EPA Announces $12 Million in Grants to Assess and Clean up Communities Across New York
NEW YORK - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that 10 recipients across New York have been selected to receive more than $8 Million in Brownfields Grants to assess, clean up, and revitalize local lands. These investments support locally driven redevelopment, unlocking economic opportunity, creating jobs, and improving public health outcomes in communities in New York. In addition, EPA will provide $3.75 Million in new and supplemental funding to three successful Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) programs that support Brownfields work on an ongoing basis in New York. These grants put the agency’s commitment to protect human health and the environment into action while remaining good stewards of tax dollars and advancing policies to energize the economy.
"The brownfield grants are essential for New York, allowing us to transform neglected sites into thriving community assets that instill pride and drive economic growth,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci. “By investing in these revitalization efforts, we not only protect our environment but also create job opportunities and improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers."
“Over $5M in Brownfield grants across NY-22 will help revitalize and improve public health in key areas in Cortland County, Syracuse, and the Mohawk Valley,” said U.S. Representative John W. Mannion (NY-22). “I’ll continue to work with the EPA to deliver targeted investments in our communities, and I look forward to seeing these projects drive meaningful and lasting change."
“I am thrilled that the EPA has selected Chautauqua County as a recipient of the Brownfield grant,” said U.S Representative Nicholas Langworthy (NY-23). “This is a fantastic opportunity for Dunkirk and Jamestown to clean up, redevelop, and revitalize local lands. This investment is crucial to unlocking economic opportunities and improving these communities.”
"The City of Rensselaer is grateful to the US EPA for providing us with this assistance. The reuse strategy for priority sites in the city supports the efforts of the “Rensselaer Rising” initiative which are to create a livable, vibrant, and sustainable urban environment. This initiative will provide new opportunities for residential, commercial, and recreational spaces by remediating brownfield sites, particularly in our downtown and waterfront areas," said Michael Stammel, Mayor of Rensselaer.
EPA has made these selections based on a competitive process. Selectees in New York are:
The Adirondack Economic Development Corporation in NY has been selected to receive $500,000. The grant will be used to assess and plan for the cleanup of various polluted sites in the Villages of Massena and Malone. Key sites targeted for assessment include an old vacant building, two former creameries, and a former coal storage facility.
The City of Binghamton, NY has been selected to receive $500,000. The grant will be used to assess and prioritize polluted sites in the North Chenango River Corridor and the First Ward Neighborhood. This includes engaging with the community. Key sites targeted for assessment include a vacant former wire manufacturing site, a former gasoline station, a parcel with dilapidated multi-family homes, and an unsecured site with a former industrial building and residences.
The Cortland County Industrial Development Agency in NY has been selected to receive $500,000. The grant will be used to assess 18 sites, develop cleanup plans and engage the community in the City of Cortland and the Village of Homer. Key sites targeted for assessment include a former metal manufacturing facility, an old armory, a vacant paint company in Cortland, and a textile plant, industrial site, and two fuel stations in Homer.
The County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency in NY has been selected to receive $500,000. This funding will be used to conduct assess 21 sites, develop cleanup and reuse plans and engage the community in the Cities of Dunkirk and Jamestown. Key sites targeted for assessment include a vacant waterfront block, a former auto dealer and repair shop, a large vacant manufacturing facility, and a former dry cleaner in Dunkirk, along with a former landfill and several vacant manufacturing properties in Jamestown.
Additionally, Chautauqua was selected to receive $1 million for their existing Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program. This funding supports a successful RLF program that has already facilitated cleanup projects. Highlighted projects for this funding include the Homesteads at Dunkirk Landing, the Westfield Welch Building Redevelopment, and the Dunkirk Waterfront Block.
The City of Glens Falls, NY has been selected to receive $500,000. The grant will be used to assess 25 sites and prioritize polluted sites along the city’s East-West End Textile Trail. This includes developing three cleanup plans and supporting community engagement efforts. Key sites targeted for assessment include a vacant auto repair site, an old cement plant, and a former gas plant.
The Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board in NY has been selected to receive $1,155,000. The grant will be used to conduct 20 environmental site assessments. It will also fund the preparation and maintenance of a site inventory, as well as the development of 20 reuse plans and ten cleanup plans, alongside community engagement activities. Assessment efforts will focus on the City of Glens Falls and the Towns of Champlain, Plattsburgh, Essex, and Lake Pleasant. Key sites targeted for assessment include a former shopping center, a former county airport, a waterfront marina, and a former cement plant that has been closed since 2023.
Livingston County, NY has been selected to receive $1,000,000 to establish a Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program to provide up to three loans and two subgrants for cleanup activities. It will also support the development of four cleanup plans and community engagement efforts. RLF activities will focus on the Towns of Caledonia and Livonia, as well as the Villages of Dansville and Geneseo.
The Mohawk Valley Economic Development Growth Enterprises Corporation (Mohawk Valley EDGE) in NY has been selected to receive $1,000,000 for its existing Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program. This funding is being provided because the RLF program has performed well but has significantly depleted funds. The RLF program has successfully facilitated loans or subgrants for four cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. One highlighted project for the use of the new funding includes the St. Luke's Hospital site.
The City of New York has been selected to receive $750,000 for its existing Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program. This funding comes on top of the $3,700,000 previously awarded by EPA and is provided because the RLF program has performed well but has significantly depleted funds.
The RLF program has successfully facilitated loans or subgrants for 18 cleanup projects that are either completed or in progress. Notable projects for the use of the new funding include sites at 103 West 108th Street in Manhattan, 819 Grand Street in Brooklyn, and 2828 West 28th Street on Coney Island.
The City of Rensselaer, NY has been selected to receive $300,000 to conduct eight environmental site assessments. It will also help prioritize polluted sites, develop four cleanup plans, and support reuse planning and community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the City of Rensselaer, with priority sites including two former gas stations and two adjacent parcels located on a floodplain next to an active industrial site.
Safe Harbors of the Hudson, Inc. in NY has been selected to receive $500,000 to assess nine sites, prioritize sites, develop a cleanup plan and to develop a community plan. The target area for this grant is a 1.3-mile corridor along the Hudson River Waterfront in the City of Newburgh. Priority sites include a 1.8-acre vacant grassy parcel, a 1.58-acre former commercial retail center, a 12-acre former ferry terminal, and a 1.44-acre former manufacturing facility.
The Greater Syracuse Land Bank in NY has been selected to receive $3,768,646. The grant will be used to engage with the community and clean up two contaminated sites contaminated with metals, inorganic contaminants, semi-volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
The Montgomery Street site is a 0.2-acre parcel with a deteriorating 5,430-square-foot building and has been used for various purposes, including as a residence, bus service facility, and auto-related services. The Seymour Street site is a 1.7-acre parcel with a vacant 39,000-square-foot former manufacturing building, a former powerhouse, and a wooden shed. It has been unused since 2021 and was previously a metal and ball bearing manufacturing site.
Brownfields grants are a powerful catalyst for local economic growth. Communities in New York have used previous EPA grants to assess, cleanup, and attract new development. Nationally, Brownfields funding delivers proven results:
- 13.9 jobs per $100,000 of EPA Brownfield Grant funds spent
- $20.45 for each $1 of EPA Brownfields funding expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund grants.
- Property values near cleaned-up sites increase by 5-15.2% with an estimated gain of $500,000 to $1.5 million in total property values
- Increase of $29-97 million in local tax revenue in just the first-year post-cleanup, per a study done in 2017.
EPA’s Brownfields Program helps transform underutilized and blighted properties into community assets – empowering neighborhoods, protecting health, and sparking lasting economic change.
Learn more about EPA’s Brownfields and Land Revitalization grant opportunities.
Background
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in Brownfield Grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, brownfields investments leveraged more than $42 billion in cleanup and redevelopment. Over the years, the relatively small investment of federal funding was able to leverage, from both public and private sources, more than 220,500 jobs.
List of the FY 2025 Applicants Selected for Funding: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applications-selected-fy-2025-brownfields-assessment-revolving-loan-fund-rlf-cleanup
For more on the Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding. For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
EPA anticipates that it will make these awards once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied by selected recipients.
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