RENSSELAER — Officials in this city on the east bank of the Hudson River have a new tool to potentially weed out blight.
More than 160 acres of Rensselaer have been designated by the state as a Brownfield Opportunity Area, a status designed to help revitalize historically polluted and underdeveloped communities across New York.
Rensselaer Mayor Mike Stammel aims to use the designation announced last week to assess the extent of pollution along more than two dozen potential contaminated sites across the city, including former gas stations and the old City Hall property on Broadway…