New York City has garnered new powers to institute cleanups on moderately contaminated sites, which could help revive hundreds of spots in the city that have sat empty or unused for years.
"[T]he city signed an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation that gives the city authority over light to moderate cleanups. It is the first site in the program and is slated to hold a seven-story affordable housing complex, called Pelham Parkway Towers.
New York State has had a similar program in place since 2003, and it will continue to oversee the truly toxic, Superfund-caliber cleanups. The state also has tax credits at its disposal that the city does not. Until now, most light to moderate cleanups in the city were done either at the developer's discretion or not at all."
There are at least 1,000 brownfield sites located in the city, according to this article from The Architect's Newspaper.
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