At a ceremony at the Red Hook Container Terminal, the Mayor, the Governor, the Port Authority and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) made a surprise announcement (at least to most of the public and this newspaper) about the future of the waterfront from Atlantic Avenue up to the Red Hook Cruise Terminal. They were standing in front of the two big orange cranes that rise over the foot of Union Street.
Mayor Adams, wearing a NY Knicks baseball cap, began his remarks by touting his administration’s ability to move forward with long-dormant projects. The example he chose to highlight was unfortunately not a maritime project such as the recent wind farm project at Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, but a real estate development next to Citifield. He next referred to the transfer of land from the Port Authority to NYC as “the largest NYC real estate transaction in recent history—bigger than the Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2002.”
That 2002 transaction set the stage for the replacement of a once vital maritime shipping hub with high rise residential apartments, a hotel, and of course a privately designed park to charm local residents and boost real estate values.
When it came time to describe the current property, he stumbled over his words, calling it a “marine time port.”
Housing potential
Adams announced a government investment of $95 million for the shipping facility, investment which the Port Authority had reneged on. He then went on to say “we can do much more, and we know that. We can build a community here with amenities to open space, to housing and more. The potential is limitless.”
He then spoke a little of the history of NY’s shipping, noting it’s decline. But when he spoke of the need to revitalize it, mentioning the needs of e-commerce deliveries, he interspersed it with the need for “affordable housing.” In Red Hook a few years ago, a local real estate developer and former city planner tried to build a 15 story residential development on the coast, using the lure of a small amount of affordable housing, but ultimately failed due to lack of community buy-in.
Is the State in charge?
Governor Hochul spoke next. She began by praising herself for having a good relationship with Mayor Adams, in contrast to her predecessor and Mayor DeBlasio. There is an Memorandum of Understanding (MOA), published on the EDC website, which details how the State will maintain final control of land usage here. A proposed Master Plan, to be developed in conjunction with a local taskforce under the stewardship of Congressman Dan Goldman, must be approved by Empire State Development, a NY State agency. Under the Port Authority, the NY Governor shares control with the NJ governor.
Could be an extension of Brooklyn Bridge Park
The governor went on to compare this Columbia Street waterfront with the defunct Brooklyn Heights piers of 20 years ago. “We will build on that model of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Who is not proud of what happened with Piers 1 through 6. That’s something that’s talked about not just across the state and the nation but around the world. People wanna come see this.”
Except for a yacht club and a ferry landing, there is no commercial maritime use today of those piers.
She continued by complaining that the community is blocked from accessing the waterfront today. “We are going to make it more accessible to the community. People living here (pointing to the Columbia Waterfront District) have no access to this (pointing to the East River.) That’s unconscionable to me. These barriers, the ghosts of yesteryear. Yes, this was once a thriving port, but reality settled in. It is no longer the port it once was.”
It is not possible to mix a containerport with other uses, including public access. Other uses need to be adjacent, for obvious safety and security reasons.
Hochul went on to talk about how the new reality will include housing, as well as some version of a 21st century port operation.
At this point she went back on script, describing how it will all be driven by a robust, community driven process.
The announcement is unique in that a lot of different agencies which have not always been able to come to agreements together in the past have worked together to make this happen.
“I have long recognized and advocated for an end to the state of neglect of our precious waterfront in Red Hook,” said City Councilmember Alexa Aviles, who was not at the announcement. She will serve as a Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force vice chair. “Like all of my neighbors, I’m fully aware of the many missed opportunities we’ve had to build a greener and cleaner future here.
“After relentless advocacy from the community I represent, state and city officials now seem aligned with what we have all recognized for years. I hope this land swap will bring us closer to our sustainability goals and build toward a modern port and equitable working waterfront. This project must include direct accountability, and I am committed to being there every step of the way to make sure there is a public review process and the people of Red Hook are heard.”
Congressman Dan Goldman will serve as the chair of the Task Force which will oversee the EDC’s master planning process while State Senator Andrew Gounardes will join Aviles as a vice chair of the Task Force.
There is concern
While there is much public optimism about the news, District 12 Congress Member Jerrold Nadler, who has a big history with this port, was concerned, saying, “I’m disappointed that the Port Authority abandoned this deal despite having a 100-year responsibility to steward the port and ensure the success of the port of New York.
“Our current container ports (except Red Hook) lie on Newark Bay: Newark, Elizabeth, and Howland Hook. Unfortunately, Newark Bay is on the other side of the Kill Van Kull, a narrow and treacherous body of water separating Staten Island on the south and Bayonne on the north. In the event that a large ship was to sink, or be sunk, in the Kill Van Kull, most of our port would be closed for weeks, or even months, and with it, New York City’s import supply chain.”
Robert Gottheim, Nadler’s chief of staff, said that he was very concerned because the announcement was “thin on details, and for example, the MLU [mixed-land-use] that they allude to is not public. The devil is in the details and the details are not public. Mr. Nadler doesn’t believe that housing is appropriate for this site. We need an active maritime and we need every available acre for it.”
Regarding the EDC press release which included a statement from James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board for New York (REBNY,) Gottheim reiterated that he believes the focus should be on maritime rather than real estate.
Gottheim also said “We were talking to EDC President Andrew Kimball and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres Springer as well as Kathryn Garcia and the mayor directly. We had our position but at the end of the day, the governor and others disagreed with us and they went ahead with the transfer.”
Jim Tampakis of Tamco Mechanical, a longtime maritime business located at 54 Richards Street, has long called for both Red Hook and New York City to rely more heavily on the waterfront and less on trucks and cars. While he feels unsure about how the housing aspect of the plans would work, he feels this is a positive step and a big opportunity to rely more heavily on the waterfront.
We need the blue highway
“I think what we need to do first is understand all of our maritime needs; that way Michael Stamatis [president and CEO of Red Hook Terminals] can continue his operation,” Tampakis said.
“In addition to that, we create this water distribution network where we bring in packages from Amazon, FedEx, UPS, and everybody else by water, break them down, and then put them in smaller container pods and send them out to New York City’s 520 miles of water. That way they come in by water and they go out by water.
“I think we should look at a long-term plan and put up a new building for cold storage. I also think we should look at upgrading one of the existing piers so we can turn it into a sorting facility. Once the freight comes in, Amazon or whoever can have their own section. They’ll have each container pod destined for a zip code. They can put those pods on a smaller boat and go deliver them.”
There is supposed to be a community envisioning process as part of the new deal and Tampakis plans to be a part of that process. Tampakis also said that he can envision a future with a similar setup on the waterfront to Faneuil Hall in Boston with local businesses and food.
“Our priority is to meet with community leaders and stakeholders to support community needs and move forward together,” said the Red Hook Business Alliance in a statement. “Regarding the goal of creating a modern port space, we hope that port experts will be brought in, as New York City is not a leading city in this space.”
Another concern for Nadler is that the EDC will be taking over the Marine Terminal.
“We acknowledge that the Port Authority needed to do a much better job with the Marine Terminal but we should have forced them to do their job rather than doing this, which lets them off the hook,” Gottheim said.
The EDC and the Red Hook community have already clashed over the way the EDC has handled the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. In a meeting with Aviles and the EDC this January, Red Hook natives voiced their frustration that cruise ships are not forced to use shore power (a way of supplying electrical power to a docked ship so they don’t have to burn fuel) so many of the ships do not plug in and use shore power.
Other concerns included a lack of signs about attractions and local businesses, as well as severe traffic in the neighborhood when the cruise ships are in Red Hook.
While the EDC’s track record in Red Hook raises concerns, this also serves as a new opportunity and one that can go a long way in helping the community regain trust in the EDC. A big part of that will depend on whether the EDC incorporates community feedback into their plans.
“We are unhappy with the transfer,” Gottheim said. “If everybody says they support port development and the container facility here, then there would be no reason for the transfer.
The Port Authority has been entrusted for over 100 years to do port development but this unfortunately is going to take place. It doesn’t change our advocacy of fighting for the port and a working waterfront and jobs and taking trucks off the road. It means that the Port Authority and state are no longer a player here and we have to switch our advocacy to the EDC.”
Tampakis agreed with a lot of those key points.
“I agree with Nadler on a lot of the things he mentioned,” Tampakis said. “I do think the state had an opportunity for a lot of years and did not get the job done. The EDC has to be really focused on what we’re doing here. They’ve had a lot of RFPs right here in Red Hook on Pier 11 and they haven’t followed through with them.
“Now, the key is getting to work right away. This is something they’re talking about happening years in the future but we’ve waited long enough. We need to get to work now.”
Nadler hopes to remain involved in what happens next with the Brooklyn Marine Terminal even though he was not in favor of the transfer. He said this in a message to the taskforce chairman and his successor Dan Goldman.
“I look forward to working with you and all stakeholders on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force,” he said.
What’s next
According to the EDC, the plan is to assemble a taskforce consisting of local politicians, business owners and residents. There will be a series of public meetings, supposedly all open to the public, in which ideas that will go into a Master Plan will be developed, subject to the approval of the Empire State Development, a NY State agency. The Master Plan will guide the development of the 120 acres of waterfront, starting at Atlantic Avenue and going all the way to the current Cruise Terminal. Both EDC and Goldman’s office insist that both of these need to happen right away, but requests for a timeline and sequencing went unanswered.
We spoke with Michael Stamatis, Executive Director of the Red Hook Container Terminal, a working containerport occupying about half the land.
“There will be a port here,” he said, with an emphasis on “will.”
“I’m a fighter and I will fight to keep this a port, both modernizing it and expanding it.”
He explained to us how he has fought many battles through the years to maintain the operation. “Any time you have a property like this, you have something to worry about.” He was referring to “the view,” the billion dollar coastline facing lower Manhattan that real estate developers all over the world dream about turning into high rise properties.
He said that he has a commitment for a long term, improved port facility and that he believes what he is being told.
“I trust what I have been told by all the actors. Accountability is the most imporant thing, and I will do everything I can to make sure there is follow through.”
He reiterated that big cities all around the world invest heavily in their ports and he sees no reason why NYC should be different. This is something that Tampakis also emphasizes.
Stamatis says that people should have learned their lesson during the pandemic when store shelves were often empty due to supply chain blockages. NYC and Long Island depend on the Brooklyn terminal for a great number of goods, and Red Hook needs to remain a hub.
