New York City will take control of 120 acres of Brooklyn’s coastline, intending to develop a rugged patch of land into housing, retail, green space, and a modern, environmentally friendly port.
The no-cash deal, which will be announced Tuesday, represents the city government’s biggest real estate transaction in terms of physical size in at least two decades. The redevelopment zone stretches more than a mile, from the southern edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park down to the Red Hook neighborhood, and in some places a block inland. Most of that land is currently controlled by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The footprint for New York City’s planned redevelopment.
Courtesy of New York City Economic Development Corporation
In a related deal, New York City will transfer ownership of its 225-acre portion of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island to the Port Authority. The move consolidates all of Howland Hook under the Port Authority’s control and is meant to enable future expansions of the port, already one of the region’s most important container facilities.
The city, state, and Port Authority will sign a memorandum of understanding later this week to outline the transfer and lease terms. The actual transfer is expected to happen over the next few months.
Many efforts have been launched over the years to redevelop the Brooklyn waterfront, but the results have been mixed at best. Much of Red Hook is isolated, run down, and poorly connected to public transit.
But local officials think this time will be different, because the area will be controlled by one entity — New York City — rather than the historical mishmash of the city, state, and Port Authority, said New York Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
She also said New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) and Governor Kathy Hochul (D) have the same vision for the region, giving the city a rare opportunity to “set aside what often gets in the way of practice, which is bureaucratic inertia.”
The centerpiece of what Adams is calling a “harbor of the future” will be the modernized port. Its location will be decided during a planning process that will solicit input from the public and local elected officials.
Expanded maritime operations fit with Adams’ “Blue Highways” plan to move more freight using New York’s waterways rather than its roads. Doing so can cut down on auto emissions and congestion, said Meera Joshi, New York City’s deputy mayor for operations.
The city says there will be no evictions, early lease cancellations, or uses of eminent domain required.
For now, Adams will roll out $65 million to fund the planning of the development, as well as to stabilize pier infrastructure at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal that has long been deteriorating. Both those projects are expected to start this year. The New York City Economic Development Corporation will manage the Brooklyn project on behalf of the city.
New York is also investing $15 million to buy an all-electric harbor crane, which will be installed on Pier 10 in Red Hook.
Coastal resiliency will be a central part of the development plans, which will be crafted with input from the public and local elected officials, Torres-Springer said. Red Hook, a low-lying area, was one of the hardest-hit parts of New York City during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The city is already working on a project to shield Red Hook from coastal flooding.
Sustainability will also figure into the planning. One possible outcome is the broader use of e-cargo bikes, rather than trucks, for last-mile delivery. The New York City Department of Transportation authorized the use of e-cargo bikes on city streets earlier this year.
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Another solution could come under a $2 billion package rolled out by the city and state last year to expand green infrastructure throughout all five boroughs. That funding more than doubles an existing fund to use natural infrastructure in ways that mitigate flooding, limit combined sewer overflows, and improve coastal water quality.
More than 70% of New York City is covered by surfaces that aren’t absorbent, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Heavy rain can thus flood the city’s catch basins and sewer system with huge amounts of stormwater.
Torres-Springer also said the redevelopment will spur economic growth and create jobs — some in construction and some in the burgeoning green economy, which the city is nurturing in the region.
“For 20 years, skeptics thought this deal couldn’t get done, but our administration prioritized the ‘Harbor of the Future,’ and now we have the potential to create thousands of new jobs, generate billions in economic impact, and create a neighborhood on our shoreline that truly displays the promise of New York City,” Adams said in a statement.
Hochul said the announcement “marks the next great chapter for Brooklyn’s storied waterfront” that will “begin the long-anticipated process of reimagining the Red Hook piers as a modern maritime facility.”
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