On April 26, 2017, the NYC Brownfield Partnership held its annual Big Apple Brownfield Awards at the New York Law School, recognizing the following outstanding New York City remediation projects:

Project Location: 

Webster Residence and Park House, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

• Breaking Ground
  
• Mountco Construction and Development Corp.
  
• Environmental Resource Management
  
• Gibbons PC
  
• CookFox Architects
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Supportive/Affordable Housing is presented to Webster Residence and Park House.  Developed by Breaking Ground and Mountco Construction and Development Corporation, this project transformed a 1.36-acre vacant lot in the Bronx into two sister buildings, Webster Residence and Park House, creating a total of 418 apartments.  All of the units will have rents affordable to households with incomes below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI).  Over 50% of the Webster Residence units and 12% of the Park House units are reserved for formerly homeless persons with special needs.  Designed by CookFox Architects, Webster Residence and Park House will include green roofs, high performance building systems, multi-purpose spaces for resident and community use, and a shared courtyard.

Project Location: 

Springfield Gardens and Linden Place, Queens, NY

Project Team:

• Integral Engineering, P.C.
  
• NYC Economic Development Corp.
  
• NYSDEC

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Climate Resiliency is presented to Springfield Gardens and Linden Place. The NYCEDC completed a multi-phased drainage improvement and wetland restoration project for the neighborhood of Springfield Gardens. Large scale drainage improvements, roadway construction and existing park and wetland rehabilitation was implemented in order to drastically reduce the potential for overflow into the surrounding residential areas. After the completion of the project, the residents of Springfield Gardens have found relief from damage to their homes and dangers on the road formerly resulting from severe flooding during heavy rain events. Especially in consideration of the threat of increased storm frequency and severity from climate change, this project has significantly improved the drainage infrastructure and capacity of the Springfield Gardens neighborhood, making resident less vulnerable to potential storm impacts.

Project Location: 

West Tremont Residences, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

• Impact Environmental Consulting, Inc.
  
• Acacia Network/Promesa
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Collaboration is presented to West Tremont Residences.  The successful development of this 25,500-square-foot former drycleaning site located in the Bronx was accomplished because of the collaborative efforts between the developer, multiple non-profit organizations, the environmental consultant, OER, and DEC during each stage of the project.  At the onset, the developer purchased the property from the City of New York for a nominal fee in exchange for their commitment to construct affordable housing.  Funding for the project was provided by NYSHCR, NYCHDP, the Community Preservation Corporation, and private lenders.  Additional grant money was obtained through the BIG Program and successful completion of the Voluntary Cleanup Program.  Because of the collaborative efforts of the project team, the city, and the state, there are 61 new apartments available to senior citizens at affordable housing prices.

Project Location: 

Jamaica 94th Avenue, Jamaica, Queens, NY

Project Team:

• Artimus Construction
  
• GF55 Partners
  
• AKRF, Inc.
  
• Rodkin Cardinale Consulting Engineers
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Community Outreach is presented to Jamaica 94th Avenue.  Community Outreach and development was a major commitment of the team that was factored during the building’s construction. Hiring local community residents and purchasing the construction materials from local distributors was an opportunity this team made effort to maintain.  The team provided construction certification classes to the local community in order to assist the local community to receive the necessary credentials in order to work on the job site and on future job sites.  Upon completion of the building, a full staff shall be required for the operation and upkeep which the team will be striving to fulfill with local residents. Throughout the development and construction process, the team also worked with the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, Queens Economic Development Corporation and local elected officials to push the connection with the community and economic development.

Project Location: 

Elton Crossing (Melrose C – Family), Bronx, NY

Project Team:

• AKRF, Inc.
  
• Phipps Houses
  
• The Briarwood Organization
  
• Magnusson Architecture and Planning
  
• CPC Resources
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Economic Development is presented to Elton Crossing (Melrose C – Family).  The team responsible for this development created a mixed-use commercial and residential building that houses low and moderate income families in the Bronx where a 30,300-square-foot industrial factory and warehouse once stood.  The development is located within the Melrose Commons Urban Renewal Area and directly addresses several of the housing and economic development needs directly outlined by the associated plan.  The project supported 320 construction jobs and upon opening, the development will support 15 permanent jobs.  In addition, the developer is working with the local community board to find tenants for at least 50% of the units.

Project Location: 

Greenwich Street Residential Development, New York, NY

Project Team:

• AKRF, Inc.
  
• Metro-Loft Management LLC
  
• Cetraruddy Architecture DPC
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Environmental Protection is presented to the Greenwich Street Residential Development. The team completed a multi-phase remedial investigation of on- and off-site conditions under NYC OER’s E-Designation program including: soil, groundwater, and soil vapor testing; subsurface utility/drain and geophysical investigation, including recorded video; groundwater flow direction study using data logging transducers; and extensive historical review of properties in the immediate vicinity of the project site. The forensic analysis of groundwater samples confirmed the presence of two separate TCE-contaminated groundwater plumes (one contained within the site and one originating off-site).  NYC OER and NYSDEC collaborated to guide the investigation and subsequent remediation, which included soil removal, groundwater treatment, and installation and operation of an active sub-slab depressurization system. Completion of the redevelopment was able to proceed under complicated environmental conditions due to the unprecedented level of collaboration between several parties who came together with a shared vision and passion for getting the job done, and for promoting the protection of human health and the environment.

Project Location: 

149 Kent Avenue Site, Brooklyn, NY

Project Team:

• Roux Associates, Inc.
  
• L+M Development Partners, Inc.
  
• GF55 Partners
  
• Sive Paget & Riesel P.C.
  
• Congress Builders LLC
  
• Global Design Strategies
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Innovation is presented to 149 Kent Avenue Site.  The 40,000-square-foot property located in Williamsburg housed a former rail terminal turned storage warehouse and required extensive remediation of chlorinated volatile organic compound impacted media to accommodate development of the 7-story, mixed-use commercial and residential building and underground parking garage.  Of the 42,000 tons of soil removed and disposed of off-site during construction, about 5,200 tons were classified as chlorinated volatile organic compound hazardous waste.  Treatment of CVOC-impacted groundwater was innovatively accomplished by injecting a zero valent iron (or ZVI) permeable reactive barrier beneath the southwest portion of the property.  The project team successfully remediated the property through the Brownfield Cleanup Program and in accordance with the E-Designation placed on the site.

Project Location: 

Flushing Commons Phase 1, Queens, NY

Project Team:

• AKRF, Inc.
  
• Rockefeller Group Development Corporation
  
• AECOM Capital
  
• Perkins Eastman
  

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Sustainable Remediation is presented to the Flushing Commons Phase I redevelopment site.  The Sustainable Remediation practices employed during development included transportation of approximately 14,000 cubic yards of soil to nearby local areas affected by Super Storm Sandy through OER’s Clean Soil Bank and 20,000 cubic yards of soil to a recycling plant for reuse as concrete mix.  In addition, 3,400 cubic yards of material was imported through OER’s clean soil bank and asphalt bank for backfill purposes.  These efforts eliminated more than 1,500 truck trips to regional disposal locations outside of NYC, effectively reducing the carbon footprint of the redevelopment, and provided for the reuse of material on-site and elsewhere in NYC.

Project Location: 

Compass One Residences, Bronx, NY

Project Team:

• Impact Environmental Consulting, Inc.
  
• Monadnock Construction, Inc.

The 2017 Big Apple Brownfield Award for Open Space is presented to Compass One Residences.  Where a vacant auto repair shop and junkyard were once located in the Bronx, two newly developed mixed-use commercial and residential apartment buildings, one 9 stories and one 15 stories, now stand.  A 7,800-square-foot residential courtyard connects the two buildings, and an 8,000-square-foot landscaped community space spans the block connecting Boone Avenue to West Farms Road.  Both outdoor spaces provide walkways and benches for pedestrians and the landscaping includes various shrubbery and perennials, as well as, recycled bedrock and boulders produced during construction of the development.  Notably, the mid-block landscaped area will ease the flow of pedestrians as redevelopment of Crotona Park East/West Farms rezoning area continues.

The NYC Brownfield Partnership Would Like to Thank

Event Partner

New York Law School, Center for Real Estate Studies

Gold Event Sponsors

• Alpha Analytical
  
• Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE)
  
• Brown Sharlow Duke & Fogel, P.C.
  
• Tenen Environmental, LLC
  

Silver Event Sponsors

• AKRF, Inc.
  
• Breaking Ground
  
• Creative Environmental Solutions Corp. (CES)
  
• Clean Earth, Inc.
  
• GEI Consultants, Inc.
  
• Mountco Construction and Development Corp.
  
• Schnapf LLC
  
• Roux Associates, Inc.
  

After-Party Sponsor

Langan