station and parking lot was transformed into an eight story mixed-use building with 16,200 square feet of retail and 100 affordable units of workforce housing.

Collaborative Partners: The Arker Company; Environmental Business Consultants; Coastal Builders Corporation; ESQ; P.W. Grosser Consulting, Inc.; AIA

2009 Big Apple Brownfield Awards

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:04:43 GMT

On April 13, 2009, the NYC Brownfield Partnership hosted its first annual Brownfields Award Ceremony, and recognized New York’s most outstanding brownfield projects in eight categories representing facets of brownfields redevelopment.

“This is a great opportunity to celebrate the people who are achieving important brownfield milestones in our City. Your visionary endeavors, tenacious advocacy, and hard work have led to projects and programs that realize sustainability goals set forth in PlaNYC,” said keynote speaker Edward Skyler, NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations.

PlaNYC, which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled on Earth Day 2007, presents a comprehensive blueprint for greening and growing the city and its services. The cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield sites accounts for 11 of the plans’ 127 initiatives.