TO Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet Yonkers Industrial Development Agency, NY EPA Brownfields Program EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu- nities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi- tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. The target property, the Patclin Chemical site in the City of Yonkers, a federally designated Empowerment Zone, has recently been abandoned by its owner. It is a key site in Yonkers' (population 196,086) plans to redevelop the Alexander Street waterfront area. The waterfront district includes approximately 30 sites over a contiguous 50-acre area adjacent to the Hudson River. The community immediately affected by condi- tions in the waterfront district consists of four census tracts with a total population of 15,595. The tracts Assessment Grant $44,378 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Yonkers Industrial Develop- ment Agency for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to prepare a work plan, perform site investigations, develop remediation plans, and conduct community involvement activities at the Patclin Chemical site on Alexander Street along the Hudson River water- front. Contacts For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/ brownfields. EPA Region 2 Brownfields Team 212-637-4314 http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/ brownfields/ Grant Recipient: Yonkers Industrial Development Agency, NY 914-377-6619 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. encompass both the waterfront area and the residen- tial neighborhoods that stretch several blocks inland. The poverty rate for the four-tract area is 30 per- cent, and unemployment is triple the national aver- age. Forty-seven percent of area residents are African-American, and 40 percent are Hispanic. Once the Patclin site has been investigated and cleaned up, the property and two adjacent sites will be redeveloped into new housing. The construction project itself will create many well-paying jobs that will be accessible to community residents. The new residential population will help support growth in the Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-05-076 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- local retail area. In addition, the new housing will increase the tax base, creating revenues for the city to spend on education, economic development, and social programs. ------- |