\ Brownfields 2006 Assessment and Cleanup
Grant Fact Sheet
New York, NY
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response
programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of New York was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants and two brownfields
cleanup grants. New York (population 8,168,338) is the
largest city in the United States and a federally
designated Empowerment Zone community. This
densely populated city experienced an economic
downturn in 2001 as the result of a national recession
and the impact of September 11th. More than 21
percent of city residents live in poverty, and 65 percent
are minorities. As a result of a long history of industrial
and commercial activities, brownfields are located
throughout all five boroughs of New York. The city has
identified 6,850 vacant industrially zoned parcels.
These brownfields depress economic conditions, create
potential health threats, and result in underutilized land
in a city with dwindling developable land. Assessment
of the brownfields is expected to help spur the
redevelopment needed to provide new residential,
industrial, and recreational opportunities, and improve
the public health of city residents. Cleanup of the
Mariners Marsh site will enable the city to increase
open space and create recreational facilities for the
north Staten Island community. Cleanup of the High
Line site will provide the Chelsea area of Manhattan
with an additional six acres of parkland that will run
throuah the heart of the buraeonina art aallerv district.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of New York for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to identify
eligible sites, conduct community outreach
activities, and perform Phase I and II environmental
site assessments throughout the city. Petroleum grant
funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites
with potential petroleum contamination.
Cleanup Grants
$400,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of New York for two
brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to conduct community
outreach activities and clean up hazardous
substances contamination, including coal tar residue,
cyanide, and metals, at the 107-acre Mariners Marsh
site on the north side of Staten Island. This site has
been used for steel manufacturing, shipbuilding, and
more recently, for illegal dumping. Grant funds also
will be used to clean up hazardous substances,
including semivolatile organic compounds and
metals, at the 1.5-mile-long High Line site in the
Chelsea section of Manhattan. The High Line, an
elevated rail line that operated from 1934 to 1982,
serviced the waterfront warehouses and terminals on
Manhattan's west side.
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
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Team
(212) 637-4309
EPA Region 2 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region02/brownfields/)
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-06-216
May 06
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Grant Recipient: City of New York
(212) 788-2929
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-06-216
May 06
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