Several of New York City's brownfields will be getting some of Albany's green. An agreement signed last week by Gov. Pataki and the majority leaders of the state Senate and Assembly allocates $30 million for cleanup projects statewide, with just over $1.8 million coming to the city.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Several of New York City's brownfields will be getting some of Albany's green.
An agreement signed last week by Gov. Pataki and the majority leaders of the state Senate and Assembly allocates $30 million for cleanup projects statewide, with just over $1.8 million coming to the city.
"This agreement paves the way for communities across the state to turn dormant properties into engines for economic growth and development," Pataki said in a statement.
The grants are for Brownfields Opportunity Areas created by the state Superfund and Brownfields Law passed in 2003. They are meant to help attract developers to communities around possibly contaminated sites.
In addition to land surveys to identify areas of actual contamination, the money also will help create plans for their cleanup and fund public outreach to smooth the process of development.
!ADVERTISEMENT!
Of the $1.8 million coming to the city, about $656,500 will go to three projects in the Bronx.
A project to reclaim some 800 acres of the Hunts Point waterfront will receive $349,360 to assess as many as 200 sites of possible contamination. A primary aim will be to create one or more waterfront parks, reflecting the longstanding priority of local groups participating in the project, such as Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, The Point Community Development Corp. and Sustainable South Bronx.
Another $208,250 will go to measuring contamination in the Port Morris area. Recently rezoned to spur residential development, this historically industrial area has eight sites with possible contamination, which could be a significant drag on the area's growth.
The project will be run by the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. and cover a 2,000-acre area.
The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality will get $98,890 for a preliminary study of 5,000 acres along the Harlem River. Development along the Harlem River is the centerpiece of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's ambitious plans to revitalize the South Bronx.
The area to be studied encompasses many possible brownfields that will have to be identified and addressed before it will be attractive to developers.
Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
