Brooklyn's Progress
July 2001

Brownfields legislation was part of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Agenda for Growth. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and key members of the Assembly Majority and the president of The New York City Partnership and Chamber of Commerce announced two bills (A.9203, A.9265-A) that would create a "brownfields" assessment, acquisition and remediation process to allow municipalities, developers and community-based organizations to utilize these polluted industrial sites for economic development, community facilities and housing. "Brownfields remediation simply must take place if the many urban areas across our state in need of jobs and business stimulation are to gain the economic spark they require," Silver said. "This legislation will allow municipalities and community-based organizations to reclaim, clean up, develop and reuse formerly blighted lands as a foundation for building strong economies and vibrant neighborhoods." Silver said one of the bills would make abandoned and underutilized properties in designated areas eligible for state funding to expedite the investigation and clean-up process and would provide liability relief for participants who complete the redevelopment initiative. This protection is aimed at encouraging the redevelopment of these sites without lessening public health or clean-up standards. "This bill accomplishes what almost every person in the state has asked of us," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. "It will clean up brownfields, make them safe for redevelopment and for the host community, provide incentives and protections for developers, ensure real participation for communities and community-based organizations and preserve the Assembly's two fundamental environmental principles: protecting the public health and expediting economic development." Silver praised Housing Committee Chair Vito Lopez and Assembly members Jeffrion Aubry, RoAnn Destito, Ruben Diaz Jr., Alexander B. Grannis for their efforts to push for brownfields clean-up legislation and for their vision of the environmental, economic and social benefits the remediation will bring to communities across the state.