DEP and DDC Complete $54 Million Project to Improve Stormwater Management in Gowanus

On July 12, 2023, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Thomas J. Foley, and Deputy Mayor of Operations Meera Joshi announced the completion of a $54 million project to install new storm sewers along 3rd Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The mile-long storm sewers along Third Avenue are located between Carroll and State Streets and from 3rd to 4th Avenues for each of the east/west … <Read More>


City Celebrates Groundbreaking for Gowanus Canal Overflow Protection Project

On March 15, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia celebrated the groundbreaking for the first of two underground storage tanks that will protect the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. The two tanks will collect sewer overflow during storms and prevent that overflow from entering the Gowanus Canal. The project will also include the creation of 3.6 <Read More>


Claim for Brownfield benefits advances

Property owner sought tax benefits for remediating contaminated sites already under voluntary State remediation consent order. In 2007, National Grid signed a consent order with the New York City Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to remediate hazardous wastes from National Grid’s closed manufactured gas plant sites. National Grid removed some of the hazardous waste from two adjacent sites located at 94 N. 13th Street and 121 N. 12th Street, Brooklyn.


New Harbor Protectors Initiative Launched

The Coney Island initiative recruits’ volunteers to assist in the effort to help protect New York City’s Waterways. On April 22, 2021, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Vincent Sapienza launched the new Harbor Protectors Initiative to clean up Coney Island. The program aims to recruit volunteers to assist in the cleanup of Coney Island through various methods.


DEP Announces Updated Rules for Watershed Recreation Use

New rules include an expanded recreational boating season and an e-cigarette ban. On May 31, 2019, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published the final updated rules governing recreation access to over 137,000 acres of water and the surrounding watershed lands. The rules were created to protect the water supply and promote outdoor recreation and go into effect on June 30th.


City Planning Approves Affordable Housing and Demapping in Westchester Square

Critics raised concerns over more traffic due to larger number of parking spaces. On February 27, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approve an application for a nine-story mixed-use residential and commercial building at 1346 Blondell Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx. To facilitate this development, named Blondell Commons, the application calls for rezoning a portion of a larger manufacturing district that mainly features auto repair shops along Blondell Avenue. Blondell … <Read More>