|
 Yonkers, NY - A state program that has helped Yonkers clean up environmentally contaminated sites and turn them into job and revenue producing redevelopment projects was spared under a compromise reform agreement reached between the state legislature and Governor Paterson just prior to the end of the legislative session, news that drew cautious praise from Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone.
The compromise will amend the state's Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) to provide greater reimbursements for cleanup costs to developers who remediate environmentally contaminated sites such as former industrial properties. The reforms adopted by the legislature on Tuesday go much further to incentivize brownfield cleanup than a previous reform proposal by former Governor Eliot Spitzer, which would have decimated the program according to Mayor Amicone.
"I'm pleased to see that our leaders in Albany have recognized the need for this crucial program to continue because of the important role it has played in the redevelopment of New York's older industrial cities," said Amicone, who is also the President of New York Chapter of the National Brownfield Association (NBA). "Now that the legislature has secured the future of the program and taken additional steps to prevent misuse, it's up to state agencies, most specifically DEC, to get the program up and running again to make sure that New York's cities will continue to realize the environmental and economic benefits of brownfield cleanups."
Created by the state legislature in 2003, the BCP is administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and provides a process for voluntary cleanup of sites that are contaminated with hazardous waste or petroleum, rewarding the cities or local developers who perform the cleanup with economic incentives. However, the program has been under a moratorium since last year as state lawmakers considered reform proposals.
Under the new law, developers will be reimbursed up to 50% of the cost of cleaning up a brownfield, compared to 22% in the old program. It further sets a cap for redevelopment credits on non-manufacturing projects to $35 million or three times the cost of site cleanup, whichever is less. For manufacturing projects, the cap is higher: up to $45 million or six times the cost of cleanup. (Governor Spitzer's bill would have set a maximum cap of only $15 million.)
"I think we all realized that there was a need for some sort of cap to prevent most of the funds being siphoned by large development projects in New York City, but the cap had to be reasonable. It was also obvious that Governor Paterson wanted to do more to urge developers to achieve higher standards of environmental remediation, which we support. This compromise achieves both of those objectives while keeping the economic incentives in place for developers who put a substantial amount of their own money at risk in cities across New York State," Amicone explained.
Mayor Phil Amicone, a leading advocate for urban redevelopment, testified before the legislature in September 2007 that brownfield tax credits are critical in attracting investment to cities like Yonkers that have substantial industrial contamination in their urban cores.
"The Brownfield Cleanup Program is one of the most important factors that have contributed to our success in redeveloping the downtown," Amicone told a joint session of the Assembly and Senate Environmental Conservation committees. "Without it, most of the new projects that have been built or are being built would not have happened and that means the new jobs and revenues that come with those projects would not have happened either. Maintaining this program is absolutely critical to our continued vitality because we need the jobs and economic growth."
Brownfield sites in Yonkers that have been redeveloped with benefits from the BCP include Hudson Park Apartments ($180 million residential project with more than 550 units), Main Street Lofts ($50 million residential project with more than 170 units), and i.Park Hudson ($50 million commercial redevelopment). Also slated for redevelopment within brownfield sites are the $1.5 billion Sruever Fidelco Cappelli Phase 1 project currently pending before the Yonkers City Council and the $2.3 billion Alexander Street Urban Renewal Plan currently pending before the Community Development Agency.
Amicone serves as President of the New York Chapter of the National Brownfield Association (NBA). NBA is an international, non-profit educational organization headquartered in Chicago that promotes the responsible redevelopment of brownfield properties. It is a member-based organization consisting of property owners, developers, investors, professional service providers and government officials.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines brownfields as "abandoned, idled, or under-used properties where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination-typically former industrial or commercial properties where operations may have resulted in environmental contamination."
 |
