Will Make Home On Blighted Property
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Office of Environmental Remediation Director Daniel Walsh, and Ethan Bregman, owner and engineer of ayton Performance, announced on Tuesday, Aug. 20 that ayton will open its new race engine design facility on a former Williamsburg brownfield site remediated under the New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program.
The property, located at 105 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg (off of Wythe Ave.), has remained vacant for 27 years until it was enrolled in the New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program last February. Cleanup is expected to be completed at the end of this summer, with development and construction to follow.
Once cleanup is completed, the new ayton Performance facility site will receive a New York City Green Property Certification. Ayton Performance will hire eight new employees, including three high-tech, permanent jobs.
The engineering firm specializes in the design of auto racing engines and has won several American and World Championships, including the 24 Heures du Mans in France, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and world GT2 titles with clients including GM, Porsche and McLaren.
Ayton Performance is expected to open next summer and continue work on its project designing the Honda IndyCar.
“New York City is known as a global leader in fields ranging from fashion to finance, tourism to tech start-ups, and bio-sciences to film and TV production. Now we can add the design of IndyCar race engines to the growing list of things that are ‘Made In New York,'” said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. “The New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program targets blighted and vacant sites, encouraging development that brings new jobs and other improvements to help neighborhoods and our economy grow.”
“As an advocate for small businesses and a clean environment, brownfield redevelopment is a central tenet of smart growth,” added Rep Nydia M. Velázquez. “It is a vehicle that helps create a balance between preserving the community’s critical need for open space and the ability to attract new business investment and skilled workers. It is good news that these obsolete and vacant lots will now be replaced with a small business that will generate economic vitality and serve as an anchor for other small businesses to invest in Williamsburg.”
“Through the efforts of the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, our partners within the federal government and community advocates throughout North Brooklyn, we have been able to undertake the significant task of cleaning up the surrounding environment and reinvesting in our local infrastructure and economic capacity,” said City Council Member Diana Reyna. “I am thrilled to see Ayton Performance locate to Metropolitan Avenue as it is truly the culmination of years of effort and a testament to the North Brooklyn community’s dedication and perseverance.”
The Brownfield Cleanup Program was established by Bloomberg in January 2011 to provide government oversight of cleanup of light to moderately contaminated brownfield properties. Approximately 30 cleanups are now under construction or have been completed. An additional 45 projects have applied to enroll.
