Last Thursday evening’s convocation by the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park began with dancing on a few graves.
Among the first slides was a time-lapse video of the CitiStorage building’s demolition. This was met by raucous applause, seeing as the monstrous blight was the largest obstruction to knock down before the long-held dream of 27.5-acre park along the East River waterfront could become a reality.
“For the first time you can see the entirety of the Bushwick Inlet Park, from the soccer field, all the way to the inlet, and into Greenpoint where you can see the steeple of St. Anthony’s church,” said Katherine Thompson, president of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, the volunteer and advocacy organization that’s been holding the city accountable for its promise of a park. “Not only is it visually connected, but it’s connected by breezes. People are already complaining about the wind.”
The next bit of celebration came following the announcement that the proposed Tao nightclub, which was attempting to take over the ArtsDistrict Brooklyn building on Franklin Street, was no more. The Tao group came upon zoning restrictions for a liquor license, so they withdrew their application. “It is now up for rent, if anyone needs a big huge open space,” said Thompson, before adding, “during the day.”
The meeting then turned into a historical look at what led to this moment—the 2005 rezoning, the promises of a waterfront park, the campaign best exemplified by the knitted “Where’s Our Park?” sign that adorned the Franklin Street chain-link fence for years, the massive fire at the CitiStorage facility in 2015 that brought new urgency to the goal, and all the canvassing, tabling, rallies, social media posting, and holding events like “Funeral for a Deal.”
“In 2016, which was a difficult political year for many of us, I would say that getting involved in this neighborhood and this park was really a wonderful way to devote your energy to something you can make a difference in,” said Cory Kantin, who’s been involved with the greater FBIP coalition since 2010.
From there, speakers discussed the proposed park, parcel-by-parcel, beginning with 86 Kent to the south, and up to the north end area named Motiva (after the oil refining company Motiva Enterprises, which previously owned the land) which stretches around the actual inlet. 86 Kent was the first parcel that was fully developed, followed by nearby 50 Kent, which opened in 2022. With the CitiStorage demolition, the next roadblock to developing the remaining three parcels of the park is figuring out who’s responsible for all the cleanup.
“The Bushwick Inlet Park is the birthplace of the fossil fuel industry,” Thompson said.
The parcel known as Bayside, for instance, was the original site of Charles Pratt’s Astral Oil Works. Pratt famously created The Astral building as housing for his workers, and founded Pratt Institute after he sold/was muscled into amalgamating into John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Which is to say, there’s a lot of toxic goop in the ground that needs to be removed before any park development gets underway and, not surprisingly, no one wants to pay.
The clean-up over the CitiStorage parcel is currently in litigation between National Grid and Exxon, while the Bayside parcel clean-up is being held up by an investigation of responsibility between Chevron, Exxon, and New York City itself. These fights may take years to clear up.
But the majority of the meeting’s backend was spent discussing a new potential hazard to the park—the development of 40 Quay Street, a building owned by the MTA.
In 2019, the MTA requested proposals with the hope of selling the land to add money to its always-underfunded coffers. What came from that was a plan called “Monitor Point” by Gotham Organization, the group behind the massive Gotham Point development just north of the Newtown Creek mouth. The Monitor plan would create two new high-rises, 600 and 400 feet tall, and 1200 housing units, 300 of which would be designated as affordable.
The FBIP’s main worry is that the towers are only 50 feet from the inlet—the only estuary on the East River—and the new buildings may harm the area’s natural floodplain, as well as disrupt the migratory path of birds. “Glass buildings are bird murderers,” said Thompson. This new campaign by the FBIP has taken on the name “Save the Inlet,” and is trying to get the MTA to use the land for “the greatest public good” rather than give it up to private developers.
“[The MTA] has to use the assets they have to earn the money they need, so what we can do is make sure that other ways of funding the MTA are successful,” said Emily Gallagher, the assemblyperson for New York’s District 50, who was present at the meeting. “That includes congestion pricing, asks in the state budget, and making sure that we’re paying attention to those board meetings. The MTA and its health are really at the key of this entire issue.”
The FBIP’s next event will be March 12 at 86 Kent Avenue on the topic of the opportunities and necessities of building resilient parks.Â
Interesting article
Thank you, mother.