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Contact: Charles Carrier (518) 455-3888 |
For Immediate Release: June 19, 2001 |
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Assembly Majority Seeks to Clean Up and Develop 'Brownfields' Legislation Backed By New York City Partnership And Chamber of Commerce |
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, key members of the Assembly Majority and the President of the New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce today announced two bills that would create a "brownfields" assessment, acquisition and remediation process to allow municipalities, developers and community-based organizations to utilize these polluted industrial sites for economic development, community facilities and housing. "Brownfields remediation simply must take place if the many urban areas across our state in need of jobs and business stimulation are to gain the economic spark they require," Silver said. "This legislation will allow municipalities and community-based organizations to reclaim, clean up, develop and reuse formerly blighted lands as a foundation for building strong economies and vibrant neighborhoods." Silver said one of the two bills would make abandoned and underutilized properties in designated areas eligible for state funding to expedite the investigation and clean-up process and would provide liability relief for participants who complete the redevelopment initiative. This protection is aimed at encouraging the redevelopment of these sites without lessening public health or clean-up standards. In addition to these incentives, the brownfields legislation amends the 1996 Clean Air, Clean Water Bond Act to increase the state's share of direct grants for priority clean ups from 75 percent to 90 percent. The legislation also removes requirements that participants share with the state monies received from the disposition of the brownfields sites and permits municipalities to enter sites to investigate without taking ownership of the property. Eliminating these mandates would allow community-based organizations to use state funds clean-up projects funded through the state Environmental Bond Act and municipalities to investigate environmental conditions on a site before they take title to it. "This bill accomplishes what almost every person in the state has asked of us," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. "It will clean up brownfields, make them safe for redevelopment and for the host community, provide incentives and protections for developers, ensure real participation for communities and community-based organizations and preserve the Assembly's two fundamental environmental principles: protecting the public health and expediting economic development." "I'm grateful to the speaker, the New York City Partnership and its president, Kathryn Wylde, the environmental groups, whose principled support has been invaluable to the Assembly, and to Assembly members, Aubry, Destito, Grannis, Lopez and others, who have participated in the discussions that led to this extraordinary event," said Brodsky. "Principled compromise is possible; today's announcement is a milestone in the history of environmental and economic progress for our state." New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce President Kathryn Wylde praised the Assembly for moving forward on the brownfields issue. "The Partnership commends Speaker Silver, Assemblyman Brodsky and the Assembly Majority for recognizing the negative impact that undeveloped brownfields have on our communities and our economy," said Wylde. "The Assembly's proposed brownfields legislation is a positive step toward reclaiming more than 4,000 acres of brownfield sites in New York City, mostly locations that cannot attract private investments in redevelopment, for reasons of cost exposure to liability. "We hope this is the year that New York State enacts comprehensive legislation to encourage significant private investment and constructive reuse of contaminated properties," said Wylde. "I applaud this effort as we move to cleanup blighted urban areas," said Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry (D-Queens), chair of the Assembly Corrections Committee. "Our mission is to improve these sites, restore their viability and return them to the community for common-good purposes." In addition, a companion bill (A.9203), will provide substantial economic support to community-based organizations to build community infrastructure on brownfield sites after they are cleaned up. The legislation, sponsored by Assembly Housing Committee Chairman Vito Lopez and co-sponsored by Brodsky, will also give municipalities temporary ownership of these sites for the purpose of investigation. "I'm very pleased that the final brownfields legislation makes a deep commitment to the involvement of community and local organizations in the remediation of brownfields sites," said Lopez (D-Brooklyn). "This will also spur economic development and needed locations for affordable housing in our urban areas." Assemblyman Peter Grannis (D-Manhattan), legislative sponsor of Superfund reform legislation, said, "These bills protect public health and spur economic growth, the exactly correct combination. This bill is a giant step forward." Applications for the program established under the Lopez legislation may be made by municipalities, not-for-profit corporations and community-based organizations, as well as by persons responsible for a site's contamination. The current state Superfund clean-up standards will be utilized to ensure protective remediation of soil and groundwater. Governmental Operations Committee Chair RoAnn Destito (D-Utica), who also is a sponsor of the legislation, termed both bills "a balanced, complementary approach to achieving better urban environments and stronger urban economies." "By allowing municipalities the ability to offer tax incentives for developing brownfields sites, we will spur development of these sites and help create jobs for our urban communities," said Destito. "The EOZ program will not only clean up brownfields, it will improve our neighborhoods and their quality of life." Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. (D-Bronx) praised the bills for giving the poor and communities of color the opportunity to develop polluted sites. "This bill will go a long way to ensuring that community groups can turn many of these eyesores into waterfront access and other venues," said Diaz. "These kinds of recreational areas are very much needed in neighborhoods of color, such as the South Bronx. Therefore, when people are talking about canoeing and kayaking, they won't just mention the Adirondacks and Hudson Valley, the South Bronx will be mentioned as well."
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