NY State Selects Three Sites for New Cleanup Initiative

ALBANY-Green Island Industrial Park in Albany County, Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Suffolk County and Parcel Two of the Union Ship Canal in Buffalo have been selected for the new ReBuild Now-NY pilot program. This effort is designed to “help restore currently idle sites to commercial use while also attracting new private sector investment and jobs,” says Gov. George Pataki.

Launched May 15, the initiative, which will be administered by the state’s Empire State Development agency, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform, will facilitate the redevelopment of unoccupied or under-utilized sites contaminated with a broad range of industrial wastes. To qualify for remediation, a site must have at least 25 acres of land (or 15 acres in certain heavily populated locales), have a nearby skilled labor force, water and sewer systems, as well as access to transportation. After treatment, business/commerce parks or industrial/distribution facilities will be erected on the properties.