On April 22, 2009 the City Council unanimously approved Local Law 27 of 2009 (PDF) to develop a comprehensive program for the remediation and reuse of brownfields. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg signed the bill into law on May 11. The passage of the "New York City Brownfield and Community Revitalization Act" is an enormous milestone in the City's commitment to cleaning up brownfields for productive reuse in accordance with PlaNYC.

Brownfields are important to NYC because they represent a significant opportunity to create housing, jobs, and open space to serve our growing population. PlanNYC estimated that the City has 7,600 acres of brownfields, vacant or underutilized sites where redevelopment is impeded by environmental contamination.

PlaNYC contained eleven initiatives related to brownfields, and the passage of this legislation either completes or enables the achievement of all of them.

creates the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) to oversee and coordinate City brownfield policy;

creates a new Local Brownfield Cleanup Program that is the first in the nation to provide for municipal oversight of brownfield cleanups;

ensures that the Local Brownfield Cleanup Program will use New York State standards for cleanup of brownfields;

authorizes investment of City funds for small grants to stimulate brownfield projects;

provides priority for environmental justice communities in the grant program and for technical assistance;

enables the Office of Environmental Remediation to facilitate community planning for areas affected by clusters of brownfields through the NYS Department of State's Brownfield Opportunity Area grant program;

authorizes new NYC Clean Property Certification Program - this program is expected to do for Brownfields what LEED does for green buildings, provide a tangible symbol of commitment to proper cleanup;

authorizes the City to enter into agreements with the State and Federal governments to provide liability protection for program participants; and

provides for limited City liability protection for completed projects.

creates a one-stop shop for cleanup at OER, enabling land owners and developers to achieve cleanup that is both thorough and timely; and

enables OER to pursue state and federal grants to support NYC brownfield projects.