Senator Patrick M. Gallivan, (R-C, Elma) is urging Governor Hochul to include legislation (S.6889) to expand the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program in her fiscal year 2027 Executive Budget. The bill sponsored by Senator Gallivan would direct the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to remediate state-owned buildings affected by asbestos, lead, PCBs, and other contaminants. The so-called vertical brownfields program would help cover the cost of cleanup, making the sites more attractive for redevelopment and economic opportunity. 

In a letter to the governor, Senator Gallivan referenced the West Seneca Development Center as an example.

“The DDSO campus has been largely unused for many years and most of the buildings are dilapidated and in need of costly remediation because of asbestos, lead paint and other hazardous material,” Senator Gallivan said. “Expanding the Brownfield Cleanup Program to cover these state-owned buildings will make the properties more attractive to private developers.”

The Buffalo-Niagara Partnership has identified the proposed legislation as a priority in its 2026 Legislative Agenda.

"The Brownfield Program has long helped clean and redevelop contaminated sites across our region,” said Buffalo Niagara Partnership CEO Dottie Gallagher. “However, buildings that are full of hazardous materials like lead or asbestos do not qualify for assistance unless they sit on contaminated soil. These sorts of vertical brownfields are extraordinarily expensive to remediate, which discourages redevelopment of older buildings. The BNP thanks Sen. Gallivan for his forward-thinking legislation, which addresses a critical gap in the Brownfield Program and will make our region cleaner and more feasible to redevelop." 

Senator Gallivan says as New York closes more of its mental facilities, prisons, and other state-owned sites, it should do more to ensure the safety of state-owned properties and to promote their reuse.

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