The city is shelling out $80 million to repair three Brooklyn piers and “fund planning” for a massive overhaul of the 122-acre Red Hook port, officials said Tuesday.
Mayor Eric Adams said the Big Apple also has submitted applications for more than $350 million in federal funds to help round out the project, although the requests haven’t been approved yet.
“We realize the economic challenges we have, but those challenges will become larger if we don’t make the smart economic decision,” Adams said at a press conference at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
The city’s initial $80 million will come from its Economic Development Corp.
The state is kicking in another $15 million toward a cold-storage container at the site.
“Every decision we make is a holistic approach of how do you move the city forward … capitalizing on other sources and having the state assist us in moving this forward,” Adams said.
He said the project is “needed” and that the city — which has been groaning under the fiscal weight of the migrant crisis — will “balance the budget to continue to move forward.”
The initial investment will go toward repairs of the dilapidated piers 7, 8 and 10 and pay for planning for the future of the waterfront sit, which was built in the 1950s and ’60s.
The money will help cover a modern electrified container crane for terminal operations.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has also committed $15 million for a future cold-storage facility to reduce road traffic and pollution brought about by perishable merchandise transported in and out of Brooklyn, her office said.
Maritime will “stay at the core of this site,” according to state Sen. and Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force Vice Chair Andrew Gounardes (D-B’klyn).
He added that as well as the economic wins, the city will also reap environmental advantages — with the site already getting a whopping 3,000 trucks off the road annually.
The announcement was light on detail, although Adams made mention of “open spaces, amenities and housing opportunities.”
“We’ve been fighting housing. We need to concentrate to make [the area strong as possible],” said Jim Tampakis, who has lived in the neighborhood for three years, to the Post.
Carolina Salguero, president of PortSide New York — a group that advocates for increase in maritime uses in the city — said, “Housing on the waterfront is never affordable. I really hope we’re going to have a real public space.”
But it won’t be full steam ahead until after a vigorous community engagement process, which is expected to start in late spring, officials said.
“The community task force … will be working with us closely throughout that process about six to nine months worth of a master plan,” said city Deputy Mayor for Housing Maria Torres-Springer.
Torres-Springer said relevant public approvals also will be needed for the planned transfer of the land from the New York-New Jersey Port Authority to the city.
“After that, we will be issuing Request for Proposals for a master operator for the container and maritime work and other relevant RFPs as needed,” she said adding that “this will take a few years.”
