Asbury Park is scheduled to receive a $500,000 federal grant for cleanup of contaminated sites on the west side of the city along Springwood Avenue and Ridge Avenue.
Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) said the state will receive a total of $6.5 million to clean up Brownfield sites through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Congress passed and was signed into law in November.
The law injected $1.5 billion into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields program to help communities clean up contaminated industrial sites and turn the spaces into parks, housing developments, or new businesses. Pallone authored the bipartisan bill that created the program in 2002.
The breakdown of the funding includes:
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) – $2 million, which will benefit Perth Amboy, Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Jersey City, Millville, Paterson, and Trenton
Asbury Park – $500,000
Camden Redevelopment Agency – $3.5 million
Hamilton Township – $500,000
The Asbury Park sites are 1219 Springwood Ave., 1407 Springwood Ave., 1505 Springwood Ave. and 61 to 63 Ridge Ave.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news for my home state of New Jersey,” Pallone said. These funds, predominantly from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will allow families in New Jersey to rest a little easier knowing that some of the most contaminated sites in their area will soon be cleaned up, revitalized, and generating new jobs and economic opportunities. I’m especially glad to see that Asbury Park and Perth Amboy in my Congressional district will directly benefit from this investment.”
According to the application submitted by Asbury Park for the funding it said research has found the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels in Monmouth County is rising. Removing the contaminants from the Springwood Ave sites and Ridge Avenue site will lower exposure to hazardous substances for the school children and others who live and work in the neighborhood. The southwest quadrant of Asbury Park has suffered decades of environmental, social and economic neglect, the application said, as evidenced by every index, census and survey. This funding for the cleanup will allow the city to continue an investment in the most vulnerable segment of the city.
This project has the potential to reverse decades of disinvestment by transforming contaminated vacant properties into eight to 16 units of affordable modern, quality and safe multi-family housing and mixed uses for the first time in many years.
