s OA Brownfields 1998 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
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Yonkers, NY
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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.
Background
EPA selected the City of Yonkers for a Brownfields
Pilot. Like many industrial cities in the northeast,
Yonkers (population 188,082) has experienced a sharp
decline in its tax and job base over the past 30 years.
Once an important river port, the Yonkers Municipal Pier
became too frail and dilapidated for docking large river
boats and was not used after the 1950s. Between 1977
and 1992, Yonker's manufacturing base declined by
more than 25%, causing a loss of more than 2,400 of the
city's 8,900 manufacturing jobs. Thus, the city has
watched its once-productive Alexander Street Waterfront
(ASW) turn into an industrial wasteland.
The economic and environmental decay caused by
underuse of ASW has had a negative impact on the
Southwest Yonkers Community (population 73,474):
more than half of this community falls within the bottom
20% of median income levels city-wide. Furthermore, the
city has virtually no land for industrial and commercial
expansion, and must clean up and redevelop brownfields
to create new jobs. The city believes that ASW is a
cornerstone for its economic growth, and has adopted a
comprehensive plan that focuses on preservation and
reuse of the area.
The Pilot will assist the ASW Brownfields Initiative in
building upon the successes of the adjacent downtown
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets the Alexander Street
Waterfront, a 22-acre cluster of 11 mostly vacant
industrial properties with high potential for
redevelopment.
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/)
Grant Recipient: City of Yonkers,NY
(914)377-6010
Objectives
The objective of the city's ASW Brownfields Initiative
is to prepare the city for waterfront cleanup and
redevelopment. The Pilot plans to: 1) empower
community groups to be a part of the revitalization
decision-making process; 2) create a working plan to
assess, plan for cleanup, and return the ASW
brownfields area to productive use; 3) protect the
Hudson River from any further environmental
degradation;4) provide Southwest Yonkers community
members with an understanding of potential
environmental and ownership concerns to enable them
to help shape redevelopment in an informed manner;
and 5) develop a program to institutionalize brownfields
decision making in all city development and planning
activities.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-98-139
May 98

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waterfront redevelopment efforts by continuing
waterfront revitalization along the Hudson River. ASW
has a high potential for redevelopment, in part because of
its rail, water, and road transportation access. The ASW
site is a 22-acre cluster of 11 mostly vacant industrial
properties bordered on the south by the downtown
waterfront development area, on the west by the Hudson
River, and on the east by the Hudson Line railroad
tracks. The area is characterized by vacant industrial
brownfields with potential ownership and environmental
issues that constitute barriers to the city's redevelopment
needs.
•	Developing a "one-stop" shop for brownfields
information for community members, business
groups, and government organizations;
•	Conducting a preliminary environmental
assessment of the 22-acre ASW area;
•	Implementing a community involvement
program, including distributing outreach
materials in both Spanish and English and
establishing programs with youth groups, to
ensure all members of the affected communities
are actively involved; and
•	Developing a brownfields cleanup and reuse plan
for the ASW area that will direct future area use,
promote job and economic growth, and
maximize public access to the waterfront.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-98-139
j. i- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV98
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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