BRS Projects

BERRY LANE PARK

BRS, Inc. worked with the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) to transform more than 17 acres of contaminated land into a large recreational park facility.

History

In one of the poorest neighborhoods of Jersey City, the JCRA and the City of Jersey City have spearheaded the creation of Berry Lane Park. This ambitious project has transformed more than 17 acres of property—including former rail yards, junkyards, auto repair shops, industrial facilities, and warehouses—into the largest municipally owned park in the City.

Berry Lane Park is located in the Morris Canal neighborhood, where more than 60% of residents are children under 18 years of age. This community also includes residents engaged in the shaping the future of their neighborhood. The park’s design was the result of residents and local officials working through a series of charrettes with the project’s architects and planners. In fact, the project was driven by community groups since the late 1990s that remained involved throughout the course of the project. Berry Lane Park will ultimately include basketball and tennis courts as well as a baseball field, a soccer field, a playground, a concessions stand, and passive recreation areas.

Federal, state, county, local, and private funding was obtained for the acquisition, relocation, demolition, environmental investigation, and remediation portions of the project.

BRS’s role:

• Developed and populated an inventory database of nearly 100 sites in the Morris Canal neighborhood;
• Assisted with determining the eligibility of potential grant activities and sites and acted as liaison between the JCRA, the state regulatory agency, and the USEPA for all grant matters;
• Reviewed and evaluated environmental investigation reports as needed;
• Prepared all USEPA reporting requirements, including quarterly reports, forms, and requisite database updates;
• Secured $1.4 million in EPA grants, over $522,000 in loan/subgrant funding from Hudson County, and over $2 million in state grant funding for the project; and
• Maintained the grant and extensive project budgets and ensured the funding was appropriately spent by the required deadline.

This project was awarded the prestigious 2017 Phoenix Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2.

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