The state will invest $7 million in the creation of a boat house in Greenpoint along Newtown Creek, a new park in Long Island City and the restoration of the wetlands of the creek as part of an initiative to invest in green projects, after the city was fined $10 million for missing a deadline to improve standards at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, the New York Daily News reported.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation, with $10 million to invest overall, chose from projects which were proposed by area residents last year.

“It’s a great opportunity for some of the negative effects that the plant has had to turn into some very positive assets for those communities,” said Jason Schwartz, director of the City Parks Foundation. [more]

The owner of three commercial buildings in Greenpoint was accused of dumping raw sewage into Newtown Creek, the body of water dividing Brooklyn from Queens to the north, authorities said.
The owner of the properties at 251, 257 and 259 North Henry Street, Norman Holding LLC and its principal Jose Torres, were charged in an 81-count indictment, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities said that instead of being hooked up to the sewer system, the commercial buildings on North Henry Street near Norman Avenue had their toilets and sinks connected directly to a storm-water drainage system underground, which is not permitted. The allegations date from Oct. 1 to Oct. 9, 2009 before inspectors ordered the plumbing systems to be repaired.
The charges against Norman Holding and Torres include two felonies, discharging sewage without a required permit and releasing prohibited discharges; and a misdemeanor pollution charge. The district attorney’s office said Norman Holding and Torres face a fine of $75,000 per property, per day, or more than $2 million.
Torres was not immediately available for comment. TRD [more]

As the Environmental Protection Agency finalizes its Gowanus Canal Superfund decision, another polluted Brooklyn waterway could be made eligible for a federal cleanup. Newton Creek, a 3.8-mile rivulet in northern Brooklyn, near Greenpoint, has accumulated a tremendous amount of pollution due to its position near industrial neighborhoods, according to the EPA. While federal officials debated a possible Superfund designation for Newton Creek in April, EPA officials said that the fetid waterway is in dire need of immediate action. “By listing the creek, EPA can focus on doing the extensive sampling needed to figure out the best way to address the contamination and see the work through,” George Pavlou, the EPA’s acting regional administrator, said.