NJEDA launches community collaborative initiative in Paterson

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New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Catherine McCabe and New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) CEO Tim Sullivan on Thursday joined Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh at the Great Falls Visitor Center to launch the Community Collaborative Initiative (CCI) program in Paterson.

The CCI program embeds DEP staff at the ground-level within communities. There, they will use their expertise to help local leaders effectively and appropriately address environmental concerns.

Recently the NJEDA partnered with the NJDEP to expand the program into five new communities, which included Paterson. The CCI representative in Paterson will help City leadership overcome complex obstacles and open pathways to successful remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites, including the Allied Textile Printing (ATP) site and Hinchcliffe Stadium.

“We are thrilled that the DEP and NJEDA have selected Paterson as one of the communities to be included in the expanded CCI program,” said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh. “We look forward to partnering with our CCI representative to complete a variety of critical remediation projects, including reopening Hinchcliffe Stadium and revitalizing the historic Allied Textile Printing site.”

The CCI program has a strong track record of success in the communities where it has been operating: Bayonne, Camden, Perth Amboy and Trenton.

In Camden, CCI staff collaborated with local leaders and DEP experts to jump start the process of transforming a 61-acre landfill into restored shoreline and uplands, with improvements such as the creation of new tidal wetlands and recreational amenities for residents. CCI has had similar success in Perth Amboy, where embedded staff facilitated the launch of a project to clean up a 6-acre scrap heap and build a new park on the site. In Trenton, CCI staff helped to advance the development of the Assunpink Greenway Park – a 99-acre redevelopment project that will include soccer fields, a waterfront walk and other amenities.

“Not only are brownfield sites dangerous eyesores, they also take up space that could be put to more productive use. A key component of Gov. Murphy’s commitment to investing in communities is helping communities transform these contaminated sites into productive community assets,” said NJEDA Senior Brownfields Advisor Elizabeth Limbrick. “I am excited to work with Mayor Sayegh, DEP Commissioner McCabe, and the CCI team to bring the NJEDA’s resources for brownfield remediation and revitalization to bear in Paterson to bring new life to spaces that have been vacant or underutilized for years.”