Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a federal grant worth $200,000 for the City of Rochester to plan the clean-up and reuse of an abandoned brownfield property in the Brooks Landing Redevelopment Project area. The federal investment is allocated through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields program.
The effort follows legislation that Senator Gillibrand introduced at the Vacuum Oil site in Rochester in September to revitalize brownfield sites across the country.
“Rochester is bursting with potential for economic growth,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “With smart investments like this, we can attract new businesses and create new jobs, and transform more parts of our communities into places for New Yorkers to live, work and raise a family, and help our economy thrive.”
“I want to thank Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for helping us secure this important grant, which will help advance the development of the Brooks Landing revitalization project,” said Mayor Thomas S. Richards. “Brooks Landing is an important component in shaping the transformation of Rochester, because it creates economic opportunity and improves the quality of life for the citizens of Southwest Rochester. We are fortunate that Senator Gillibrand understands the benefits of this strategy and is providing such effective leadership in Washington.”
The City of Rochester will use the $200,000 federal grant to clean up 937-941 Genesee Street in the Brooks Landing Redevelopment Project area. Specifically, the funding will be used to conduct community outreach and to remediate the soil and ground water that are contaminated with petroleum products.
Last September, Senator Gillibrand introduced the Waterfront Brownfields Revitalization Act to award similar grants to local government and nonprofit organizations that redevelop abandoned, idled or underused industrial properties on waterfronts.