Tonight: A.G. Schneiderman Office & DEC To Host Community Meeting On $19.5m Environmental Grant Program In Brooklyn

BROOKLYN - The Office of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and the state Department of Environmental Conservation will host a meeting tonight on the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund ("GCEF") to offer guidance to community members with viable environmental improvement projects. The $19.5 million fund was established with money paid by ExxonMobil in a 2011 settlement with New York State related to a massive oil spill in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The settlement requires the company to fully clean up the spill and pay $19.5 million to fund local environmental benefit projects. 

Next month, the GCEF will begin accepting funding proposals from the community for projects to improve, restore and protect Greenpoint's environment. Tonight's community meeting will focus on providing attendees with a "roadmap" for participating in the grant program, including describing how community members may apply for funding and the resources being made available to help them develop their "greening" ideas into project proposals. Examples of successful community environmental improvement projects from around New York State will be presented. 

The GCEF, overseen by the AG’s Environmental Protection Bureau and the DEC, is being administered through a joint partnership of the Greenpoint-based North Brooklyn Development Corporation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 

WHO:
Peter Washburn, Policy Advisor, Environmental Protection Bureau, New York State Office of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman
Michelle Moore, Environmental Analyst, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 
Richard Mazur, Executive Director, North Brooklyn Development Corporation 
Amanda Bassow, Director, Eastern Partnership Office, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

WHEN:    
TODAY, September 25, 2013
6:30pm – 8:30pm

WHERE:
Warsaw Polish National Home
261 Driggs Avenue
Brooklyn, NY