Public Comment Invited About Brownfield Cleanup Program Application for Site on Beach Channel Dr. and Rockaway Beach Blvd., Far Rockaway, Queens

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has received a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application from Peninsula Rockaway Limited Partnership for a site known as Former Peninsula Hospital Site, site ID #C241200. This site is located in the neighborhood of Far Rockaway, within the County of Queens, and is located at 51-15 Beach Channel Drive and 50-04 Rockaway Beach Boulevard.

A copy of the application and other relevant documents are available at the document repositories located at the Archives at Queens Library, 89-11 Merrick Boulevard, Jamaica, 11432 and Queens Community Board #14, 1931 Mott Avenue, Far Rockaway, 11691.

There are several ways to comment on BCP applications. Comments can be submitted to the site Project Manager John Grathwol at NYSDEC – DER, 625 Broadway-12th Fl, Albany, NY 12233-7016; via email at john.grathwol@dec.ny.gov or by calling 518-402-9649. All comments must be submitted by August 25, 2017.

Site information can be viewed by entering the site ID noted above at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/derexternal/index.cfm?pageid=3

What is the Brownfield Cleanup Program?

New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) is designed is to encourage private-sector cleanups of brownfields and to promote their redevelopment as a means to revitalize economically blighted communities. The BCP is an alternative to “greenfield” (land not previously developed or contaminated) development and is intended to remove some of the barriers to, and provide tax incentives for, the redevelopment of brownfields. Since its inception (2003), the BCP has catalyzed the cleanup of more than 300 contaminated sites statewide and incentivized redevelopment. There are more than 350 active sites in the BCP.

Additional information on the State's Brownfield program is available at DEC’s website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8450.html