A Green Property Certification signifies that the property has been the subject of a comprehensive Remedial Investigation under government supervision and if necessary has received remedial actions sufficient to satisfy regulatory cleanup standards. The NYC Green Property Certification Program is administered by the New York City Office of Environmental Remediation. Properties that complete the NYC BCP and receive a Notice of Completion automatically receive a NYC Green Property Certification. Upon issuance of the certification, the City of New York acknowledges that the property is fully protective of public health and the environment for its intended use.

A record of this certification will be maintained by OER and may be used by enrollees and their successors to communicate the highly protective status of the property to prospective purchasers, lessees, and occupants.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2010

NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION LAUNCHES GREEN PROPERTY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FOR REMEDIATED PROPERTIES

Certification is NYC's Expression of the Highly Protective Status of Remediated Property to Prospective
Purchasers, Lessees and Occupants

Director of the Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation, Daniel C. Walsh today announced the launch of New York City's Green Property Certification Program. Green Property Certification signifies the City's confidence that a property is fully protective of public health and the environment for its intended use and is an extension of the goals of the brownfield chapter of PlaNYC, the City's long-term vision for a greener, greater New York. This new certification is obtained by all properties that complete the New York City Brownfield Cleanup Program (NYC BCP).

The NYC BCP was launched by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in August 2010 and is the first municipally-run brownfield cleanup program in the nation. The certification is intended to encourage voluntary cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties by demonstrating the City's confidence in its cleanup and reuse. It is also intended to provide tangible benefits to owners and developers in their efforts to market properties that achieve the City's cleanup goals.

“This program will function for properties the way that the LEED certification program functions for green building design. It will reward those developers that help achieve the City's PlaNYC sustainability goals and choose to cleanup and redevelop Brownfield properties in NYC,” said Daniel Walsh. “Within this program, developers can count on a strong endorsement by the City of the quality of the cleanup and the protectiveness of the property for the new use. The certification will also assure community members, tenants and prospective buyer that the property is fully protective of human health and the environment. We believe that a Green Property Certification will add extra value to redevelopment projects in the marketplace. We are continually looking for progressive ways to encourage developers and land owners to clean up and redevelop contaminated properties and to revitalize our communities. Certification is a new approach that holds great promise and we hope that it encourages a new generation of developers to consider these underutilized properties.”

“The city standing behind the successful cleanup of a property will help boost the market value of such sites," said Steven Spinola, President of the Real Estate Board of New York. “A City Green Property Certification should become a recognized symbol in the marketplace of a quality cleanup that will assure land owners and tenants as well as prospective buyers that a property is safe for its intended use."

“This is a great way for potential buyers and sellers to recognize that the City has full confidence in neighborhood cleanups,” said Robert Knakal, Chairman, Massey Knakal Realty Services. “I believe this certification program will help make these properties much easier to market when historically they have been considered less desirable.”

“Communities with brownfield sites will benefit from this type of government certification program,” said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “It shows that the City has attended to the need for cleanup and environmental protection and in the process will unlock the potential of these properties for the entire community.”

“Certifying properties is a great way to add value to the cleanup process and developers are always looking for ways to add value to their projects,” said Andrea Kretchmer, Chair of the Board of Directors of the New York City Brownfield Partnership. “Turning over Brownfield sites is a challenge and every edge the City can offer to owners and developers who take on, and successfully cleanup, these sites will be a big help.”