Brownfields

New York’s Brownfield Cleanup Program (“BCP”) provides valuable tax incentives and liability relief for the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated or blighted sites, or “brownfields.” We assist brownfield stakeholders, including developers, municipalities, brokers, financial institutions, and consultants, in understanding the benefits of the BCP and other economic development incentives available for brownfield redevelopment. Our attorneys also bring years of transactional, real estate, tax, and accounting experience to project planning, structuring and implementation. We evaluate and obtain various brownfield incentives, including the powerful BCP tax credits, to maximize our clients’ after-tax return on investment in brownfield redevelopment projects.

Working hand-in-hand with other brownfield redevelopment professionals, we have successfully brought contaminated sites into and through the Brownfield Cleanup Program to the issuance of a certificate of completion. We work closely with our clients and their accountants as they prepare forms and supporting documentation to claim the BCP tax credits for the first time. Our team will guide our clients through desk audits and full examinations by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF).

Furthermore, we have provided support and analysis to developers of some of the largest brownfield redevelopment projects in New York State, including projects in Manhattan (Harlem), Queens, Yonkers, White Plains, Long Island, the Catskills, the upper Hudson Valley, and throughout upstate New York, including projects in Syracuse, Utica, Buffalo, Ithaca, Binghamton, and northern New York. The estimated construction value of these projects exceeds $3.5 billion, which will generate BCP tax credits well over $500 million.

Our Brownfields Practice Group also collaborates with our colleagues in the Economic DevelopmentReal Estate, Land Use, Zoning and State Environmental Quality Review, and Business Transactions Practice Groups. This advances development projects from the planning phase through construction to full operations.