Remediating City’s contaminated sites is a goal of PlaNYC 2030. In 2007, it was estimated that as many as 7,600 acres of land in the City may be contaminated. The State has administered a brownfield cleanup program since 1994, but many of the brownfields in the City plagued by light or moderate contamination do not qualify for the State’s program. PlaNYC 2030 proposed the creation of an office dedicated to promoting the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields, including those that are not enrolled in the State program. To that end, in 2009, the City Council passed the New York City Brownfield and Community Revitalization Act creating the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation.

The Mayor’s office has promulgated two sets of rules that became effective in May 2010. The first set of rules sets forth the requirements for the Local Brownfield Cleanup Program, which is modeled on the State program. Participating developers submit to governmental oversight and community participation during the remediation process. In exchange, a developer may receive a limited release of liability from the City upon completing the program. The rules emphasize community involvement and protection of the environment and public health. (more…)

Daniel C. Walsh

Daniel C. Walsh is the former Director of the City office of the Superfund and Brownfield Cleanup Program for the State Department of Environmental Conservation. Walsh studied the geochemistry of New York City landfills as a doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Rockland County native has spent his professional career studying and helping to resolve environmental problems in and around the City.

WA day not so far off. Walsh recalls reading Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 initiatives for cleaning up brownfield sites in New York City, and remembers how the Plan’s goals resonated with him. He had observed, first hand, the unique problems facing owners and developers of some of the 7,600 acres of contaminated land within the City who had tried to enter the State Brownfield Cleanup Program.Walsh believed the City had a major role to play in the remediation of its brownfields, but assumed that day was far off. That day came last June when Mayor Bloomberg named Walsh Director of the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER), an office created to expedite the cleanup of the City’s brownfields. Since then, Walsh and his team have been busy working on legislation that will soon be introduced at City Council to create a City brownfield cleanup program. (more…)

Pugsley Creek. Image Credit: NYC DDC

The project is designed to improve the health of New York Harbor. On October 27, 2020, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Design and Construction announced that a $106 million project to clean up Pugsley Creek in the South Bronx had been completed. This project reduced sewer overflows into the Creek by 98 percent and was completed 14 months ahead of schedule. (more…)

Work on the Bluebelt begins. Image Credit: NYC DEP

Bluebelts improve the health of local waterways and increase nearby property values by managing stormwater and reducing flooding while protecting natural spaces. On October 1, 2020, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza, Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, and Department of Design and Construction Commissioner Lorraine Grillo announced that construction began on a $75 million enhancement of the Bluebelt program in the Mid-Island area of Staten Island. (more…)

Image Credit: Department of Environmental Protection

City prioritizes safe drinking water with infrastructure investment. On July 23, 2020, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced that during the first week of August, construction of a stormwater collection system near the Cross River Reservoir would commence. The stormwater collection system is intended to enhance reservoir protections by capturing runoff, sediment and nutrients from a 9.3-acre drainage area in the town of Bedford. The venture is projected to cost nearly $1.1 million and expected to occupy 1 acre of city-owned property east of the Cross River Dam.

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