Well, that couldn’t have been more timely.
The morning after floods rampaged through Greenpoint and Williamsburg yet again, officials from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) joined local elected officials to break ground on the “Gateway to Greenpoint” project.
A parcel next to the Newtown Creek Resource Recovery Facility “will be transformed into a vibrant community space equipped with underground stormwater storage chambers capable of capturing nearly one million gallons of stormwater annually,” a DEP press release reads.
The project was largely spearheaded by Newtown Creek Alliance in partnership with Evergreen Exchange and Interval Projects. The Gateway to Greenpoint will also provide access points to Kingsland Wildflowers green roof, the Nature Walk, and the North Henry Street shoreline.
The DEP provided $1.4 million out of the project’s total funding of $1.9 million, “including a $500,000 federal grant (EPA State and Tribal Assistance Grant Community Project Funding).” City Council Member Lincoln Restler’s office secured an additional $500,000 for the project, to be used toward open space amenities.
Stormwater capture will be a sight for sore eyes (er, sight for wet pant legs?) considering the neighborhood’s tendency to flood easily during inclement weather (apparently our “high water table and impermeable industrial landscape” exacerbates the issue).
Construction on the project should wrap up in fall 2026.