Governor David A. Paterson pledged more than $1.5 million to a Queens development corporation seeking to clean up and reclaim the Flushing riverfront.
The grant, announced Wednesday, October 7, is part of the state’s broader Brownfield Opportunities Area Program (BOAP), an initiative to clean up abandoned properties that may pose environmental threats because of contamination.
The Flushing-Willets Point-Corona Local Development Corp. (FWPCLDC) received the largest sum out of the more than $10 million worth of grants to begin research and planning for its Flushing riverfront project. The project is an effort to clean up and redevelop the land along the Flushing River, according to Claire Shulman, President and CEO of FWPCLDC.
“The pollution in the river is significant, probably upland as well,” Shulman said. “What we’re looking to do is really redevelop the riverfront to reconnect downtown Flushing to the historic riverfront from which it has been isolated for nearly a century.”
New York State is promoting the reclamation of brownfield areas, dormant properties where contamination prevents development, which it says are drains on communities and burdens on taxpayers. The BOAP money is aimed at turning these abandoned sites into productive areas in the communities and help them to prosper economically.
“The state’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program provides critically-needed resources to transform thousands of brownfields and other dormant properties back to productive use to generate jobs for New Yorkers and revenues for local governments,” Paterson said. “This program lays the foundation for sustained community redevelopment by putting solid strategies and investment priorities in place.”
With the $1,505,700 provided by the state, FWPCLDC can initiate studies to determine what needs to be done to clean up the riverfront, and what can ultimately be built there, according to Harry Giannoulis, President of the Parkside Group, a consulting firm that helped FWPCLDC to apply for the state grant.
“Contaminated areas are the most difficult sites in terms of development, there are a series of issues to be resolved.” Giannoulis said.
Shulman said the Flushing Riverfront studies could ultimately tie in with the city’s plans for Willets Point.
The Willets Point project is a $3 billion development project of a site many consider blighted and an eyesore. The plan, which was approved by the City Council on November 13, 2008, includes the creation 1.7 million square feet of retail shops and restaurants, 500,000 square feet of office space, 5,500 units of housing, a hotel, a school and a convention center.
“The pollution in Willets Point is significant, and it’s just on the other side of the river,” Shulman said. “This money can provide economic development, improvements of public spaces, and make what is currently a messy area into something beautiful.”
