MIT did a great study on the Harlem River Waterfront:  Bronx:  Meet Your Waterfront Plan

http://bronx.mit.edu/meet-your-waterfront-plan

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“Examining Harlem River Water Quality: Imputs, Effects and Solutions”

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at Manhattan College, Leo Engineering Building

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm, Main Auditorium: GENERAL MEETING

• What is the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program? What is an Estuary? US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Bob Nyman Director, NY-NJ Harbor Estuary Program
• What is the State of the Sewers? NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), NYC Region 2 Director Suzanne Mattei -The State of the Sewers
• What can the History of the Harlem River teach us? Sid Horenstein, Environmental Educator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History
• What we see Google Mapping of Places of interest along the Harlem River? Jerry Willis, National Parks Service, and the Harlem River Working Group (HRWG)

4:00 pm, Downstairs Cafeteria: REFRESHMENTS, TABLING, BREAKOUTS

4:15 to 5:15 pm, Downstairs Cafeteria: BREAKOUTS

• “Hudson River Estuary Action Agenda 2010-2014” presentation and public comment, Fran Dunwell, NYS DEC
• Grass roots designed Public Participation process for CSOs, Petition and Letter Writing – Karen Argenti, BCEQ & HRWG
• Google Mapping CSO Places of interest along the Harlem River – CSO Photos – Jerry Willis, National Parks Service, HRWG

5:00 – 5:30 pm, Main Auditorium: SUMMARIES REPORTED by 5:20 pm

5:30 – 7:00 pm, Auditorium: HARLEM RIVER WORKING GROUP MEETING

7:00 – 9:00 pm, Board Room: BCEQ BOARD MEETING

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DEADLINE:  JULY 27, 2009  SEE DOCUMENTS TO DOWNLOAD BELOW

We request your help in the form of a letter of support to the National Park Service to enable a group of interested parties to request funding and staff support for a Harlem River Working Group in the Bronx.

INFORMTION SHEET – Letter to the NPS

1. On your organizations letterhead, address letter to

National Park Service

River Trails and Conservation Assistance Program

1849 C Street, NW Code 2220

Washington, DC 20240

2. Send us the letter DO NOT MAIL as it has to be part of the packet.

3. Send letter to harlemriver@bceq.org OR call us to pick up the letter

4. Start by describing your organization and mission. State if you are a 501c3, etc. Describe your catchment area in the Bronx, what type of services you provide, and who your target population is.

5. Take two or three items from the 3 pager and state that is the reason for your support.

6. Community partners should Identify how they will be actively and substantively involved in the project. Describe the existing or anticipated role and contribution of each. Support letters from project partners detailing the nature of their intended involvement are strongly encouraged.

7. Express your interest in remaining informed of the HRWG activities and describe them.

8. See Format below

National Park Service

River, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program

1849 C Street, NW Code 2220

Washington, DC 20240

Dear xxx,

We are the xxx organization, a 501c3 or 4 or other, located in the Bronx, NY. Our main mission is to xxxx and xxxx for the following areas of the Bronx, located near the Harlem River. We provide the following services to youth, seniors or schools, etc.

We support the application of the HRWG to organize activities for the entire Bronx and to restore the river. If successful we would encourage our members to join and/or walk along the Harlem River.

The need for a person like Jerry Willis, New York Director of River, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, as well as someone dedicated to working on Harlem River issues, especially given the wide range of projects that are ready to go, is essential.

Blah blah blah

We have asked to be placed on the mailing list of the group so we can participate in any and all activities to open up the waterfront to our constituency.

Sincerely

ED

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS AND INFO HERE:

Letter with attachments that include instructions and bullet points — hrwgsupportrequest

Draft Application to the NPS — harlemriver09npsgrant_071009draft

Other Parts to the Application:

List of Harlem River Working Group participants  participants-hrwg

Designating parts of the shore line for acquisition under the HEP: harlem-river-access-2007-ppt.pdf

The study is being carried out by the Bronx Council on Environmental Quality in collaboration with the Borough President’s office, the Gaia Institute, and Manhattan College. A steering committee has been formed, which includes representatives of the Borough President; Community Boards 4, 5, 7 and 8; and agencies and community organizations with interests in the waterfront. Hilary Kitasei is the project manager. The Borough President’s office is preparing maps and the Gaia Institute is doing the environmental analysis.

Scope. The Harlem River BOA includes 162 acres of the Bronx shore of the Harlem River, which contains many vacant or underutilized properties whose development is complicated by the presumption of contamination. It includes two sub-areas: 156 acres from the Macombs Dam Bridge to the Bronx border with Marble Hill, and the 6-acre triangle in Spuyten Duyvil at the confluence of the Hudson River. A broader community participation area includes the populated upland areas whose residents have the most direct stake in the future in the waterfront: Concourse, HighBridge, Morris Heights, University Heights, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil.

Background. The Harlem River and its neighboring communities are poised for a long-overdue revival. For centuries, the Harlem provided a bountiful harvest of seafood and a source of transportation for indigenous tribes, followed by colonists and the first generations of the new republic. At the turn of the last century, the river was host to a proliferation of boathouses and regattas, attracting rowers and spectators from around the world. Early 20th century industrialization and planning policies all but eradicated public access to the River and replaced the festive boathouses and sustenance fishermen with factories and power plants, sewage outfalls, miles of bulkheads, roads and railways that turned New Yorkers away from their waterfronts. In the case of the Harlem River, highways and railroads cut the inland communities off from their seven-mile waterfront almost completely.

The Harlem River BOA is presumed to be one large brownfield, with significant contamination throughout all environmental media. Its redevelopment and restoration require thorough planning and analysis of hazardous substance sites, which includes participation at all levels. It is anticipated that targeted brownfields redevelopment efforts will contribute to the expansion of public access opportunities, open space protection, protection of fish habitat and intertidal areas, tourism and recreation promotion, and improving linkages between the waterfront and historic communities.

The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality (BCEQ) is a 501c.3 grass roots community group founded in 1970. BCEQ seeks to establish – as an inherent Human Right – a sound, forward-looking policy regarding ”an aesthetic, unpolluted environment with a natural and historic heritage.” We believe grassroots citizen involvement to be essential in building and maintaining a sustainable present and future environment. We think globally, and act locally — in The Bronx.

For more information, you can view our report here:
Harlem River BOA Report – 10.38 mb (PDF)

Letter of approval – (PDF)

This report is the final product for the funding BCEQ was appropriated to complete the Harlem River BOA Phase I. It is a large file so be patient when you download and open. If your browser is not set to open pdfs or if you want to download it, right click on the mouse and choose SAVE AS, and then place it in the file of your choice. If you have any comments on our report, and/or questions, please contact HarlemRiver@bceq.org

Thank you for your support.

Brownfields in a Nutshell, June  2006

Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.[1]

Brownfields redevelopment can be ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable.  The nature, context, and perspective of the challenges confronting Brownfields practitioners demand this new approach. By integrating the concepts of sustainable development, community involvement, risk management, and collaborative project teams with Brownfields redevelopment, Brownfields redevelopers can avoid re-creating Brownfields and continuing their legacy.[2]

The Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grant program was created by the October 2003 New York State Brownfields Law to promote neighborhood planning in areas with multiple Brownfields.  Most brownfields produce little tax revenue and few jobs, if any. When brownfields are investigated, cleaned up, and returned to productive use New York City, its economy, and its neighborhoods benefit.

The Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOA) Program provides municipalities and community based organizations with assistance to complete area-wide approaches to brownfields redevelopment planning.  Through the Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program communities will have opportunities to return dormant areas back to productive use and simultaneously restore environmental quality.  The Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program will enable local governments and community based organization to:  address a range of problems posed by multiple brownfield sites; build consensus on the future uses of strategic brownfield sites; and establish the multi-agency and private-sector partnerships necessary to leverage assistance and investments to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.  

Info on Brownfields and/or BOAs

NYC Office of Environmental.Coordination – www.nyc.gov/html/oec/html/brown/brownfields.shtml

DOS Division of Coastal Resources – http://nyswaterfronts.com/grantopps_BOA.asp,  http://www.nyswaterfronts.com/BOA_intro_LP.htm

US Environmental Protection Agency – http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/index.html

Scenic Hudson Brownfields Resource – http://www.scenichudson.org/brownfields/index.html

For more information:

Harlem River BOA Program, www.hrboa.org,

Hilary Kitasei, Project Manager, 212-227-9505

Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, www.bceq.org,

Dart Westphal, Project Chair, 718-324-4461

This document was prepared for the NYS DOS and the NYS DEC with funds provided as a result of the General Municipal Law, Article 18-C , Section 970-r.

[1] http://www.epa.gov/brownfields / [2] http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/sustain.htm (A Sustainable Brownfields Model Framework, EPA, 1999, p. i)

[3] http://www.nyc.gov/html/oec/html/brown/brownfaq.shtml From the NYC OEC web page:  A brownfield is property that is not being redeveloped because it is or might be contaminated. The possible presence of hazardous materials poses liability, cost, and time obstacles to investment in and redevelopment of these sites.  Brownfields are often a blight on urban neighborhoods.