New Partners for Community Revitalization

NPCR History New Partners for Community Revitalization, Inc. (NPCR) was created in 2002 and emerged out of the multi-year policy debate that surrounded the passage of brownfields legislation in NYS and the recognition that low and moderate income (LMI) areas could be left behind without an organization whose mission it is to develop programs and policies to address the needs specific to LMI communities. The organization was co-founded by Jody Kass who brought experience and contacts in nonprofit real estate development and Mathy Stanislaus who brought experience and contacts in environmental justice, environmental law and engineering. The founders spent several years in research and program development, which included on-the-ground work with community based groups, non-profit and for-profit developers, and nationwide research on innovative programs and approaches. In 2004, NPCR was formally incorporated as an independent NYS not-for-profit organization.

Many of New York’s LMI neighborhoods are burdened by the presence of multiple brownfield sites. These sites compromise the economic future, social revitalization potential, and public health in the communities in which they are located. Unremediated soil and groundwater contamination is a serious restraint on neighborhood investment, private business development, job creation, community development, and quality of life. Residents, owners and community-based organizations view these brownfield properties as opportunities to meet pressing community needs -- affordable housing, local job creating commercial and industrial development, educational & community facilities, waterfront access and open space -- that are increasingly difficult to site due to real estate pressures and rising land values. The redevelopment of brownfield sites offers a chance to increase the local tax base by putting property back on the tax roles, and also to meet real needs facing NY’s communities.

NPCR History While NYC led the country re-building urban America in the 1980s and 1990s with some of the most successful housing programs in the nation, there was a growing realization that the landscape had changed. The portfolio of developable land was dwindling, and what was left was often contaminated from previous uses or illegal dumping. At the same time, the overheated real estate market was leading to rising property values, speculation and displacement. Jody Kass and Mathy Stanislaus designed a multi-pronged, integrated brownfields program to advance community revitalization goals through brownfields reclamation and re-use. These programs were crafted to provide new tools and approaches to respond to this changed landscape. And, the programs also reflected the need to affirmatively address environmental justice concerns by rejecting the notion that only low uses can be built on brownfield sites in low- and moderate-income communities. In tandem with its program work, NPCR has continued its active collaboration with the NYS Department of State and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, helping to shape and improve the programs created by the 2003 legislation. At the City level, NPCR has focused on the institutionalization of a centralized NYC brownfields office and ensuring that brownfields resources and technical assistance are available to and accessible to achieve the community revitalization goals of LMI communities.

In December 2007, NPCR’s board of directors adopted a three-year strategic plan that formally recognized that people living in LMI neighborhoods and communities of color are NPCR’s primary constituency. To ensure that NPCR’s activities serve the interests of this core constituency, NPCR has institutionalized the requirement that its programs and policies be based on the priorities and needs of LMI communities by periodically consulting with community based organizations (CBOs) serving these neighborhoods. Specifically, NPCR regularly convenes CBOs participating in the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program to help craft and implement NPCR’s policy agendas.

The mission of New Partners for Community Revitalization, Inc. (NPCR) is to advance the renewal of New York’s low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color through the redevelopment of brownfield sites. In collaboration with community, commercial, government and nonprofit partners, NPCR develops policies, programs and projects aimed at achieving the remediation and sustainable reuse of brownfield sites in New York.

NPCR Executive Director Jody Kass NPCR’s Executive Director, Jody Kass, came out of the affordable housing development arena and NPCR’s active Board of Directors represents the diverse interests of brownfield stakeholders and New York City communities. NPCR is distinguished from other organizations by its historical position in the brownfield policy debate and also by its unique blend of expertise from different fields (banks, developers, legal, environmental, community based-nonprofits) as applied to the redevelopment of brownfield sites for community-supported re-use. NPCR has a strong environmental justice perspective and has declared its primary constituency to be communities of color and those living in low- and moderate-income NYC neighborhoods.

Former NPCR Co-Directory Mathy Stanislaus (In 2009, co-founder Mathy Stanislaus was selected by President Obama and confirmed by the US Senate for the position of Assistant Administrator of the USEPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). He started in Washington, D.C. on June 8, 2009.)

READ OUR
E-NEWSLETTER