ABout
East End Rising is a planning effort to attract investment and funding opportunities into the City’s east end neighborhood.
The plan will develop a community vision for the east end, identify strategic sites for redevelopment and supporting policy and programmatic recommendations, and develop an implementation strategy.
This project is funded through the NYS Department of State (DOS) Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program.
What is the Brownfield Opportunity Area Program?
This program has been used across the state to assist communities in attracting investment since 2005. NYS Department of State (DOS) has distributed over $45 million for planning and pre-development activities. While historically the program was focused on brownfield sites, it has evolved over time to look at opportunities more generally for investment and revitalization of underutilized sites. Through this program, underutilized sites are transformed from liabilities to community assets.
The intent of the BOA program is to undertake neighborhood-scale plans rather than focusing on a single underutilized property. While not all properties in the BOA study area are brownfields, vacant, underutilized, or abandoned, by looking at the neighborhood scale, the program acknowledges that the presence of these nearby sites may be impacting investment in the larger community.
Tools & Incentives that Stimulate Reinvestment in Underutilized Sites:
Support
The NYSDOS is committed to providing ongoing support to pursue implementation of BOA plans in designated BOAs.
Priority and Preference
Projects within a designated BOA receive priority and preference in some state grant programs, including the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), NY Forward, Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, and the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Environmental Remediation Program.
Predictability
Designation of a BOA demonstrates community endorsement of the Plan’s goals. This removes the risk and uncertainty associated with investment in a transitional or marginal market.
Brownfield Cleanup Program Tax Credit
Developers participating in the Brownfield Cleanup Program to remediate and redevelop sites in a designated BOA are eligible for a tax credit “bump-up” of 5% if the development advances the BOA plan.
