BROWNFIELDS:
Part of Your Neighborhood or Not, They Demand Your Attention
STORY BY SARAH LANSDALE AND AMY HAGEDORN

If “The Brownfields Story” were a television series, it would be a long-running one. It’s got historical elements, it’s got mystery, it’s got conflict and complications and involves just about every challenge the suburbs face, rolled up into one saga.

Those of us who work for a sustainable Long Island see in a brownfields site a microcosm of all the problems Long Island needs to address – from environmental concerns to economic equity and healthy development, zoning challenges, and how to make fragmented government work better, inspire community action, and ensure that resources to remediate blight are more fairly distributed.
Our region gives us plenty of opportunities to reflect on the ramifications of brownfields. Long Island is home to an estimated 6,800 such sites. Where are they? Everywhere: buildings that were former factories or drycleaners, warehouses, vacant commercial lots, shuttered corner gas stations and auto shops. There are brownfields that run through whole communities and a number of them are in older downtowns. Many brownfields are glaringly obvious, others are not.

New York State defines a brownfield as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Many are obvious eyesores in our communities but some are much more. They may pose environmental threats to surrounding areas and beyond, affecting, for example, the common water and air supply we all share. Most definitely, they can be obstacles in the way of downtown and community revitalization.

Developers looking to accommodate more business or build residences—including desperately needed affordable housing—are pushed to build on undeveloped land, worsening our sprawl and further diminishing our open space.

Ignored brownfields represent a tremendous waste of a community’s assets.

The missed opportunities multiply: without building, we lose chances to increase our tax rolls and reduce our painful tax rates. Without capitalizing on available land, we fail to create parks and recreational facilities that will enhance our quality of life...make our communities healthier and more attractive… and maintain or improve our property values.

And while many of our communities contain brownfields, many are concentrated in our distressed neighborhoods. Some of these areas were the scene of industrial activity, and today, are neighborhoods with the least resources and incentive structures to reclaim the properties. So the issue of equity, both economic and social, is a major concern once more.

How can all this have happened? And what is being done about it?
Many brownfields were once integral parts of the community and the source of numerous benefits, from jobs to services that as residents, we wanted. But the potential impact of solvents and other chemicals leaching into the soil and air was less well understood then—in fact, far more study is still to be done—and illegal dumping and scant monitoring left us with a heavy toll

Some of these businesses closed down and left obvious pollution that’s prevented anyone else from wanting to buy or rebuild on the property. Remediation has proven to be time-intensive and expensive for developers.

Our federal, state and local governments must take the lead in setting standards on behalf of the public and offering incentives for clean-up to actively encourage the transformation of such brownfields.

Long Island has some fine examples of what can be achieved––the Village of Greenport, for example. A formerly contaminated property has been made the cornerstone of a thriving downtown. The new Mitchell Park boasts an amphitheater, a historical carousel, an ice rink and a beautifully landscaped waterfront.

Under energetic leadership, the village came together to transform a vacant property. The result: a clean, enhanced environment that’s improved community life, boosted the economy and attracted visitors.

Other large-scale projects are underway in Long Beach, Glen Cove, New Cassel and Wyandanch. Along with Huntington Station, Hicksville and Hempstead, these communities qualified for a total of $841,470 under a state Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program. The funds are being used to advance smart growth principles and create a roadmap for the future re-use of other brownfield sites.

When brownfields sit idle everybody loses. Brownfields should be viewed as new opportunities––chances to reverse years of misuse and neglect. Left alone, they radiate widening problems. Environmental worries spread. Property values are reduced. Businesses elect to develop “greenfields” instead. Communities see roads, sewers and other infrastructure underutilized.

Brownfields are among the biggest roadblocks we know of to positive sustainable development. And they are a big factor in distressed communities’ inability to move forward and take their share of the beautiful, healthy and economically viable environment Long Island can be.

So what can you do?
Some of our elected officials have taken initiative and are working to address this pressing concern to Long Island. There’s been movement in both the state senate and assembly to advance legislation. Senator Carl Marcellino has introduced legislation that would improve the brownfield program. His bill, which was passed by the full Senate in January, would place the administration of the Brownfields Opportunity Area program in one agency – the Department of State. This would reduce delays, increase accountability and get dollars out to communities.

Legislation introduced last week by Assemblyman Robert K. Sweeney – that needs the support of your state assembly person now – would also consolidate the BOA program at one agency. Importantly, Assemblyman Sweeney’s bill would also reward a tax credit of 20% to developers who are willing to cleanup and re-use brownfield sites in accordance with the community’s plan.
Senator Marcellino and Assemblyman Sweeney are leading the charge, but we need all our Albany leaders to weigh in and make this a priority to improve the state’s brownfield toolbox. By advancing these provisions, the efforts of the community and the developers would be streamlined. This would make a big difference in driving momentum forward for revitalizing our brownfields and our communities.

Before June 23rd your state senators and assembly members need to know that you support their legislative efforts to get brownfields planning dollars out to communities and to create tax incentives that encourage the cleanup and re-use of these sites to meet the community’s needs are priorities for your community and the region at large

Call 516-873-0230 or email stuttle@sustainableli.org

Guest columnists Amy Hagedorn, president, board of directors and Sarah Lansdale, executive director, Sustainable Long Island