[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54875-54876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26388]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Navy
Public Hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) for the Disposal and Reuse of Naval Station (NAVSTA) Brooklyn,
NY
AGENCY: Department of the Navy, DOD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Navy has prepared and filed with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a DEIS for the disposal and reuse
of NAVSTA Brooklyn, New York, New York. Public hearings will be held
for the purpose of receiving oral and written comments on the DEIS.
Federal, state and local agencies, and interested individuals are
invited to be present or represented at the hearings.
DATES AND ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held on October 21,
1999 at 7:00 p.m. in Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street,
Brooklyn, New York 11201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Ostermueller, telephone
(610) 595-0759.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as implemented by the
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508),
the Department of the Navy has prepared and filed with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency a DEIS for the disposal and reuse of
NAVSTA Brooklyn, New York, New York.
A Notice of Intent for this DEIS was published in the Federal
Register on January 31, 1997. A public scoping meeting was held in
Brooklyn, New York, on February 13, 1997.
The proposed action is the disposal of Navy property for subsequent
reuse and redevelopment, in accordance with the Defense Base Closure
and Realignment Act of 1990, as amended, and the 1988 Defense
Secretary's Commission recommendation that NAVSTA Brooklyn be closed
and its functions be relocated to the new NAVSTA New York on Staten
Island. Approximately 23.8 acres of land are available for disposal and
are the focus of this DEIS. Naval Station Brooklyn was operationally
closed on May 1, 1993 and approximately 5.0 acres of the total 28.8
acres of land have been transferred to the Department of Justice.
With respect to the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and
its 1994 amendment, the City of New York has reached an agreement with
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to enable HELP
Homeless Service Corporation develop transitional housing and support
services at the Manhattan Children's Psychiatric Center on Wards
Island, instead of the NAVSTA Brooklyn site. In March 1996, the New
York City Mayor's Office of Planning and Community Relations, acting as
the local reuse authority (LRA), adopted a proposed reuse plan titled
Redevelopment Plan for Naval Station Brooklyn, New York. This plan is
presented as the preferred reuse alternative that, along with its
alternatives, is analyzed in the DEIS.
The DEIS evaluates four reuse alternatives: the Reuse Plan
(Preferred Alternative), the Residential Alternative, the Museum
Alternative, and the As-of-Right Alternative. A fifth alternative, the
No Action Alternative, assumes no disposal of property and retention of
the property by the U.S. Navy in caretaker status.
The Reuse Plan Alternative, prepared by the LRA, capitalizes on
NAVSTA Brooklyn's assets in terms of its industrial facilities and
proximity to the rest of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and seeks to minimize
any impacts on the historic campus of the hospital. No new construction
is proposed; rather, the plan calls for the reuse, for industrial or
commercial activity, of buildings used by the Navy for such purposes,
and the adaptive reuse of residential and hospital facilities for
community institutional purposes.
Potential impacts evaluated in the DEIS include, but are not
limited to: Land use, socioeconomics, community facilities/services,
transportation, air quality, noise, infrastructure, cultural resources,
natural resources, petroleum and hazardous substances. Issue analysis
includes an evaluation of the direct, indirect, short-term, and
cumulative impacts; and irreversible and irretrievable commitment of
resources associated with the proposed action.
No decision on the proposed action will be made until the NEPA
process has been completed and the Secretary of the Navy, or a
designated representative, releases the Record of Decision.
The DEIS has been distributed to various federal, state, and local
agencies, elected officials, and special interest groups and public
libraries. The
[[Page 54876]]
DEIS is also available for public review at the following libraries:
--Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn,
New York.
--Brooklyn Public Library, Williamsburg Branch, 240 Division Avenue,
Brooklyn, New York.
Navy will conduct one public hearing to receive oral and written
comments concerning the DEIS. A brief presentation will precede a
request for public information and comments. Navy representatives will
be available at the hearing to receive information and comments from
agencies and the public regarding issues of concern. Federal, state,
and local agencies, and interested parties are invited and urged to be
present or represented at the hearing. Those who intend to speak will
be asked to submit a speaker card (available at the door). Oral
comments will be heard and transcribed by a stenographer.
To assure accuracy of the record, all statements should be
submitted in writing. All statements, both oral and written, will
become part of the public record in the study. Equal weight will be
given to both oral and written comments. In the interest of available
time, each speaker will be asked to limit oral comments to three
minutes. Longer comments should be summarized at the public hearing and
submitted in writing either at the hearing or mailed to Commanding
Officer, Northern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Code
202, 10 Industrial Highway, Lester, Pennsylvania 19113, (Attn. Mr.
Robert Ostermueller, telephone (610) 595-0759, facsimile (610) 595-
0778). Written comments are requested not later than Monday, November
15, 1999.
Dated: October 4, 1999.
Nieva K. Van Leer,
Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 99-26388 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
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