Dozens of Potential ‘Brownfields’ Dot the Banks of the Bronx River. How Should They Be Redeveloped?

The general has until Oct to weigh in on the Southern Boulevard Brownfield Opportunity Area Evaluation which looks to outline and identify opportunities to transform particular of the vacant and underutilized properties along the Bronx River waterfront into new district assets according to Reece Brosco the brownfields plan manager at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice A vacant Amtrak station on Westchester Avenue one of the sites eyed by the review for possible transformation Credit Youth Ministries for Peace Justice Inc Want to weigh in on the future of the Bronx River waterfront Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice a Bronx-based multi-service organization is looking for inhabitants feedback on approaches to transform dozens of empty or underused lots along the waterway in tactics that could benefit the public The group in the past few days issued a record examining a -acre area surrounding the Bronx River dubbed the Southern Boulevard Brownfield Opportunity Area BOA Inquiry It was produced in collaboration with New York s Department of State under a project that helps communities identify and make plans for so-called brownfields sites where known or suspected contamination has previously stymied their use The document looks at existing conditions both the properties themselves and plans for the nearby region like the city s project to reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway and makes broader area wide recommendations for how the sites could be built up in the future Those suggestions include affordable housing arts and cultural initiatives improved streetscapes green jobs and context resiliency measures according to Reece Brosco YMPJ s brownfields venture manager function d u ac var s d createElement 'script' s type 'text javascript' s src 'https a omappapi com app js api min js' s async true s dataset user u s dataset campaign ac d getElementsByTagName 'head' appendChild s document 'u kmqsczew vunxutxmd' All of which are indicative of the conversations we ve had with local residents about their demands and priorities as it relates to the future advance of the neighborhood and especially the equitable progress of our neighborhood going forward he stated The summary looked at more than properties in the assessment area which spans both sides of the Bronx River between Starlight Park to the north and Lafayette Avenue and Soundview Park to the south From those it identified about strategic sites with the greatest foreseen for transformation Reece stated Credit Youth Ministries for Peace Justice Inc That includes both inhabitants and privately owned locations like a waterfront parking lot five sites belonging to the city s Economic Improvement Corporation and a vacant Amtrak station at Westchester Avenue Various sites might require environmental remediation due to the area s past industrial and manufacturing uses The river just like you would imagine as all the ports and waterways in New York City was heavily used for transit moving goods and things like that declared David Shuffler YMPJ s executive director That s left a considerable amount of vacant lots and underutilized space where they see opportunities to push a locality agenda to reuse particular of these sites He pointed to other projects in the area that transformed formerly industrialized land including nearby Starlight Park and Concrete Plant Park The latter as the name suggests was once home to a concrete plant but now boasts a half-acre edible food forest That goes to show the likely of what you could authentically do from a site that was contaminated Shuffler mentioned YMPJ will be incorporating feedback received during the inhabitants comment period into a final analysis and will then apply for a Brownfield Opportunity Area BOA designation which unlocks specific state tools to do predevelopment programs Reece commented One of the sites eyed for likely redevelopment in the Southern Boulevard Brownfield Opportunity Area BOA Planning Review Credit Youth Ministries for Peace Justice Inc We have this loose vision now we need to sort of hit the ground do district engagement on those specific sites work with the city and others to outline okay what would it take to redevelop these properties engage in further conversations with the property owners themselves that sort of thing he explained YMPJ will host a society meeting Wednesday night from to p m at its offices at Manor Ave to share the analysis answer questions and collect feedback The event will also be streamed over Zoom The populace can also submit comments by email to brownfields ympj org until p m on Oct To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint strategy here The post Dozens of Likely Brownfields Dot the Banks of the Bronx River How Should They Be Redeveloped appeared first on City Limits