Just in time for Climate Week NYC, elected officials announced on Monday new federal funding to revitalize the waterfront Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT).
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman said the city received a whopping $163.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the project, which advocates say would ultimately result in fewer trucks on city streets and less emissions in the air.
In May, the NYC Economic Development Corporation gained control of the waterfront BMT in Red Hook from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an agreement that also gave the agency full ownership of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island.
Goldman said the grant is another milestone in transforming the waterfront area, helping the environment and spurring economic growth.
“While the Brooklyn Marine Terminal had been mired in decades of inertia, we have entered a new era with this long overdue federal funding,” he said. “This infusion will allow our city to fully enhance the economic growth and health of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, while taking into account the public health and climate goals of surrounding communities. The future is here, and it’s looking bright for Brooklyn.”
The revitalization of the BMT will also help create a working waterfront and modern maritime infrastructure, elected officials noted.
“By building a better Brooklyn Marine Terminal, we’re building a better future for Brooklyn and the whole region,” added state Sen. Andrew Gounardes. “This federal funding will help make up for years of disinvestment of the piers and allow us to invest in a modernized terminal that can sustainably handle freight deliveries, reduce emissions, expand economic opportunity and create new jobs.”
Goldman added that the funding — part of the country’s Mega Grant program — is an “incredible” investment for the neighborhood and borough.
The grant, Mayor Eric Adams said, will allow the city to take “major steps forward” to building a “safer and more affordable” NYC.
“We’re bringing thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact to our city by transforming the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern, 21st-century maritime port and mixed-use community hub,” he said.
The mayor also announced that separate funding would help support another city infrastructure project: A greenway on 10th Avenue in Inwood.
“This helps get us that much closer to having New Yorkers be able to bike and walk all the way around Manhattan on greenways,” Adams said. “And as we kick off Climate Week, these investments will help us build a cleaner, greener city for all New Yorkers.”
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler said in a previous Brooklyn Paper article that the May agreement could potentially increase truck traffic and kill jobs in the area, though the new grant is expressly for repairing pier 10, modernizing select piers for containers capacity and making improvements to reduce traffic.
“Red Hook is the only remaining container port facility on the eastern side of the Hudson River, and it is of critical importance to New York City and the entire region that this port remains open and not converted into housing or other usage,” Nadler said. “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.”
