EPA Gives Money to Revitalize New York Communities

Five communities in New York will receive brownfields grants totaling $1.5 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties into productive community sites.

“EPA’s brownfields program is proving to be one of the greatest environmental success stories of the past decade,” said Alan J. Steinberg, Regional Administrator. “These grants will enable communities in New York to hand down a healthier, more prosperous future to the next generation.”

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In addition to industrial and commercial redevelopment, brownfields approaches have included the conversion of industrial waterfronts to river-front parks, landfills to golf courses, rail corridors to recreational trails, and gas stations to housing.

EPA is making the following awards to these communities in New York:


Geneva will receive $200,000 to cleanup contamination at 305 Main Street.
New York City will receive two grants totaling $400,000 to assess local brownfields sites impacted by hazardous substances and petroleum contamination.
Rensselaer will also receive two grants totaling $400,000 to assess local brownfields sites impacted by hazardous substances and petroleum contamination.
Rochester will receive two grants totaling $400,000 to assess local brownfields sites impacted by hazardous substances contamination and to cleanup contamination at the former Phototech Imaging Systems site.
Youngstown will receive $200,000 to cleanup contamination at the Youngstown Cold Storage site.

To date, EPA has awarded 55 assessment, 14 cleanup, five revolving loan fund and seven job training grants to New York communities, totaling more than $21.3 million.

The brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. Since the beginning of the program, EPA has awarded 1,067 assessment grants totaling more than $262 million, 217 revolving loan fund grants totaling more than $201.7 million, and 336 cleanup grants totaling $61.3 million. EPA’s brownfields assistance has leveraged more than $9.6 billion in cleanup and redevelopment, helped create more than 43,029 jobs and resulted in the assessment of more than 10,504 properties and the cleanup of 180 properties.