Weisenberg And Skelos Announce State Grant To Begin Cleanup Of Long Beach Brownfields

Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) and Senator Dean G. Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) secured a $65,000 state grant to complete a study required to begin remediating a 140-acre parcel located along Reynolds Channel in the City of Long Beach. The funds also support site assessments necessary to determine the extent of the contamination. Until its closure in March 1997, the site housed the oldest garbage incinerator on Long Island and the area is believed to contain up to 24 brownfield sites.

"I’m very pleased that we were able to help secure state resources needed to begin cleaning up the old incinerator site in Long Beach," said Assemblyman Weisenberg. "It’s very important that we return these contaminated areas to beneficial use and I hope eventually that site will house a park for the community."

"Long Beach is a beautiful city and a wonderful place to live," said Senator Skelos. "By working together, Assemblyman Weisenberg and I were able to provide this funding to begin the process of remediating this area, protecting our children from environmental pollution and creating a new asset for everyone in our community."

The Long Beach project was included within a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") between Governor Pataki, the State Senate and the State Assembly designed to identify strategies to cleanup and reuse brownfields, as well as enabling community groups to participate in brownfields redevelopment. Long Beach is one of 53 communities that will receive funding through the MOU. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will solicit projects for a second round of funding later this spring.

The MOU allocated funding provided by the Brownfield Opportunity Areas program. This initiative enables local communities to address a range of problems posed by multiple brownfield sites, build consensus on the future uses of priority brownfield sites and establish the multi-agency and private-sector partnerships necessary to leverage assistance and investments to revitalize their neighborhoods.

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