The Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) was proud to host
the "Big Apple Brownfield Workshop: Where is the Money?" on June 16, 2009 at the
The Graduate Center at the City University of New York. This workshop was the
second in a series of educational events created by OER to encourage brownfield
redevelopment in New York City. The workshop highlighted the different
opportunities for financial assistance intended to facilitate the clean up and
redevelopment of brownfield sites located throughout the five boroughs.
PlaNYC estimates that the City has 7,600 acres of
brownfield property, which are vacant or underutilized sites where redevelopment
is significantly delayed or inhibited by real or perceived environmental
contamination. MOER recognizes the importance of educating the public,
especially the development community, about available grants, loans, services,
and other financial incentive programs intended to promote the proper cleanup of
contaminated land and the continued emergence of NYC brownfield redevelopment
projects.
The cost of remediating environmental contamination is
challenging, especially in a financially stressed market. Despite the financial
obstacles, there are resources to move forward. The development community has
shown an interest in brownfield redevelopment, with attendees in private
development, community economic development, and finance accounting for 15% of
the 241 registered attendees.
The workshop format included a variety of speakers, a
panel discussion, and a poster display session. The speakers gave informative
and detailed presentations on financial incentives open to the development
community. The panel discussion provided insight and advice on the ways the
current fiscal market has impacted brownfield redevelopment. For more details on
the workshop components, click the following links:
Speakers and Topics
The workshop speakers provided nearly three hours of
presentations on financial resources. The topics and speakers at the workshop
were:
-
Introduction and MOER Programs:
Daniel Walsh, Director, MOER
-
EPA Grants: Lee Ilan, Chief of
Planning, MOER
-
OER Small Grant Programs: Mark
McIntyre, General Counsel, MOER
-
NYC Acquisition Fund, Metro Fund loan
programs: Eric Enderlin, Director of Multi-Family Initiatives, NYC
Department of Housing Preservation and Development
-
Start-Up Pool: Laura Truettner,
Environmental Loan Officer, New Partners for Community
Revitalization
-
NYS Brownfield Cleanup Program tax
credits: Phil Bousquet, Member, Green Seifter
-
NYS Brownfield Opportunity Area
program: Curtis Cravens, Regional Director, NYS Department of State,
Division of Coastal Resources
-
NYS incentive programs: Joe
Tazewell, Regional Director, Empire State Development Corporation
-
Bronx Empowerment Zone incentives:
Frank Randazzo, Director of Bronx Empowerment Zone, Bronx Overall Economic
Development Corporation
-
NYS energy incentives:
Michael T. Colgrove, Director of NYC Energy Programs, NYS Energy Research and
Development Authority
-
NYC business incentives: Alexandra
Simon, Senior Business Analyst, NYC Department of Small Business
Services

Click here
for a PDF of all the presentations combined.
Panel Discussion

Larry Schnapf, Bob Knakal, Mark Chertok, Steve Parnes, and Brian
Mende
According to our panelists, the key components to remediating
environmental contamination on brownfield properties
include:
-
performance of proper due diligence on the
property
-
formulation of redevelopment plans
early in the process
-
choice of sound environmental
consultants
-
cultivation of good relations with
regulatory bodies
OER advocates performing proper due diligence
for a site before planning a pre-application meeting with OER to assist in
determining which financial resources may be applicable. Qualified
environmental
consultants will ensure the environmental cleanup is performed in an effective
and cost efficient manner. In addition, multi-use redevelopments, such as
residential housing and commercial retail space buildings, are more likely to
receive clean-up funds because they create local jobs and contribute to the
economic revitalization of the neighborhood.
Moderator: Andrea Kretchmer, Developer, The
Kretchmer Companies
Panelists: Larry Schnapf, Special
Council, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, Mark Chertok, Partner, Sive Paget &
Riesel, Stephen Parnes, Vice President, EnviroFinance Group, Brian Mende,
Principal, Partner Engineering, Bob Knakal, Chairman and Founding Partner,
Massey Knakal
The
Exhibit Hall

Jessica Proscia and Stephen
Malinowski, CA Rich Inc.
Twenty-four leading environmental firms consisting of
consultants, lawyers, insurers, and an analytical laboratory sponsored the event
and participated in the exhibit hall by presenting at tables with posters and
giveaways about their services.