Community Groups, Non-profits, and Property Owners Are Encouraged to Apply for Green Project Funding

Green Infrastructure Improves the Health of Local Waterways and Helps to Clean the Air—Pictures of Completed Projects are Available on DEP’s Flickr Page

Applications will be Accepted Year-Round and DEP Staff will be Available to Help Guide Applicants Through the Process

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Emily Lloyd recently joined with elected officials to encourage community groups, non-profits, and property owners to apply for new funding that is available for green projects through the 2015 Green Infrastructure Grant Program. DEP is engaged in a city-wide effort to soften the impervious urban landscape and help absorb rainwater that would otherwise drain into the combined sewer system and contribute to combined sewer overflows into local waterways. The Green Infrastructure Grant Program provides funding for stormwater management projects, also called green infrastructure, such as rain gardens, permeable pavements, and green roofs on private property. Since 2011 DEP has committed more than $13 million to fund 33 different projects with private property owners, who have contributed nearly $6 million in matching funds. More information and the application can be found on the DEP website.

“Building green infrastructure is one of the most direct ways New Yorkers can help improve our environment, and we’ll pay for the work,” said DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd. “Green projects also help to clean the air, provide shade in the summer and make neighborhoods more livable.”

“I encourage all Brooklynites to apply for funding through the Green Infrastructure Grant Program,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “This is an exciting opportunity offered by Commissioner Lloyd and the Department of Environmental Protection to help our local ecosystem handle sewer overflows, reduce flooding, and clean our air supply, all while beautifying our borough. When we green it in Brooklyn, we mean it, and now we can do it for free!”

“The Green Infrastructure Grant Program is an excellent initiative that will help us improve the environment and ensure that our City remains a wonderful place to live,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “Community groups, non-profits and property owners in Queens are especially encouraged to apply for funding for projects that will reduce stormwater runoff to sewers and thereby improve the health of Newtown Creek, Flushing Bay and Jamaica Bay. My thanks to the Department of Environmental Protection and Commissioner Emily Lloyd, for spearheading this important environmental program.”

All private property owners served by combined sewers in New York City are eligible to apply for a green infrastructure grant. Grant funding is provided for the design and construction of projects that will reduce or manage a minimum of one inch of stormwater that falls on the selected properties. If selected, DEP will reimburse up to 100 percent of the design and construction costs for the green infrastructure project. Preference will be given to projects that are located in priority watersheds, are cost-effective, provide matching funds or other contributions, and include ancillary environmental and community benefits such as increased shade, decreased energy use for cooling buildings, increased awareness about stormwater management, and green jobs development. DEP will also accept requests from developers, professional applicants, project teams or other organizations representing real estate, institutions, businesses, or other large groups.

Notable projects that have completed construction include a 43,400 square foot green roof at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, one of the nation’s first blue/green roof combinations at The Osborne Association in the Bronx, a green roof at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House in Manhattan, permeable pavers and rain gardens at Queens College, a New York Restoration Project community garden in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, and a green roof at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn.

DEP will host quarterly workshops at the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street in Manhattan to explain the eligibility requirements and the application process. The first workshop will be held on July 8 ^th, 2015 at 3pm in Room 1019. Dates and times of future workshops will be available at nyc.gov/greeninfrastructure. Email gigrantprogram@dep.nyc.gov to RSVP or to arrange a meeting with DEP engineers to discuss proposal specifics in advance of submitting an application.

Changes to the program in 2015 include:

The on-line application is available for anyone to review the criteria and grant requirements at any time.
Applications can now be submitted at any time, year-round.
Once an application is submitted, applicants will be notified of receipt by DEP.
If the application is complete and satisfactory, DEP will contact the applicant with guidance for next steps in the form of the Grantee Guide.
If the application is not complete or satisfactory, DEP will provide comments and suggestions for the applicant so that the application can be resubmitted.

Unchanged from previous years, all successful grantees will continue to execute a funding agreement and declaration of restrictive covenant for each property.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $14 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. This capital program is responsible for critical projects like City Water Tunnel No. 3; the Staten Island Bluebelt program, an ecologically sound and cost-effective stormwater management system; the city’s Watershed Protection Program, which protects sensitive lands upstate near the city’s reservoirs in order to maintain their high water quality; and the installation of more than 820,000 Automated Meter Reading devices, which allow customers to track their daily water use, more easily manage their accounts, and be alerted to potential leaks on their properties.