2012 Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Step 2 Nomination Study: The Orchard
Click Here to visit the web page for the BOA Step 3 Implementation Strategy
The Orchard Neighborhood is one of Glen Cove’s most historically significant neighborhoods, and the Sea Cliff Avenue industrial area was once one of the City’s largest employment centers. However, due to a number of factors, including the closure and abandonment of industrial properties on Sea Cliff Avenue, these areas have suffered a decline. In an effort to counter-act this decline, the City has joined an innovative area-wide planning program with the New York Department of State called the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Program. The BOA program focuses on revitalizing neighborhoods that have been affected by sites with environmental contamination, such as the Photocircuits properties. This program is designed to support communities to:
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Assess conditions that are negatively affecting the neighborhood
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Build a plan for the neighborhood with community support and feedback
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Allow the City to use the plan to secure private and public support for specific revitalization and redevelopment projects.
The Glen Cove BOA study area is included in Census Tract 5172 and contains several large industrial and commercial uses, a residential area,a day care center, the City’s Water Department and a wetlands area with a stream and wetlands area that flows into Glen Cove Creek. Primary problems in the area include soil and groundwater contamination, dilapidated housing, illegal residential density, poor circulation and pedestrian access, and vacant or underused properties in a prime commercial corridor. The City of Glen Cove believes the Brownfields Opportunity Area (BOA) Program will help to redevelop Sea Cliff Avenue as a center of employment and to revitalize the Orchard Neighborhood so that it can once again function as a healthy community.
The residential neighborhood which comprises the north and eastern portion of the study area was originally inhabited by Italian immigrants, many of whom planted fruit trees in the yards; it is for this reason that it is known as The Orchard. Today, there is a community of residents with lifelong-ties to The Orchard, who have strong sense of neighborhood pride and a commitment to community renewal. However, The Orchard is also largely a rental community, and many of the property owners function as absentee landlords, a situation which has contributed to a decline in maintenance and visual appeal. The Orchard has also been affected by illegal population density, abandoned and underutilized buildings, obsolete utility systems, excessive paving (resulting in reduction of greenspace), and insufficient circulation and parking infrastructure. The northern portion of the neighborhood is topped by the Glen Street Long Island Rail Road Station, and the southern portion is a third of a mile from the Sea Cliff Long Island Rail Road Station.
Sea Cliff Avenue has experienced a major decline in its manufacturing sector which has resulted in vacant and underutilized property. Departed companies include Photocircuits, a major local employer located at 31 Sea Cliff Avenue, the Pall Corporation, once located at 36 Sea Cliff Avenue, and Tweezerman, located at 55 Sea Cliff Avenue. Most of the lots owned by Photocircuits and Pall have remained vacant due to the presence of groundwater contamination, and the sites are currently in the New York State Superfund program. One of the Photocircuits sites, located in the southern end of the Orchard, has been successfully cleaned up and redeveloped as Men on the Move Self-Storage Center through a partnership with the Glen Cove IDA. The remaining vacant lots represent a large portion of the city’s prime commercial real estate, and their continued vacancy has hurt the city’s tax revenue, prevented jobs from coming to the area, and contributed to a loss of investment in the BOA study area.
Please see below for documents relevant to the City’s BOA Program.