Tax credits, grants for brownfield sites in Wyandanch

Private development projects in Wyandanch will get a boost after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo designated 105 acres there as a brownfields opportunity area last week.

Under that program, developers will have access to tax credits and state grant programs for projects on 250 underutilized or potentially contaminated brownfield sites that need remediation before new building can take place.

Some of those sites were formerly occupied by homes, gas stations or buildings housing light industry, said Jonathan Keyes, director of Babylon Town's Office of Downtown Revitalization.

"We are thrilled that Wyandanch is among the first communities in New York State to receive a Brownfield Opportunity Area Designation and is poised to be a regional model for sustainable, comprehensive, community-based revitalization," town supervisor Rich Schaffer said in a release.

Wyandanch is the site of a $500 million public-private revitalization effort that moved a step closer to realization in March when residents started to move into new apartments there.