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| Glen Cove, Hudson River steamboat built 1855, James Bard |
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History of the Project:
Glen Cove’s efforts at cleaning up its polluted property date back as far as 1964 when our City officially began the Urban Renewal Program. In 1998, then Vice President Al Gore designated Glen Cove as one of 16 Brownfield Showcase communities for our work toward rehabilitating the waterfront.
During the 1950’s, waste and contaminants were disposed at the Captain’s Cove property. This environmental damage qualified the area to be classified as a State Superfund site. Subsequently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency joined the remediation efforts to tackle the radioactive contamination associated with the ore residuals left behind at the Li Tungsten facility.
Beginning in 1995, the Partners to Revitalize Glen Cove’s Waterfront, with the assistance of the Department of State, utilized a process consisting of two components: an area-wide approach to brownfields redevelopment planning, resulting in the Glen Cove Waterfront Revitalization Plan, combined with five “Commitments to Action” workshops involving the public and private sectors. As a result, Glen Cove was able to leverage close to $100 million in public and private investment, dramatically transforming a once blighted 213 acre area containing multiple brownfield sites and two waterfront miles back to productive use through environmental, economic, infrastructure and recreational improvements.
In September 1999, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued a Record of Decision which provided for the remediation of both the former Li Tungsten facility and the Captain’s Cove property. This enactment required that 67,000 cubic yards of radioactive and heavy metals contaminated wastes be excavated and disposed of in a timely and responsible process. This is the most aggressive form of remediation possible and was completed in 2005.
A united team of federal, state and local authorities promoted a shared goal of reclaiming a blighted industrial waterfront and transforming it into a clean, transit oriented area with improved public access featuring community access and recreational enjoyment. The Glen Cove Ferry Terminal and Boat Basin was initiated in 2004. Since then, the City has worked collaboratively with a number of agencies both federal and those throughout New York State to ensure the continued progress of the project including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Governor’s Office, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) and Nassau County Planning.
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