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In the 24th Council District, eight projects have completed the City land clean-up program, including Norman Towers, a mixed-income affordable housing development at 90-11 160th St. (pictured) and 90-14 161st St.
By Forum Staff
The City Council earlier this month overwhelmingly passed Intro. 2460 – a bill written by Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Hillcrest) designed to close enforcement loopholes by authorizing the New York City Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) authority to issue civil penalties against parties who violate OER protocols in the clean-up of “brownfields” sites. Under this legislation, the director of OER would also be able to designate other city agencies to issue relevant administrative summonses and notices of violation to enforce the provisions of this bill.
On Earth Day in 2009, the City Council passed the New York City Brownfield and Community Revitalization Act, sponsored by Gennaro that created the only municipal “Brownfields” clean-up program in the United States.
Brownfields are contaminated sites that need to be cleaned up to strict state standards. In return, OER issues a “liability release” to the property owner so that the site owner is not liable for contamination on the site that may have occurred many decades ago.
Brownfields programs are common in the United States, but they are all run by state governments, including New York State. But because the majority of brownfields in New York City do not qualify for the State’s brownfields program, Gennaro wrote the law establishing the only municipal brownfields program in the country to clean-up brownfields sites all over New York City.
File Photo
City Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Hillcrest)
Since the implementation of the City’s Brownfields Program, more than 735 contaminated sites in the City have been cleaned up, many sites in lower income communities that have been blighted by pollution. More than 16,000 units of affordable housing have been built on these sites, many businesses have been established, many green jobs created by companies that clean up these sites, and many neighborhoods have been revitalized.
In the 24th Council District, eight projects have completed the City land clean-up program, including Norman Towers, a mixed income affordable housing development at 90-11 160th Street and 90-14 161st Street.
Unfortunately, over the years, some developers have failed to allow OER to oversee the remediation or file a site management plan with OER In those circumstances, OER needs make sure that developers participating in the brownfields program strictly comply with the requirements of the program. By giving OER the authority to issue civil penalties for non-compliance in cleaning up properties, Gennaro’s bill closes any enforcement loopholes.
