(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it is providing $200,000 to the South Bronx Overall
Economic Development Corporation in New York City to create a plan for revitalizing the 750-acre Bronx River-Sheridan Expressway
Corridor area. This funding is part of EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide Planning program, which helps communities develop specific
strategies that integrate the cleanup and reuse of brownfields sites in larger, coordinated efforts to revitalize neighborhoods. Brownfields
are properties where moderate contamination threatens environmental quality and public health and can interfere with productive reuse
of properties.

"This EPA grant in the South Bronx will empower communities to assess, clean up and revitalize formerly contaminated sites and their impacted neighborhoods through a locally-driven planning process," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "This comprehensive approach will help create jobs while protecting the health of area residents and improving the environment."

The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, the Bronx Office of the NYC Department of City Planning, and Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice will establish a community-driven plan to transform the Bronx River-Sheridan Expressway area. The project will build on the 2013 U.S. Department of Transportation-funded "Sheridan-Hunts Point Land Use & Transportation Study" and will create a detailed framework for industrial, residential, commercial and open space uses that seeks to unite and revitalize brownfield neighborhoods on both sides of the Bronx River.

The EPA's Brownfields Program supports states, communities, and others to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites. The Brownfields Area-Wide Planning program is part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities collaboration among EPA, the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. The Partnership for Sustainable Communities ensures that the agencies consider affordable housing, transportation, and environmental protection in concert to create healthier communities. The partnership is helping communities across the country to create affordable housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable, reinforce existing infrastructure investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses. To date the program has leveraged approximately $418 million in infrastructure and project development investments.

More information on the grant recipients: http://epa.gov/brownfields/areawide_grants.htm

More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/

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