Admiral's Row Section of the
Former Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn, NY

NATIONAL HISTORIC
PRESERVATION ACT

Section 106 Process

Welcome to the Brooklyn Navy Yard's web page for the
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)

The National Guard Bureau, in association with the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, has complied with Federal regulations pertaining to the transfer of the Admiral's Row section of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Located in the Fort Greene/Greenpoint section of Brooklyn (Kings County) New York, Admiral's Row was transferred from the Federal Government's ownership to the City of New York as per Public Law 100-202 in January 2012.  As directed by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, the Federal Government must take into consideration potential effects that may occur if a given action is undertaken.  An Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) was completed in August 2011.

As an agency of the Federal Government, the National Guard Bureau has certain responsibilities regarding the identification and protection of the cultural resources that may be eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).  As part of project planning, federal statutes and regulations require the identification of significant cultural resources that are eligible for the NRHP and mitigation of adverse impacts to such resources, if identified.  The federal statutes and regulations authorizing the National Guard Bureau to undertake these responsibilities include Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), as amended through 2004, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Guidelines for the Protection of Cultural and Historic Properties (36 CFR Part 800).

The Section 106 review process includes steps for identifying and evaluating historic properties, assessing the effects of the agency's proposed action on historic properties and, if there is an adverse effect, consultation about ways to avoid, reduce or mitigate that adverse effect.  Consultation typically results in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or Programmatic Agreement (PA) for more complex undertakings, which sets out specific steps for avoiding or reducing harm to historic properties.

The National Guard Bureau fully executed an MOA in November 2011 after consultation with the New York State Historic Preservation Officer, several federally-recognized Indian Tribes, and other consulting and interested parties to determine what actions should be taken regarding Admiral's Row.

Section 106 also requires public involvement, which provides the public an opportunity to comment on the National Guard Bureau's action to transfer Admiral's Row.  In order to facilitate public input, the National Guard Bureau hosted several public forums to explain the process and to solicit comments on how to avoid, reduce, or mitigate the adverse effects on the historic properties located on the property.  These forums were designed to obtain public input and document the public's preservation process to help the National Guard Bureau fulfill its Section 106 responsibilities and to provide requirements to the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation to incorporate into its reuse plans.

The property was transferred to the City of New York in January 2012.