Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
Haverstraw, NY	Date of Announcement: April 2001 Amount: $200,000 Greenspace: $50,000
Profile: The Pilot focuses on three abandoned industrial sites along Haverstraw’s Hudson River waterfront, which was once the brick making capital of the world.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the Village of Haverstraw for a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The city also was selected to receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Haverstraw (population 9,438) is a small, historic village located on the western bank of the Hudson River, just north of New York City. The village has vastly different demographics and lags economically behind other communities in Rockland County. Nearly 19 percent of Haverstraw’s population lives at or below the poverty line and per capita income is $11,016. Minorities represent about 71 percent of Haverstraw’s population.

The Hudson River waterfront has historically been an economic generator for the village. Haverstraw was the “brick making capital of the world” in the 19th and 20th centuries, when 38 brickyards lined the waterfront. During the Great Depression, the demand for bricks declined and many of the brickyards were forced to close. Since the 1930s , the Haverstraw waterfront has been used intermittently for various industrial purposes, including a chair factory, and fuel and oil storage. This Pilot targets three abandoned industrial properties encompassing 55 acres along the banks of the Hudson, which recently was designated an American Heritage River.

OBJECTIVES

The Pilot is a key step in Haverstraw’s waterfront revitalization effort. Through this Pilot, the village seeks to empower community groups to continue active participation in the decision-making process that will shape the revitalization of the Haverstraw waterfront. The Pilot also will create a working plan to assess, clean up, and return brownfields to productive use, thereby creating new jobs, contributing to the tax base, and reclaiming public enjoyment of the waterfront. Finally, the Pilot will develop a program to institutionalize brownfields decision-making in all development and planning activities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Implementing a comprehensive Community Involvement Program designed to empower local community groups and residents;
• Conducting Phase II environmental site assessments on 28 acres of the project area;
• Developing cleanup and site reuse plans that will direct future use of the area, promote jobs and economic growth, and maximize public access to the waterfront; and
• Setting aside the riverfront shoreline of the 55 targeted acres for a public esplanade park.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.

CONTACTS

Village of Haverstraw
(914) 429-0300

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 2
(212) 637-4314

Visit the EPA Region 2 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/brownfields/

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/