[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 21 (Friday, January 31, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 4744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2396]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Station Brooklyn, New York, NY

SUMMARY: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 as implemented by Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), the Department of Navy announces 
its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 
Disposal and Reuse of Naval Station Brooklyn (NAVSTA), New York, NY.
    In December 1988, the Congressional Committee on Base Realignment 
and Closure recommended the closure and disposal of the land comprising 
the NAVSTA. The NAVSTA is that area that was largely associated with 
the former Naval Hospital and often referred to as the ``Navy Yard 
Annex''. In accordance with the Defense Base Closure and Realignment 
Act of 1990, the NAVSTA was closed in 1993. Approximately five acres of 
the property was transferred to the Department of Justice. The 
remainder of the property was requested by homeless organizations in 
accordance with the then in-effect Stewart B. McKinney Homeless 
Assistance Plan Act. Plan were initiated for this transfer when the 
Defense Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance 
Act of 1994 allowed communities undergoing the transfer of a defense 
installation to satisfy homeless demands through other means, thereby 
preserving the closed defense installation for economic redevelopment. 
The City of New York has requested that this new legislation be applied 
to the NAVSTA, and the Mayor's Office of Planning and Community 
Relations, acting as the local reuse authority (LRA), has prepared a 
reuse plan for the NAVSTA property.
    The proposed action to be considered and evaluated in the EIS is 
the reuse of the NAVSTA property determined surplus to the needs of the 
federal government. The reuse plan for the NAVSTA, prepared by the LRA, 
will be the basis for the EIS. The reuse plan emphasizes historic 
preservation and adaptive reuse of the site's buildings to the greatest 
extent possible. However, the retention of some existing buildings may 
not be financially or structurally feasible and their removal will be 
assessed. The reuse plan represents a reasonable and likely 
development/reuse scenario based on the City's proposed zoning for the 
site. The reuse plan proposes a mix of commercial development, 
institutional, historic, community, and open space uses.
    The EIS may also consider alternatives to the reuse plan consistent 
with current zoning.
    The EIS will address the following known areas of concern: effects 
of redevelopment at the NAVSTA on the natural and socioeconomic 
environments inclusive of land use, zoning, on-site historic resources, 
and neighborhood character. Environmental issues that will be addressed 
in the EIS include, but are not limited to, air quality, water quality, 
transportation, and socioeconomic impacts.
    The EIS will also address potential impacts to the former naval 
cemetery which occupied a portion of the NAVSTA.

ADDRESSES: The Navy will hold a public scoping meeting for the purpose 
of further identifying the scope of issues to be addressed in the EIS. 
The meeting will be held on Thursday, February 13, 1997 at the Brooklyn 
Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY 11201, beginning at 
7:00 PM. Navy representatives will make a brief presentation, then 
members of the public will be asked to provide their comments. It is 
important that federal, state, and local agencies and interested 
individuals take this opportunity to identify environmental concerns 
that should be addressed in the EIS. In the interest of time, speakers 
will be asked to limit comments to five minutes.
    Written comments must be postmarked by February 28, 1997, and 
should be mailed to Commanding Officer, Northern Division, Naval 
Facilities Engineering Command, Code 202, 10 Industrial Highway, Lester 
PA 19113, (Attn. Mr. Robert Ostermueller, telephone (610) 595-0759, 
facsimile (610) 595-0778). The scoping meeting will be conducted in 
English, and requests for language interpreters or other special 
communications needs should be made to Mr. Ostermueller at least one 
week prior to the meeting. The Navy will make every reasonable effort 
to accommodate these needs.

    Dated: January 28, 1997.
D.E. Koenig,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-2396 Filed 1-30-97; 8:45 am]
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