New Partners for Community Revitalization

June 2011
May 2010
April 2009
May 2008
March 2008
July 2007
June 2006

NPCR's 5th Annual Albany Summit June 6 - 7, 2011: Over 120 participants and representatives of 50 BOA communities from around the state participated in the 5th Annual Albany Summit, a two-day event which included a series of roundtable discussions and a networking dinner. The focus of this year’s Summit was tools and resources for BOA implementation of the area–wide revitalization strategies that are emerging from the 110 NY communities participating in the BOA program.Roundtable discussions were held about Land Banking and Tax Increment Financing as new revenueneutral tools, USDA resources, transportation planning and resources, economic development and climate adaption. The Summit also included a discussion with Senator Mark Grisanti, the newly elected Chair of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation, where he heard directly from BOA representatives across the state about the importance of BOA in achieving neighborhood revitalization goals.

NPCR held an Albany press conference calling on the Governor, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Assembly Speaker to begin taking the steps necessary to complete a Memorandum of Understanding to access additional funding, or find new sources of revenue to keep the redevelopment and jobs creation momentum moving forward in many New York neighborhoods. More than three dozen additional BOA projects have completed their applications and are ready to be admitted to the program. NPCR issued a press release voicing non-profits’ urge to Albany leaders to keep up the momentum with the BOA program. The Legislative Gazette wrote an article about the press conference.

As part of the event, NPCR also released the report, "The Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program: Smart Investment Laying the Groundwork for Economic Development.” It revealed that BOA is already making a significant contribution to job creation and economic development across the state, with the potential to provide an even greater boost. The report found that New York’s $34 million investment in 110 BOA projects will create from 30,000 to 50,000 jobs across urban, suburban, and rural areas of the state.

NPCR May 2010 Summit May 10 & 11, 2010: NPCR’s annual Albany summits have been highly successful in providing opportunities for BOA grantees to share lessons learned and advance ideas for tweaking the BOA program. NPCR continued the tradition with Albany Summit IV on Brownfields. On May 10-11, 2010 over 100 community leaders, local officials and other stakeholders from across New York State attended NPCR’s two-day Brownfields Summit IV entitled New Opportunities for New York: BOA Spotlight Communities, and Place-Based Regional Collaboration. This was NPCR’s fourth convening of stakeholders involved in the BOA program in Albany. Speakers included local, city, state and federal agency officials, as well as community and municipal leaders participating in the Brownfield Opportunity Area program. Participants engaged in an energetic and informative dialogue on many of the issues and challenges facing community revitalization in communities most impacted by brownfield sites. Secretary of State Lorraine Cortez-Vasquez also announced the selection of the East River Industrial Corridor in Brooklyn as the location of one of DOS’s Place-Based Regional Collaboration Pilots. The Project Team for the pilot includes UPROSE from Sunset Park, GMDC from Newtown Creek and NPCR.

APRIL 27 & 28, 2009: NPCR held its Brownfield Summit III in Albany on April 27 – 28, 2009. Over 100 brownfields stakeholders participated in the two-day event which included a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Roundtable discussion and reception on the afternoon of the 27th, presentations by two Spotlight BOA Communities on the morning of the 28th, an intensive workshop on resources for site assessment and remediation, and a panel presentation by state agency officials on significant brownfield projects they have undertaken. The Summit also included presentations from several keynote speakers, including senior elected and government officials.

KEY THEMES:
There is new momentum for the BOA program - There was a lot of energy at the Summit inpart because of a shared sense that the BOA program is beginning to mature. DOS is thought to be an increasingly effective partner and stakeholders are finding that the delays that plagued the program during its first years are being resolved programmatically. Communities are moving through Step 2 and gearing up for Step 3 and are beginning to see the enormous potential of the BOA program to accomplish community revitalization objectives. Nevertheless, there was interest in ensuring that contract reviews and reimbursements are expedited, and that additional awards are provided in a timely manner.

More flexible and increased resources are needed for Site Assessment – There was universalagreement that communities need multiple options and resources for site assessment. Recognizing this need, NPCR issued a White Paper on Site Assessment Resources, which covers both NYS and federal resources as well as the obstacles to utilizing those resources. The need for site assessments is also inspiring communities and their government partners to find new and innovative ways to use NYS and federal site assessment funds. Although BOA resources have yet to be used, a number of strategies were discussed with DEC and DOS for effectively using BOA funds and for developing more expedited programmatic procedures.

The State’s Other Brownfield Programs need improvement –The Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP)/Brownfield Tax Credits must be fixed to relieve the state of an enormous financial liability and to open up the program to the sites that need regulatory oversight, liability relief and financial incentives. There were several communities, including Long Island and Kingston who felt it was important that Class 2 superfund sites be allowed into the BCP. There was also strong support for re-financing the Environmental Restoration Program. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) was also suggested as an important potential resource for brownfield re-development.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM BOA PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD

There is value in seeking to promote a culture of revitalization at all levels of government;
Good BOA practice means creating partnerships;
Hire good consultants and complete as much quality analysis upfront as possible;
Identifying high impact projects or anchors that can spur area wide revitalization makes BOA plans more effective;
BOA participants should take advantage of synergies that arise in areas that have begun to “ripen;”
The BOA program is an opportunity to develop a comprehensive, holistic approach that lifts the whole community, rather than cleaning up a couple of sites.

PRESS CONFERENCE
NPCR and representatives from across the State called on the Governor and legislature to sign a legislative Memorandum of Understanding that would authorize the award of 14 new BOA grants totaling $6.7 million. The group also called on Albany leaders to open up the eligibility for the Brownfield Cleanup Program and to target the brownfield tax credits to projects that are in need of subsidies. (Learn more: WAMC coverage of April 30, 2009 Brownfields Advocates Summit in Albany and April 29, 2009 press coverage, Group wants $7 million released for brownfields.)

DOS FEEDBACK SESSION ON ITS BOA TRAINING
DOS suggested more advanced training courses, such as marketing, financial strategies and smart growth and sustainable development and participants expressed interest in training on negotiating access agreements and strategies for the implementation phase. An important theme that emerged was the need for training tailored to CBO grantees and break-out sessions during trainings were suggested. DOS also asked for feedback on the different media/approaches: including online, indexed sessions, web casting, and more traditional in-person sessions.

Summit May 20, 2008: The success of the March 3 and 4, 2008 summit and the need to continue to press for reforms to the BOA Program prompted NPCR to organize the Second Brownfields Summit on May 20, 2008 in Albany. BOA grantees gathered for a brownfields breakfast at which the Secretary of State spoke and Assemblyman Sweeney and Senator Marcellino discussed their respective Brownfields bills and reform approaches. In addition, NPCR organized a press conference, a meeting with Senator Antoine Thompson (ranking minority member of the Environmental Conservation Comm.) and a roundtable hosted by the Department of State to discuss implementation of the BOA program and in particular expanding the eligible activities in the program. The Second Brownfields Summit was well attended and the afternoon roundtable with DOS generated many interesting ideas for the BOA program. NPCR subsequently prepared a report for DOS with a summary of the recommendations that came out of the roundtable discussion. NPCR will continue to press for changes to the Brownfields Legislation and to garner support for both consolidating the BOA Program under one agency and providing a 20% tax credit to developers who build projects consistent with BOA plans.

Summit March 3 & 4, 2008: NPCR held a Brownfields Summit in Albany and invited all current and pending BOA grantees. Municipal and community development leaders from all over NYS attended the roundtable (hosted by NYSDEC), press conference, and evening reception and held meetings with key legislators. The agenda included a request for commitments to release BOA funding, elimination of the requirement for MOUs, consolidation of the BOA program under one State Agency and creation of a link between tax credits and projects built consistent with a BOA plan. The summit was an overwhelming success and helped break the 3-year logjam that resulted in the award of $7 million in BOA funds that had been held up by bureaucratic procedures. The event received excellent press coverage both upstate and downstate. Mayor Bloomberg issued a press release in which NPCR was acknowledged for their continued advocacy and the release of $2.7 million in BOA Funds for NYC alone. Read press release.

July 2007: NPCR hosted a roundtable with BOA grantees and pending grantees in NYC entitled: “Roundtable Dialogue about the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program, NYC”. The focus of the morning session was what the City can do to advance the BOA program; and the focus of the afternoon session was what the State can do. Representatives from New York City and New York State government participated; as did representatives of BOA communities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and Nassau County. City of New York attendees included representatives from Deputy Mayor Doctoroff’’s Office, NYC Economic Development Corporation, NYC Department of City Planning and NYC Office of Environmental Coordination. New York State attendees included representatives from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and NYS Department of State.

June 2006: This BOA Roundtable, held on June 12, 2006, focused on the opportunities associated with the BOA program with an eye towards identifying strategies to help ensure the program reaches its full potential. Participants in this meeting included: Assemblyman Vito Lopez, Senator Carl Marcellino, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, NYS Department of State, NYC Office of Environmental Coordination, UPROSE, YMPJ, Sustainable Long Island, City of Syracuse Economic Development Corporation, and True Bethel Baptist Church/True Community Development Corp., Buffalo. Information obtained during the roundtable was subsequently incorporated into NPCR’s report- Brownfields Breakthrough A Report on the State of New York’s Community Revitalization Tool for the Future.

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