Environmental News from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island (Region 2)

In this issue:

• $13.5 Million Awarded to NYS Under Federal Inflation Reduction Act to Support Urban and Community Forestry
• Draft Policy for Evaluating and Averting Disproportionate Impacts of Permitting Actions on Disadvantaged Communities
• Start of Construction on Convertor Station for 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express
• $20 Million Financing Fund for Decarbonization Projects in Disadvantaged Communities
• Highlight from October 5th -- 21st Annual A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor 
• New Locations Added to the NYS Birding Trail
• Arbor Day Poster Contests
• I Love NY Fall Foliage Report
• Environmental Conservation Police on Patrol
• Brownfield Cleanup Program

$13.5 Million Awarded to NYS Under Federal Inflation Reduction Act to Support Urban and Community Forestry

Highlights:

• Historic Funding to Expand Public Access to Trees and Green Spaces in Disadvantaged Communities,
• Increase Urban Tree Cover, and
• Support New Yorks Aggressive Climate Goals

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State was awarded $13.5 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. Funded through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, this grant program is designed to increase equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests to support building a clean energy economy, advance environmental justice, and create economic opportunity.

This significant funding for New York is part of a $1.5-billion federal investment in Urban and Community Forestry projects across the country, including more than $73.5 million for 28 forestry projects across the state. This historic support highlights the importance of urban forests in combatting climate change through cooling air, buildings, and pavement; reducing stormwater runoff; improving air quality; and much more. New York State’s $13.5 million allocation will be managed by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and provide grant opportunities through the State’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

DEC will soon be opening a grant application period for nearly $13 million of the IRA funding. $10 million dollars in grants will support Community Forest Management Plan Implementation, and $2.9 million will support Ash Tree Management. The remainder of the funds awarded will support grant administration. There is no applicant match required for the federal grant program for full projects in disadvantaged communities. The maximum request is $500,000 per application. The open application period for the grant opportunity will be announced in coming weeks.

DEC is holding a virtual information session on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. to provide information on this new, limited-time funding opportunity to support urban and community forestry projects in disadvantaged communities. The information session will cover eligible applicants and projects, application requirements and scoring, and other information that will help applicants plan their projects. Register for this webinar.

For more information on DEC’s Urban and Community Forestry program, visit the DEC website. Also, further details about this funding are available in the Governor's press release.

Draft Policy Related for Evaluating and Averting Disproportionate Impacts of Permitting Actions on Disadvantage Communities

Highlights:

• Significant Milestone in Implementing New York Climate Act’s Foundational Environmental Justice Provisions
• Public Comments Accepted until Nov. 27, 2023

New York State DEC announced the release of a new draft policy to implement environmental justice provisions of the historic Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). The proposed Division of Environmental Permits Policy “Permitting and Disadvantaged Communities (DEP-23-1)” is available for public comment until Nov. 27, 2023, and provides guidance in DEC’s permitting processes for considering impacts and existing burdens on New York’s most vulnerable communities.

DEC is seeking public comment on DEP-23-1, which would provide guidance during DEC’s permitting process for how and when to consider impacts on disadvantaged communities under the Climate Act’s Section 7(3). Section 7(3) requires that agency actions averts disproportionate burdens on disadvantaged communities and prioritizes reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and co-pollutants in these communities. DEP-23-1 describes the content of analyses required by DEC staff pursuant to the requirements of Section 7(3). It further describes the procedures DEC staff will follow when reviewing those analyses for conformance with the requirements of the Climate Act.

Additional details are available in the full DEC press release.

New Yorkers are encouraged to submit comments on the draft policy by Nov. 27, 2023, to: Daniel Whitehead, NYSDEC - Division Environmental Permits, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-3254, E-mail: Comment.DEP-23-1@dec.ny.gov

Start of Construction on Converter Station for 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express

• Start of Construction Paves Way for First-Ever Transformation of a Fossil Fuel Site into a Grid-Scale Zero-Emissions Facility in New York City
• Will Convert 1,250 Megawatts of Clean Energy from Direct Current to Alternating Current Power
• Accelerates Progress Toward New York’s Target of 70 Percent of State’s Electricity to Come from Renewable Sources by 2030

Governor Kathy Hochul, alongside United States Department of Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk, Premier of Quebec Francois Legault, Grand Chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, and executive leadership from Transmission Developers and Hydro-Québec, announced the start of construction on the converter station for the 339-Mile Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line – paving the way for the first-ever transformation of a fossil fuel site into a grid-scale zero-emission facility in New York City. Once completed, the state-of-the-art facility will convert 1,250 megawatts of clean energy from direct current to alternating current power that will be fed directly into the City’s power grid. This announcement accelerates progress toward New York’s target of 70 percent of the State’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 as required by the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Read more about this project in the Governor's press release.

$20 Million Financing Fund for Decarbonization Projects in Disadvantaged Communities

Highlights:

• Financing Vehicle Unlocks Complementary State and Federal Funding for Capital Deployment to Projects that Reduce Emissions from the Built Environment
• Supports Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Goals to Reduce Emissions 85 Percent by 2050 and Ensure at Least 35 Percent of Benefits – with a Goal of 40 Percent – are Directed to Disadvantaged Communities

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $20 million State Energy Financing Fund for entities offering affordable financing for decarbonization projects that deliver benefits to disadvantaged communities. This financing vehicle provides a complementary funding opportunity for entities also applying to the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program’s Section 1703, to support capital deployment for projects in New York State that reduce emissions from the built environment, including buildings and other infrastructure. This announcement supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals to reduce emissions 85 percent by 2050 and ensure at least 35 percent of benefits – with a goal of 40 percent – are directed to Disadvantaged Communities.

Additional details are available in the full Governor's press release.

Highlight from October 5th -- 21st Annual A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor 

The shorefronts of the tidal Hudson River and the piers of New York Harbor bustled with activity on Thursday, October 5th as thousands of students armed with seine nets, minnow pots, and water-testing gear collected scientific data using hands-on field techniques to capture a snapshot of the estuary's ecology during DEC's 21st annual "A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor."

DEC partnered with environmental education centers at more than 80 sites to help students of all ages track tides and currents and examine water chemistry and quality. Students also used a cast net or donned waders to pull a seine to catch, identify, and release some of the Hudson's 220-plus species of fish and myriad invertebrates. Most were young fish, evidence of the Hudson's importance as a nursery habitat.

"A Day in the Life" was sponsored by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program in partnership with the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Columbia Climate School Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. This year, more than 5,000 students and educators from 90 schools  participated. More information is available on Lamont-Doherty's "A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor" website.

Photos: from a prior seining event

New Locations Added to the NYS Birding Trail

DEC recently announced the addition of 12 new locations to the NYS Birding Trail, bringing the total number of sites statewide to 344. The new additions provide visitors with unique experiences, from large preserves and nature centers with diverse habitats to urban oases steeped in history and teeming with wildlife.

The newly added locations are located on public and private lands across the state:

• Central-Finger Lakes: Baltimore Woods Nature Center (Onondaga County)
• Greater Niagara:
  • Amherst Veterans Canal Park (Erie County)
  • Eight locations within the City of Buffalo (Erie County)
    • Cazenovia Park
    • Delaware Park
    • Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park
    • Ship Canal Commons/Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park
    • South Park (Buffalo Botanical Gardens)
    • Unity Island
    • Broderick Park
    • Bird Island Pier
• Long Island: Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center (Nassau County)
• Southern Tier: Audubon Community Nature Center (Chautauqua County)

Visit the New York State Birding webpage to plan a trip to these and other spots on the Birding Trail.

Photo: Baltimore Woods Nature Center, Onondaga County

Arbor Day Poster Contests

Annual Photo/Artwork Contest

Could your artwork be the next winner in the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest? Submit your photo or artwork by December 31, 2023, for a chance to be part of the tradition!

Visit our website to find more details about the contest and to submit your work for consideration:

Photo: 2016 Arbor Day photo of Sleepy Hollow Lake, NY, by Robert Near

There is a Contest for Students too!

Do you work at a K-12 school and want to get your students engaged with and excited about trees? Learn more about a “tree-rific” opportunity below:

Student Arbor Day Poster Contest: have your students create posters to promote Arbor Day and celebrate the importance of trees! The poster contest is open to public schools, home schools, afterschool programs, and other educational programs. Let us know if your students have Arbor Day posters—we would love to share them on DEC social media! For more info about the student poster contest, visit the DEC website.

I Love NY Fall Foliage Report 

Check out the I Love NY Fall Foliage Report to see how the fall colors are changing near you!

Environmental Conservation Police on Patrol

Never Forget - New York City
On Sept. 11, ECOs Ableson and Goonan, both assigned to Manhattan, paid their respects at an interagency service held at the site of the World Trade Center attacks in 2001. That tragic day still reverberates through DEC's Division of Law Enforcement (DLE), as just last year DLE lost ECO Cabana to a 9/11-related illness. Sadly, Officer Cabana joins Investigator Graham, Jr., Lieutenant Adam, and ECO Raymond, all Division members lost due to their heroic actions on that harrowing day. In solidarity with all affected, DEC will never forget that day and those still healing from the attacks.

ECOs Goonan (left) and Ableson (right) pay their respects at 9/11 remembrance ceremony in New York City

Fish Compliance Checks - Queens County
Undersized blue claw crabs and nearly 400 illegally caught snappers are among some of the additional fish compliance cases ECOs encountered statewide over the past several weeks.

• On Sept. 2, while patrolling Jamaica Bay in Queens County, ECO Milliron followed up on complaints of anglers using seine and cast nets to take regulated fish species. While checking a group of seine netters, Officer Milliron found three individuals in possession of 365 snappers (juvenile blue fish), 354 fish over the daily legal limit. The Officer issued tickets to the group, returnable to Queens Court.

Snappers caught using seine net and seized by ECO Milliron in Queens County

Python Seizure - New York County
On Aug. 19, ECO Pansini received a complaint from New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol about two men observed with large pythons wrapped around their shoulders at Battery Park in Manhattan. The subjects were attempting to collect money from the public in exchange for photos with the two pythons. Officer Pansini received photos of the snakes and forwarded them to a python expert for identification. The expert identified one snake as a Burmese python and the other as a reticulated python. Both species require a DEC permit to possess and are subject to additional New York City regulations. ECOs Pansini and Ableson and Lieutenant Auguscinski responded, and with assistance from New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol and U.S. Park Police, located and detained the subjects. The Officers interviewed the pair and confirmed they didn't have the proper permits to possess the snakes. After ticketing the owner of the pythons, the Officers safely removed the snakes using techniques learned recently during advanced training on the capture, handling, and transportation of dangerous reptiles. The reticulated python measured at approximately 12 feet in length and the Burmese python was approximately six feet.

ECO Pansini wrangling 12-foot-long reticulated python seized from Battery Park in Manhattan

Pythons seized from Manhattan's Battery Park caged for safe transport

For more Environmental Conservation Police on Patrol and Forest Rangers in Review stories, visit the press release page on DEC's website.

Brownfield Cleanup Program

Queens

DEC has received a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application to amend the BCA for a site known as Willets Point Development, site ID #C241146. This site is located in the County of Queens and is located at 126th Street/Willets Point Boulevard. Comment end: October 27, 2023.

More information

Brooklyn

DEC invites the public to comment about a proposal to address contamination related to the Steiner Sequel site #C224330 (Brooklyn, Kings County) within New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program. Comment end: October 28, 2023.

More information

Bronx

DEC has received a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application and Draft Remedial Investigation Work Plan for a site known as 650 Southern Boulevard, site ID #C203170. This site is located in the Borough of the Bronx within the County of Bronx, and is located at 650 Southern Boulevard. Comment end: November 3, 2023.

More information

Brooklyn

DEC has received a Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) application and Draft Remedial Investigation Work Plan for a site known as 817-819 Bedford Avenue Development, site ID #C224399. This site is located in the City of Brooklyn, within the County of Kings, and is located at 817-819 Bedford Avenue. Comment end: November 3, 2023.

More information

For additional Brownfield Cleanup information pertaining to Region 2, visit the Calendar of Events on DEC's website.