Diana Reyna grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and today she is the deputy borough president of that fine borough. A former City Council member, she is known for her advocacy for affordable housing, economic development, expanding youth and senior services, and equity in education, park space, and waste disposal. Over the past couple years, she has turned her boundless energy to the Brooklyn waterfront. On February 18, Ms. Reyna hosted more than 50 waterfront stakeholders at Brooklyn Borough Hall for a roundtable discussion, cohosted by the Waterfront Alliance and Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen’s Association, about how to make sure Brooklyn’s waterfront industry thrives. WaterWire caught up with the deputy mayor after the discussion.

What’s this we hear about a master plan for the Brooklyn waterfront?

The master plan will be a comprehensive commissioned action that requires the input of many waterfront stakeholders, many of whom were at Borough Hall today giving their different perspectives. The borough president and I would like to see the preservation, expansion of, and investment in industrial maritime jobs. How do we get there from this point on?

My dream is to see 20,000 jobs by 2020. This is no small act—but take Brooklyn Navy Yard. In the next five years, they have a plan to expand to up to 15,000 jobs. Who else, where else, is there opportunity? We have to start mining data. We have to look at the obstacles. We have to look at where the growth is and where there is a lack of resources. We are pushing along a vision that requires us to come together to activate our capital dollars, our policy ideas, and our political will to get the job done.

Tell us more about your vision for connections between Brooklyn’s waterfront and upland communities.

We want this to be a waterfront maritime industrial master plan, but you can’t separate the waterfront from upland. This is not only for the waterfront community. This isn’t just about Sunset Park and Red Hook. Brooklyn Navy Yard is just one component. This is about a master plan for a resilient waterfront that will impact residents upland.

That’s what the core of this collaboration means to us—connecting this work to communities like Brownsville, neighborhoods that are far away from the water.

You referred to the high percentage of unemployed residents of the Red Hook Houses. This housing development is not far from the waterfront and maritime employers. What do you think the relationship should be between maritime companies and local communities?

You want to be a good neighbor. An investment [in preparing potential workers for maritime jobs] creates a better relationship. Right now they have no access to these jobs because they don’t know about them, or they think they don’t belong because no one is inviting them. We have to consider how we build the industrial park to service and integrate with community.

What did you learn from the roundtable discussion this morning?

The learning curve never stops. This morning it crystalized that we all agree as stakeholders. But it’s difficult and challenging when you position people to think long-term master planning—and then break long-term goals into shorter term plans. That’s why we have to create a master plan so that we can have a cohesive conversation and not leave any one item behind. Now we have to hold each other accountable. Together we are going to go after these ideas.

What’s your next step?

It has come to our attention at Borough Hall as we make the commitment to support the maritime industry, that the Waterfront Commission may not be supportive of diversity. The International Longshoremen’s Association doesn’t control the job placement. They take the application and refer it to the Waterfront Commission. New Jersey has passed legislation to do without the Waterfront Commission [a bistate agency], so what is holding up New York? The Waterfront Commission has to be held accountable. That is one priority we’re all going to work towards. Borough Hall is calling for a joint hearing with the City Council Oversight and Investigations Committee about the Waterfront Commission. We can speak all we want on diversity, but if we’re not addressing what is stalling diversity, or even understand what the hiring practice is—only then do you begin to unfold the obstacles.

Thanks so much, deputy borough president Reyna for sharing these insights with us and for hosting the February 18 roundtable. We look forward to seeing amazing transformations continue on the Brooklyn waterfront!