In mid October, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation co-hosted two public forums on the future of South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), located on the Sunset Park waterfront. Attendees included local business owners, residents, and civic groups.
EDC officials presented the overall plan for the short-term and long-term future of the site. The city has invested $50 million in infrastructure upgrades to SBMT, which is well connected to the freight rail network. A request for proposals due later this year will seek maritime-dependent uses, such as containerized freight, dry or liquid bulk, or tug and barge operations, for a term of up to 39 years. The facility will not be available for such uses as a recreational space, film studio, passenger operations, or the handling of hazardous materials or municipal solid waste.
Local elected officials addressed the group as well. Council Member Carlos Menchaca, who helped negotiate an agreement with the city, which involves a plan to open a second entrance to Bush Terminal Piers Park, heralded new EDC leadership, including the new director of a Sunset Park-focused division within the agency, Jennifer Sun. Assembly Member Felix Ortiz said that he hoped that the community would be fully involved in the planning process going forward.
Jeremy Laufer, district manager for Brooklyn Community Board 7, found the discussions fostered at the public forums valuable. “We wanted to hear from folks in the community and these groups promoted conversation,” he said. His vision of a successful future South Brooklyn Marine Terminal? “We would like to see jobs available to folks from the community, as many good-paying jobs as possible,” he said. “We would like to see infrastructure improvements; potentially a ferry landing at 39th Street. We don’t want impacts to public health, which could mean barging goods out of there and minimizing the amount of trucks. And we want public access around the edges–a possible route for the waterfront greenway.”
Carolina Salguero, president of PortSide NewYork, is on the Sunset Park Task Force and was at one of the SBMT public meetings. “The concerns expressed at the public meetings were heard and pumped back into task force discussions,” she said. “The meeting process itself and the feedback our task force gave the EDC about it, are also key; since the SBMT exercise is about a larger effort to improve EDC-community communication and collaboration.”
Photo by Jim Henderson
