NPCR holds 5th Annual Brownfields Forum & Green Shovel Awards

New Partners for Community Revitalization (NPCR) presented its 5th Annual Brownfields Forum entitled "New Connections," which included the 2013 Green Shovel Awards for Partnership in Community Revitalization. The event was hosted by National Grid at 1 Metro Tech Center. Welcoming forum attendees to his company's headquarters, National Grid president Ken Daly said, "National Grid has a strong legacy of service in the communities and partnering with our customers to help them manage their energy use, protect the environment and revitalize neighborhoods. We are happy to once again sponsor and host the 5th Annual Brownfields Forum and share our experience in optimizing the use of clean natural gas, piloting renewable energy projects and rebuilding communities after Sandy's devastation." Cesar Perales, N.Y. secretary of state, provided the forum's keynote address. Following his speech, the program opened into a series of panels focusing on topics relevant to Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) communities. The event also featured NPCR's 2013 Green Shovel Awards for Partnership in Community Revitalization. This year's honorees included Sarah Berman, president at The Berman Group and John Osborn, managing partner at John E. Osborn, P.C., from the private sector and Daniel Walsh, Ph. D., director of the city's office of environmental remediation at the mayor's office of operations, from the public sector. Created in 2002, New Partners for Community Revitalization (NPCR) is a nonprofit organization working to revitalize New York's low and moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by brownfield sites. In collaboration with community, commercial, government and nonprofit partners, NPCR develops policies, programs and projects aimed at achieving the remediation and sustainable reuse of brownfield sites in New York. For more information, visit www.npcr.net. ###