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

The public has until Oct. 20 to weigh in on the Southern Boulevard Brownfield Opportunity Area Study, which looks to “outline and identify opportunities to transform some of the vacant and underutilized properties along the Bronx River waterfront into new community assets,” according to Reece Brosco, the brownfields program manager at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice.

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 public feedback on ways to transform dozens of empty or underused lots along the waterway in ways that could benefit the community.

The group recently released a report examining a 56-acre area surrounding the Bronx River, dubbed the “Southern Boulevard Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Study.” It was produced in collaboration with New York’s Department of State, under a program that helps communities identify and make plans for so-called “brownfields”—sites where “known or suspected contamination” has previously stymied their use.

The report 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 programming, improved streetscapes, green jobs and climate resiliency measures, according to Reece Brosco, YMPJ’s brownfields program manager.

“All of which are indicative of the conversations we’ve had with local residents about their needs and priorities as it relates to the future development of the neighborhood, and especially the equitable development of our neighborhood, going forward,” he said.

The report looked at more than 100 properties in the study 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 30 “strategic sites” with the greatest potential for transformation, Reece said.

That includes both public and privately owned locations, like a waterfront parking lot, five sites belonging to the city’s Economic Development Corporation and a vacant Amtrak station at Westchester Avenue. Some 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,” said 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 community agenda to reuse some 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 potential of what you could actually do from a site that was contaminated,” Shuffler said.

YMPJ will be incorporating feedback received during the public comment period into a final report, and will then apply for a “Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA)” designation, which “unlocks some state resources to do predevelopment activities,” Reece said.

“We have this loose vision, now we need to sort of hit the ground, do community 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 public meeting Wednesday night from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at its offices at 1244 Manor Ave. to share the study, answer questions and collect feedback. The event will also be streamed over Zoom.

The public can also submit comments by email to [email protected] until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 20.

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