Rendering of the proposed project as seen on East 241st Street. Image Credit: NYC CPC/Aufgang Architects
Rezoning will allow for construction of building with 185 affordable units. On November 14, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for a rezoning application that would allow for the construction of a new affordable nine-story mixed-use building in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx. The proposed project site is on the corner of White Plains Road and East 241st, adjacent to the East 241st Street subway terminal along the IRT – 2 train line. The proposed project site currently has several vacant commercial buildings and garages that are surrounded by a construction fence.
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Empire State Dairy Company complex. Image Credit LPC.
Owners asked for exclusion of portion of site due to need for environmental remediation; Landmarks decided to designate property as originally proposed. Landmarks voted to designate as an individual City landmark six buildings constituting the former Empire State Dairy Company complex on December 5, 2017. The complex dates to the early 20th century and occupies an entire blockfront at 2840 Atlantic Avenue. The commission added the property to its calendar in March of 2016, after Landmarks had identified the buildings as significant historic resources in a survey of the area taken to complement the rezoning of East New York. (read more…)
Designated study area in Flushing, Queens. Image credit: DCP
City Planning presented to community board draft findings and recommendations for brownfield improvements in Queen’s Flushing neighborhood. In 2011, under the New York State Brownfield Opportunity Area Program, the Flushing-Willets Point-Corona Local Development Corporation received a $1.5 million state grant to plan for the clean-up and rezoning of the Flushing waterfront. The Program was created to transform brownfields—vacant or underutilized properties—from liabilities to community assets. This is the second phase of the Brownfield Opportunity Area Nomination Report and Master Plan. Currently, the Department of City Planning is completing the report, the Flushing Waterfront Revitalization Plan. City Planning presented preliminary findings to Queens Community Board 7 on May 2, 2017. (read more…)
Court previously overturned DEC’s denial of developer’s application and ordered additional analyses. A developer planned to construct a 341-unit mixed-use building on a 17,700 sq.ft. parking lot at 29 Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. An environmental assessment of the site revealed the presence of lead and semi-volatile organic compounds. The developer subsequently applied to the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Cleanup Program.
DEC determined that the property did not meet the statutory definition of a brownfield site and denied the application. Although DEC acknowledged that the property’s contamination levels exceeded regulatory standards, it found that the contamination would not complicate development of the site. The developer filed an article 78 petition challenging the determination.
Justice Arthur M. Schack vacated the decision, ruling that DEC’s interpretation of its “complication of development” test contravened the statutory requirement that the definition of a brownfield site be broadly construed. Justice Schack, however, noted that an improper denial did not mean the site should be automatically included in the program and ordered the developer to submit to DEC additional environmental and financial studies. 7 CityLand 80 (June 15, 2010). (read more…)
DEC denied access to State’s brownfield cleanup program on theory that contamination did not complicate development. In 2007, a developer purchased a 17,700 sq.ft. former parking lot at 29 Flatbush Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, intending to build a 342-unit residential building. An environmental assessment of the site’s subsurface revealed the presence of lead and at least seven semi-volatile organic compounds at levels exceeding regulatory standards. In April 2008, the developer filed an application with the State Department of Environmental Conservation to participate in its Brownfield Cleanup Program.
DEC determined that the property did not meet the statutory definition of a brownfield site and denied the application. DEC acknowledged the presence of contamination at levels above regulatory standards, but found that it would not complicate the site’s future development. In its denial, DEC stated that the contamination appeared to be limited to historic fill, and that its random distribution indicated there would not be a need to excavate and dispose of any soil. DEC concluded that clean up costs would be insignificant compared to the anticipated value of the site after the proposed development. The developer filed an article 78 petition challenging the determination. (read more…)
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. (read more…)
