1 2 CITY COUNCIL 3 CITY OF NEW YORK 4 -------------------------------x 5 THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES 6 of the 7 COMMITTEE ON WATERFRONTS 8 (Held Jointly With) SUBCOMMITTEE ON LANDMARKS, SITING 9 And MARITIME USES 10 -------------------------------x 11 December 14, 2006 12 Start: 12:15 p.m. Recess: 3:34 p.m. 13 City Hall 14 Council Chambers New York, New York 15 16 B E F O R E: 17 MICHAEL NELSON Chairperson, Waterfronts Committee 18 JESSICA LAPPIN 19 Chairperson, Landmarks, Siting And Maritime Uses 20 21 22 23 24 LEGAL-EASE COURT REPORTING SERVICES, INC. 17 Battery Place - Suite 1308 25 New York, New York 10004 (800) 756-3410 2 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S 3 COUNCIL MEMBERS: 4 5 Gale Brewer Alan Gerson 6 Melissa Mark-Viverito Leroy Comrie 7 Annabel Palma Maria Arroyo 8 James Oddo Sara Gonzalez 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) 3 Kate Ascher 4 Executive Vice President NYC Economic Development Corporation 5 Andrew Gann 6 Transportation Department NYC Economic Development Corporation 7 Congressman Jerrold Nadler 8 8th Congressional District 9 Christopher O. Ward Managing Director 10 General Contractors Association 11 Greg O'Connell Pier 41 Associates 12 Mickey Reed 13 Appearing on behalf of Dorothy Shields President, Tenant Association of Red Hook 14 Ray Hall ASI 15 Dorothy Siegel 16 Working Families Party 17 Edward J. Kelly Executive Director 18 Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ 19 Sandy Pope Teamsters Local 805 20 Phaedra Thomas 21 Southwest Brooklyn LDC 22 Tom Fox New York Water Taxi 23 Roberta Weisbrod, Ph.D 24 Partnership for Sustainable Ports 25 4 1 2 A P P E A R A N C E S (CONTINUED) 3 Matt Yates 4 Director of Commercial Operations ASI-Red Hook Container Terminal 5 Alexander Jordan 6 NYPort Terminal Development Corporation 7 Michael Freedman-Schnapp Senior Policy Associate 8 New York Industrial Retention Network 9 Carolina Salguero PortSide New York 10 Joseph Hughes 11 Erie Basin Marine Associates 12 Norman Brown Legislative State Council of Machinists 13 Stephen Hindy 14 President Brooklyn Brewery 15 Lou Sones 16 Coordinator Red Hook GAGS 17 Charles Burns 18 Tug And Barge Committee 19 Lisa Kersavage Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation 20 the Municipal Arts Society of New York 21 Bette Stoltz Executive Director 22 South Brooklyn LDC 23 Seth Goodwin 24 25 5 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay, we're going 3 to start it in just a minute, but I wanted to, for 4 the people who don't have seats, to let you know 5 that the sound is going to be piped into the 6 Chambers until 1:00 when another hearing begins in 7 there, so you can sit in there and hear what's 8 happening in here, including if your name is called 9 to testify, if you would be more comfortable doing 10 that. We wanted to make that option available to 11 you, and we'll begin in just a minute in here. 12 Good afternoon. My name is Jessica 13 Lappin. I'm the Chair of the Land Use, Subcommittee 14 on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses, and 15 wanted to welcome you here today for this joint 16 hearing with the City Council's Waterfronts 17 Committee, which is Chaired by Council Member Mike 18 Nelson. 19 We're here today to discuss the 20 future of the working waterfront in South Brooklyn, 21 and more specifically to discuss the future of the 22 piers in Sunset Park and Redhook. 23 I want to thank Council Member Nelson 24 for agreeing to hold this joint hearing and for the 25 members of the Committee who have joined us today, 6 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Council Member Miguel Martinez from Manhattan, 3 Council Member David Yassky from Brooklyn, Council 4 Member Annabel Palma from the Bronx, and Council 5 Member Mendez from Manhattan, Council Member Maria 6 del Carmen Arroyo from the Bronx, Council Member 7 Leroy Comrie from Queens, and Council Member Joe 8 Addabbo from Queens. 9 These Red Hook and Sunset Park are in 10 Council Member Gonzalez's district. She is on her 11 way and specifically asked us to begin because she 12 knows there are a lot of people here who are on 13 tight schedules, but she will be joining us shortly 14 and I will recognize her again when she arrives for 15 her advocacy and leadership, but I wanted to note 16 for the record she has been -- really takes her 17 responsibilities seriously and has worked tirelessly 18 for her community, has been on top of the issues 19 involved. Certainly in touch on a constant basis 20 with me, and I assume with Council Member Nelson as 21 well, and I wanted to commend her for her 22 leadership. 23 Times in this City are good, 24 development is happening at a rapid clip, crime is 25 down, tax revenues continue to exceed our 7 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 expectations and we're growing by leaps and bounds. 3 We have 8 million who call New York home, and 4 projections show that we're going to have 225,000 5 more New Yorkers in just four short years. 6 That's great news, more than ever 7 people want to live here, work here and call New 8 York City home, and the Mayor outlined in his speech 9 earlier this week his sustainability speech, what 10 some of those pressures will bring. And because of 11 the anticipated growth that we're experiencing, it 12 does put pressure on those of us in government to 13 plan and respond accordingly. 14 It's important for us in the City 15 Council to make Land Use decisions now that will 16 enable us to grow wisely for the future. There is 17 certainly a lot at stake, and the decisions that we 18 make about the future of the waterfront in Red Hook 19 and Sunset Park are ones that will impact our City, 20 our State, the historic gateway to our country for 21 decades to come. 22 And that really brings us to the goal 23 of the hearing today, to have a frank and open 24 discussion about the future of the South Brooklyn 25 Waterfront, to hear from the stakeholders involved 8 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 about their long-term vision and goals for the area, 3 and to give the Administration an opportunity to set 4 the record straight about its plan to develop this 5 part of the City. 6 About six months ago, this Landmarks 7 Subcommittee approved the lease for the access group 8 and SBMT, and it became clear at that point in time, 9 that development in this area inspires passionate 10 debate, and there are some differences of opinion. 11 It also became apparent that over the last few years 12 the Administration has sent mixed signals about its 13 plans for Pier 7 through 12 and SBMT. 14 So, I said that on the record, that 15 before this Subcommittee could review and approve 16 other maritime leases in South Brooklyn, I thought 17 it was important for us to know exactly what the 18 Administration's vision is for the area. And 19 particularly, if EDC is still following Giuliani's 20 1999 port plan, we're moving in a different 21 direction. 22 It's equally important to hear from 23 residents, business, labor and community laborers 24 about their goals and issues and concerns, and I'm 25 very heartened to see so many people who live and 9 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 work in the community here today to tell us how they 3 feel about this part of the City. 4 The piers in Sunset Park and Red Hook 5 are precious pieces of waterfront real estate and we 6 have to plan very carefully. It would be a mistake, 7 I believe, to develop this area in a piecemeal 8 fashion, and to squander the opportunity to plan for 9 our future by doing it on a lease-by-lease basis. 10 I think it's important to look in a 11 more comprehensive and holistic manner about Red 12 Hook and Sunset Park. 13 Retaining industrial maritime 14 activity is critical to our overall economic health, 15 and there aren't too many places left in this City 16 that can accommodate port-related uses. 17 History has shown that once maritime 18 industry is gone, it's lost forever. So, we need to 19 keep that in mind as we work together to develop a 20 sound strategic plan to secure the future of our 21 working waterfront. 22 We need to create the maximum number 23 of jobs possible, while meeting the community's 24 needs for more parks and open space. 25 We have to connect local residents to 10 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 the waterfront, reduce truck traffic and improve 3 security. 4 These are very attainable goals, and 5 I hope that today's moves us one step closer to 6 redeveloping and revitalizing the South Brooklyn 7 waterfront together, and I wanted to turn it over to 8 Chair Nelson. 9 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Thank you. By the 10 way, after I believe EDC offers their testimony, I 11 think it's sloppy for us to stay here, so we will be 12 going into the Chambers. I think we will all be a 13 heck of a lot more comfortable. 14 Good evening, and welcome to today's 15 joint hearing between the Committee on Waterfronts 16 and the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and 17 Maritime Uses. My name is Mike Nelson, I have the 18 honor to Chair the Committee on Waterfronts. 19 The subject of today's hearing is 20 Oversight of the South Brooklyn Working Waterfront. 21 In September, Council Members Jessica Lappin, Sara 22 Gonzalez and myself were invited by the EDC on a 23 boat tour of New York City's working waterfront. It 24 was a very enlightening tour. I want to thank EDC 25 publicly for the opportunity and say that I hope 11 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 that there will be more such opportunities in the 3 future. 4 The purpose of the tour was to give 5 the City Council the bigger picture of the working 6 waterfront development in the City. 7 So, often the Council sees these 8 projects in isolation, and they come up for approval 9 at that point at an oversight hearing and it's 10 sometimes difficult to see how a particular pier, 11 park or waterfront dependent business fits into the 12 overall economic well-being of the City. So, we went 13 out in the water and we got splashed on and frozen, 14 it was a lot of fun. 15 It's our hope that today the EDC will 16 be able to further expand on the information they 17 presented on the tour, and explain their strategic 18 vision for the entire South Brooklyn Waterfront. 19 I personally hope to hear from EDC, 20 how all the pieces of the puzzle will fit together 21 to create a vibrant working waterfront in Brooklyn, 22 as well as what the future holds for Brooklyn, ten 23 to 20 or perhaps 30 years down the line. 24 This Council has an obligation to do 25 what we think is best for the City of New York, 12 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 based upon the facts we have at our disposal. 3 Thank you. 4 They're going to go first, but they 5 needed to testify before we move into the big room. 6 So, who is here from EDC, please? 7 MS. ASCHER: Kate Ascher. 8 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Kate Ascher, will 9 you please come and identify yourself for the 10 record. Thank you. 11 MS. ASCHER: Okay, I want to introduce 12 my colleagues, Kate Calignon and Andrew Gann, from 13 EDC. 14 Good morning, Chairpersons Lappin, 15 Nelson and members of the Land Use Subcommittee and 16 Waterfront Committees. My name is Kate Ascher, and I 17 am the Executive Vice President for Infrastructure 18 at EDC. Among other areas I oversee at EDC is 19 maritime development for the City of New York. As 20 you know, EDC through its maritime contract with the 21 City of New York oversees development of the City's 22 maritime assets. 23 In this capacity we have been to this 24 Subcommittee on a number of occasions over the past 25 couple of years to receive approval from Maritime 13 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Leases. 3 In 2005 EDC received approval from 4 this Subcommittee for a lease with Lafarge 5 Construction for a cement importation facility at 6 the 25th Street Pier, Sunset Park, Brooklyn. 7 More recently, this past June, the 8 Subcommittee approved the lease with the Axis Group 9 at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. 10 The most recent action initiated a 11 valuable dialogue between the Administration and the 12 Council regarding the future of maritime activities 13 in Red Hook and Sunset Park. 14 In August, as Councilwoman Lappin 15 mentioned, EDC hosted a waterside tour of New York 16 Harbor for members of this Subcommittee, as well as 17 the Waterfront Committee and the Council's Land Use 18 staff. Today's hearing is another valuable 19 opportunity to continue that important dialogue. 20 Let me start on a personal note. The 21 maritime industry is one of the areas that I like 22 best and feel most strongly about in my portfolio at 23 EDC, and I have a special affinity for the Brooklyn 24 waterfront. 25 Prior to coming to EDC, I worked for 14 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 seven years at the Port Authority in the Port 3 Commerce Department. It is there that I first became 4 involved in issues pertaining to the Brooklyn 5 Waterfront. During my tenure at the port, the port 6 was contracting, and the Port Authority's Brooklyn 7 assets were in a particularly sorry state. One of my 8 assignments back then was to find private sector 9 interest in developing some of the hardest to market 10 properties in the PA portfolio around Erie Basin. It 11 is gratifying today to see that both the Erie Basin 12 Bargeport owned by Hughes Marine, as well as the 13 Beard Street properties, owned by Greg O'Connell, 14 are, as a result of deals done while I was at the 15 Port, both thriving entities in this special corner 16 of Brooklyn. 17 A lot has changed since my time at 18 the Port, but Brooklyn's waterfront has not. It 19 remains a vital place in the City for ships to dock, 20 for cargo and passengers to arrive and depart, for 21 longshore workers to earn a decent living, and for 22 local residents to take in incredible views. I am 23 pleased to outline to you today a vision of a 24 vibrant working waterfront in Brooklyn, one that 25 integrates a diversity of industrial uses with 15 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 community access and environmental sustainability. 3 By way of introduction, I think it's 4 fair to say that EDC is undertaking the most 5 ambitious redevelopment of the Brooklyn waterfront 6 in half a century. 7 Taking advantage of growth in both 8 maritime trade and recreational maritime activity, 9 the City has embarked on a collection of distinct, 10 but related, projects that span nearly four miles of 11 waterfront, reaching from Brooklyn Heights to the 12 northern boundary of Bay Ridge. Collectively, these 13 projects will unlock the enormous potential of 14 underutilized waterfront assets. These projects will 15 support more than 1,700 new and retained jobs and 16 create over 50 acres of waterfront open space access 17 for local communities. 18 Our agenda today is to begin with a 19 brief profile of the port, including a summary of 20 the location of major facilities in the harbor and 21 an overview of the demand for different maritime 22 uses. 23 Next we will discuss how this demand 24 can be captured at the City's maritime terminals in 25 Brooklyn. This will be followed by a summary of the 16 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 economic impact of these uses, including the most 3 important element, jobs. 4 Finally, because the port must 5 continue to evolve to serve ever-changing markets, 6 we will talk about what steps EDC and the City will 7 be taking to meet future demand beyond the current 8 capacity of existing facilities. 9 A little background provides 10 important context for our plan. The Port of New York 11 and New Jersey is an economic powerhouse. It is the 12 third largest container port in the United States, 13 and the largest on the East Coast. It's the largest 14 port of entry for finished automobiles, and the 15 seventh largest cruise port. 16 Almost 3,000 acres are dedicated to 17 cargo handling within the Port, mainly in two 18 distinct areas, Upper New York Bay, encompassing 19 Brooklyn and Port Jersey, and Newark Bay 20 encompassing Howland Hook and Port Elizabeth/Newark. 21 The Port supplies an immediate 22 population of 20 million consumers in the 23 metropolitan region. It directly and indirectly 24 supports over 230,000 jobs, including 3,500 25 longshore employees, who are directly involved in 17 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 the loading and unloading of ships. Over 5,000 3 vessels of all types call in the Port each year. 4 Since the year 2000, increased global 5 trade and a strong local economy has resulted in an 6 impressive growth in cargo, entering and leaving 7 this Port. Container volumes have increased by more 8 than 50 percent. Breakbulk cargos, such as 9 aggregates, cement and forest products, have 10 experienced a 25 percent increase overall. 11 Automobiles are another growth 12 industry. Between 2004 and 2005, the volume of 13 automobiles handled at the Port facilities in New 14 Jersey increased from 600,000 units to over 700,000, 15 an increase of 16 percent in one year alone. Most 16 of these cars are destined for this region, as we 17 are the largest consumer market in the United 18 States. 19 As many of you know, the cruise 20 industry has also grown dramatically. In five years 21 the City's cruise market has expanded from a little 22 over 600,000 passengers annually to almost one 23 million. According to the International Council of 24 Cruise Lines, New York accounted for six and one- 25 half percent of the industries direct expenditures, 18 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 with one billion dollars in direct spending. These 3 expenditures generated an estimated 20,000 jobs, 4 paying about $992 million in income. 5 Other industries using the waterways 6 have also grown. We've seen the resurgence of ferry 7 operations from a single service, the Staten Island 8 Ferry in the 1980s, to five additional private 9 operations, which currently serve about 38,000 10 passengers each day. With respect to waste export, 11 the Administration and the City Council have agreed 12 that the City's Solid Waste Management Plan should 13 maximize waterborne transport to move solid waste 14 and recyclables instead of the unsustainable truck 15 methods used for both today. 16 Let's talk for a moment a little bit 17 about the geography of the Port. Brooklyn, and in 18 particular Red Hook and Sunset Park have 19 historically played roles in the Port of New York 20 and New Jersey, thanks to their proximity to the 21 open ocean, to their central location and to their 22 naturally deep water. Today, Brooklyn is part of a 23 much larger port complex that is dominated by the 24 large commercial terminals centered in Newark Bay. 25 Combined Port Elizabeth, Port Newark and their 19 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 sister facility Howland Hook in Staten Island 3 encompass 2,000 acres and 20 ship berths. 4 New Jersey's highway and rail 5 infrastructure are second to none in the nation 6 giving it a strong position to compete for cargos 7 moving inland with large container ports, such as 8 Hampton Roads in Virginia, Halifax in Nova Scotia 9 and Baltimore. 10 Brooklyn cannot hope to compete in 11 size with its larger sister facilities in New Jersey 12 and Staten Island. As a whole, what we speak of as 13 the Brooklyn Port encompasses about 200 acres and 14 four ship berths currently. It's largest individual 15 terminal, the container facility in Red Hook, is 16 just too small, at slightly over 40 acres, to 17 compete effectively against far larger terminals on 18 the West Side of the harbor. Compare it to Maher 19 Terminals in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey for example, 20 which is 475 acres and nine ship berths is the 21 largest privately managed container port in the 22 United States. Unlike Brooklyn, Maher and its 23 competitors in New Jersey have on-dock rail 24 facilities, where containers are loaded onto rail 25 cars for trips inland to points like Chicago, St. 20 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Louis and Montreal. Howland Hook in Staten Island 3 will likewise have this all important rail-transfer 4 capability with the opening of the Staten Island 5 Railroad next month. 6 But just because Brooklyn does not 7 have the upland area to serve large volumes of 8 containers, or the highway or rail infrastructure to 9 bring them to inland markets, does not mean there is 10 no place for it in maritime trade, far from it. 11 Containers are only one among many important 12 maritime cargos moving through this region, and a 13 number of these cargos can be more efficiently 14 accommodated at a Brooklyn location than they can at 15 a large containerport. 16 Furthermore, many of the breakbulk 17 and non-container type activities are far more 18 labor-intensive than the handling of containers, 19 offering the prospect of greater job generation. 20 Going forward, Brooklyn can and 21 should perform a multi-purpose role that is similar 22 to many smaller ports around the U.S. and around the 23 world. Many smaller ports have successfully adapted 24 to constrained locations, limited highway capacity 25 and navigation constraints. 21 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 The Port of Galvaston, for example, 3 lives in the shadow of the much larger Port of 4 Houston. To adapt, Galvaston embarked on an 5 aggressive strategy to attract a diverse array of 6 maritime markets, including cruise, containers, 7 breakbulk, autos, and boat materials. This mix has 8 allowed Galvaston to thrive. Similar case studies 9 are occurring in Montreal, in Baltimore and in 10 Amsterdam, where innovative thinking has transformed 11 ports that had once been thought obsolete into 12 thriving maritime centers. 13 Similar to these other ports our 14 strategy is to seek a diverse array of maritime uses 15 in Brooklyn that are located along the waterfront, 16 in the places that make the most sense for them to 17 thrive, and which makes the most sense for the 18 communities around them. 19 Our vision of the Port of Brooklyn is 20 a place where maritime cargo and passengers mix 21 seemlessly with maritime support industries, civic 22 uses, and community amenities, And as part of this 23 mixed-use plan, we are seeking to integrate and 24 expand public access to the waterfront for Brooklyn 25 communities that have for over a century been 22 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 blocked off from the beauty of New York Harbor. 3 Let's take you through the plan 4 use-by-use beginning with the cargo uses. In Red 5 Hook, EDC's plans for development of piers 7 to 12 6 envision the creation of a maritime industrial area, 7 encompassing Pier 7 to 9-B. To support this 8 maritime industrial center stevedoring operations 9 would be maintained at Pier 9-A, where there are 10 currently two container cranes that can handle both 11 containers and certain breakbulk cargos. 12 At Pier 7, the northern most pier, 13 Phoenix Beverages will be located. Phoenix is a 14 major beer importer that distributes mainly within 15 the City and seeks barge service to reduce its costs 16 and trucking volumes by handling trans Hudson 17 container moves by water, rather than by road. 18 Phoenix is the epitome of a 19 water-dependent job intensive use. The company has 20 committed to relocating its entire workforce of 21 approximately 400 employees, all of them unionized 22 with benefits, from Long Island City to Pier 7. 23 Once at Pier 7, the ability to handle overweight 24 containers in a consolidated operation will enable 25 Phoenix to hire an additional 100 employees. 23 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Relocating Phoenix will enable its 3 partner, Brooklyn Brewery, to similarly relocate its 4 brewery distribution and beer garden operations from 5 Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Utica, New York to the 6 north side of Pier 7, creating an attractive buffer 7 between Brooklyn Bridge Park to the north, and the 8 Piers 7 to 9-B industrial complex to the south. 9 Brooklyn Brewery will retain and create 90 jobs. 10 These are both great opportunities for the City, as 11 they marry a job-intensive industry with direct 12 maritime service. Assuming the combined project on 13 this one pier goes ahead, we will overnight have 14 tripled the job count on the Red Hook Piers. 15 Similar distribution and warehouse 16 uses that either depend on container or breakbulk 17 service, are also envisioned on Pier 8, adjacent. 18 We have already spoken with a number of firms 19 interested in locating there. While the specific 20 tenant on Pier 8 will be determined through a 21 competitive bid process, we expect and hope that at 22 least 100 jobs would be supported there, going 23 forward. 24 Beyond Pier 9-A, as we move to the 25 south, which will continue to support container 24 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 cranes to be used by the tenants on adjacent piers, 3 lies Pier 9-B. The Governor's Island Preservation 4 and Education Corporation, or GIPEC, has requested 5 that Pier 9-B be set aside for its provisioning and 6 construction needs, as the development of the Island 7 moves forward. 8 Let's move down the shoreline a bit 9 to Sunset Park. The epicenter of maritime cargo 10 activity for Brooklyn will really be the newly 11 christened Sunset Park Marine Terminal, formerly 12 known as the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. The 13 Sunset Park facility has rail access, is on a 40 14 foot deep federal channel and is located in an 15 industrial area that will remain industrial for the 16 long-term. 17 Previous studies conducted by EDC and 18 others have concluded that the future of cargo, 19 including containers in Brooklyn, lies in Sunset 20 Park. 21 The revitalized Sunset Park Marine 22 Terminal is being designed to handle a diverse mix 23 of cargos, including containers, breakbulk and 24 autos. Sunset Park Marine Terminal will have the 25 capacity to handle approximately 200 vessels 25 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 carrying up to 50,000 20-foot containers, 3 approximately 70,000 automobiles, as well as up to 4 1.5 million tons of general cargo. 5 As you know, the terminal will be 6 operated by the Axis Group, under a lease that was 7 approved this year by the City Council. 8 A potential niche market that the new 9 terminal would enjoy is what are often referred to 10 as "combi-vessels" combination vessels that carry 11 containers stowed on deck, as well as breakbulk 12 commodities or vehicles under deck. 13 These ships are less welcome in 14 container ports because they require complex 15 stevedoring. Brooklyn already specializes in 16 handling these types of vessels and has the 17 longshore expertise to do it well. 18 Consistent with the Axis lease, 19 automobiles will be a featured commodity handled at 20 the Sunset Park Marine Terminal. Autos are a big 21 business for the port, however demand for container 22 expansion space in New Jersey is forcing the 23 industry to find new locations. Sunset Park is an 24 excellent location because of its proximity to a 25 strong market for imported cars, concentrated east 26 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 of the Hudson River in New York City, Long Island, 3 Westchester and southwestern Connecticut. We like 4 this use from an economic development perspective 5 too, as automobile processing results in a higher 6 density of jobs on terminal, than does a container 7 operation. 8 As you may remember, Axis is 9 committed to hiring 120 full-time unionized 10 auto-processing workers and has pledged to work 11 directly with Sunset Park community organizations to 12 recruit these new workers. 13 Importantly, the Sunset Park Marine 14 Terminal will have rail access. EDC will be 15 releasing bids to construct the rail access into the 16 terminal next January. The project, funded through 17 the efforts of Congressman Nadler, will extend a 18 modern rail-line directly into the terminal, linking 19 it with the national rail freight network via the 20 65th Street rail yard. This will enable the facility 21 to attract a more diverse range of import and export 22 goods. 23 Another important cargo activity is 24 the handling of cement. This has been an unsung 25 success story in the port. This year LaFarge Cement 27 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 opened a distribution facility at the 25th Street 3 Pier to handle bargeloads of cement powder from its 4 plant in Ravena, New York, near Albany. 5 In supplying the local construction 6 industry, the plant reduces the trucking of powder 7 on local highways and is completely privately 8 financed. As an interesting side story, the 9 previous tenant at 25th Street, New York Sand and 10 Stone, a Brooklyn company for many years and a 11 runner-up in the RFP competition, is now a 12 sub-tenant on LaFarge's pier and business is 13 thriving. 14 We hope to repeat the success story 15 at Bush Terminal, Pier 6, where C.P. Cemento, a 16 Brazilian company, plans to completely renovate a 17 pier that has been derelict since the '70s and 18 create a deep-sea cement import facility. We expect 19 that that lease will be brought to the Council in 20 this Committee in Spring of '07. Again, this is 21 another quiet success story unfolding on the 22 Brooklyn waterfront. 23 Let's turn for a minute to the cruise 24 industry. In 2004 we commissioned a master plan to 25 identify a strategy for the cruise industry in New 28 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 York. The City's cruise facilities on the west side 3 of Manhattan, at Piers 88, 90 and 92, built in the 4 1930s and last renovated in the 70s, were in dire 5 condition and bursting at the seams on cruise days. 6 Designed for smaller ships these old finger piers 7 were simply unable to handle the flow of a million 8 passengers annually, at the original five berths. 9 Our modernization plan involved 10 investing hundreds of millions of dollars to convert 11 these five old berths to three modern ones able to 12 handle today's giant cruise ships. But to replace 13 the two berths we lost in Manhattan we searched for 14 new capacity throughout the harbor and we found it 15 on the Brooklyn waterfront. 16 While we had initially explored the 17 uses of Pier 7 and 8 for cruise, until we found out 18 that ships couldn't safely dock there, we ultimately 19 settled on Pier 12, just south of Atlantic Basin for 20 our first cruise terminal. Not only could ships 21 safely maneuver in and out of the berth there, but 22 Pier 12 was largely unused by the Port Authority. 23 It had ample upland area for parking, and available 24 space for an approach road that would minimize 25 traffic impacts on local streets. Equally 29 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 importantly it was located in the heart of a 3 community that truly needed the jobs that the cruise 4 industry would bring. 5 In April of this year the Brooklyn 6 Cruise Terminal opened at Pier 12. On cruise days 7 over 250 people are employed at the terminal, 8 including 89 members of Local 1814 of the ILA. By 9 our count over 60 percent of the cruise terminal 10 staff are Brooklyn residents and 30 percent reside 11 in either Red Hook or Sunset Park. 12 As you can see in our first season 13 alone, we handled nearly 200,000 passengers in 41 14 ship calls. Next year we will have a ship call 15 almost every week. We are working closely with the 16 Borough President and local community to increase 17 the economic impact of that facility. EDC will 18 release the Request for Qualifications to food and 19 beverage companies in Brooklyn and around the City 20 in an effort to identify additional local suppliers 21 to the cruise ships. 22 But Pier 12 is alone not enough to 23 meet the growing demands for cruising out of New 24 York City. We have begun design on a second cruise 25 terminal at Pier 10, on the other side of the 30 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Atlantic Basin, and will activate it once 3 construction is complete and container activities 4 have been initiated at the Sunset Park Marine 5 Terminal. 6 This will provide needed capacity 7 into the foreseeable future and create a cruise 8 center around Atlantic Basin. 9 Another area of the maritime industry 10 that EDC is focusing on is the Maritime Support 11 Industry. This includes the tug boats, barges, 12 ferries and other watercraft that support the big 13 ships that move oil, passengers, cargo and sludge. 14 Last fall EDC retained SUNY Maritime College to 15 conduct an in-depth analysis of the industry, 16 something that hadn't been done in 15 years. Initial 17 study findings indicate that the Port is becoming a 18 hub for these services and the demand for space by 19 maritime support companies is at a premium. 20 To address this growing need, EDC 21 issued a request for expressions of interest for the 22 Atlantic Basin, which is located between Piers 10 23 and 12 in Red Hook. 24 Because of its sheltered location, 25 Atlantic Basin is an excellent spot for marine 31 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 services, including vessel and ferry repair, 3 transient docking and storage. We expect to release 4 in January an RFP, both for marine repair work and a 5 supporting marina in the basin, which will 6 ultimately occupy both the basin itself and part of 7 the uplands of Piers 10 and 11. 8 Finally, there are additional 9 maritime uses we are involved in supporting in 10 Brooklyn, as well. One of the cornerstones of the 11 City's Solid Waste Management Plan is the 20- year 12 contract of the Sims Hugo Neu Corporation for 13 processing all of our metal, glass and plastic 14 recyclables. 15 Sims Hugo Neu plans to build a 16 10-acre facility at the 29th Street Pier within the 17 Sunset Park Marine Terminal and pictured here. One 18 of the goals of the Solid Waste Management Plan was 19 to move materials in the most environmentally 20 responsible way, maximizing the use of barge and 21 rail and minimizing the use of trucks wherever 22 possible. 23 An estimated 85 percent of the 24 material that will be processed at Hugo Neu's main 25 facility at the Sunset Park Marine Terminal will 32 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 arrive by barge and an estimated 75 percent will 3 leave that way. Only 25 sanitation trucks from 4 Southern Brooklyn Districts will drive directly to 5 the new processing facility, which equates to a 6 saving of 55,000 vehicle miles traveled each year, 7 as compared to the situation today. 8 Like the other facilities we have 9 talked about, the recycling processing facility will 10 create new jobs on the Brooklyn waterfront, over 90 11 of them. Hugo Neu is firmly committed to hiring 12 locally, something that Councilwoman Gonzalez has 13 made clear as a priority in her district. 14 As I said earlier, the most important 15 element of EDC's Brooklyn waterfront vision is job 16 creation. Today the Port of Brooklyn supports 17 approximately 500 full- and part-time jobs, mostly 18 at the Red Hook container port and at the new cruise 19 terminal at Pier 12. Our goal is to both retain 20 these longshore jobs in Brooklyn and grow additional 21 jobs through the introduction of new 22 maritime-dependent job-intensive uses. Let me 23 repeat this. Under our plan, no existing longshore 24 jobs will be lost; rather expanded job opportunities 25 will be created, both for the ILA and for other 33 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 unions. 3 In total we expect to create about 4 1,200 new jobs, an increase from 485 to 1,250, the 5 number of jobs in Red Hook, and from 30 to 450 jobs 6 in Sunset Park. The leading job-generating uses are 7 Phoenix Beverages and Brooklyn Brewery, at almost 8 600 jobs; Axis in the Sunset Marine Terminal, at 9 almost 300 jobs; and the cruise terminals, on Piers 10 10 and 12, which will support 100 full-time 11 equivalent jobs. 12 Let me move briefly from jobs to 13 waterfront access. As I said previously, opening up 14 the waterfront to the public in places that do not 15 conflict with maritime industrial use, is an 16 important component of our Brooklyn waterfront 17 vision. The City is concentrating heavily on the 18 concept of a "Harbor District" to link recreational 19 spaces in the harbor into a coherent whole. 20 I would like to briefly point out key 21 sites that are in the planning and implementation 22 stages, including Brooklyn Bridge Park, which abuts 23 the Maritime Industrial Complex on Pier 7 to 9-B; 24 Governors Island, which will have a direct 25 connection to Pier 9-B; Atlantic Basin, which we 34 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 foresee as being opened up to public access and 3 integrated into the Brooklyn Waterfront greenway and 4 Bush Terminal Park, which is in the planning stages, 5 but funded for implementation. 6 These are important resources that we 7 hope will allow Brooklyn residents and residents 8 from all over the City to experience the working 9 waterfront up close. 10 Finally, because the port will 11 continue to grow and involve, we need to think about 12 the future. New capacity will be needed for each of 13 the maritime uses mentioned today. To address these 14 needs, EDC will be commencing planning efforts on 15 several fronts. 16 At Sunset Park Marine Terminal, we 17 will conduct a feasibility study to assess adding a 18 second berth, which will help create additional 19 capacity to handle more ships, and therefore create 20 more mobs. 21 At Red Hook our forecast indicates 22 that a third cruise berth will be necessary and we 23 are investigating alternative locations for that 24 expansion. 25 And finally at the 65th Street rail 35 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 yard we are commissioning a feasibility study to 3 rebuild the platform to handle barged-in commodities 4 there. 5 Where does this leave us? The 6 Brooklyn waterfront is on the verge of a new era as 7 part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. By 8 diversifying the types of maritime uses, we can 9 fully realize the benefits of being a port City. 10 Delivering on EDC's vision, will increase the 11 competitiveness of the port as a whole and provide 12 support for the City's economic base, creating new 13 job opportunities at all skill levels. It will also 14 allow greater public use of public land by creating 15 waterfront access in both Red Hook and the Sunset 16 Park community. 17 Thank you for your time today and I 18 am happy to answer any questions. 19 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: I would like to 20 recognize members who have joined us since 21 beginning. Council Member John Liu of Queens, 22 Council Member David Yassky of Brooklyn, Council 23 Member Annabel Palma from the Bronx, Council Member 24 Sara Gonzalez from Brooklyn, Council Member Melissa 25 Mark-Viverito -- oh I'm sorry, Jimmy Oddo, there you 36 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 are hiding back there, from the Bronx and Melissa 3 Mark-Viverito from Manhattan. Thank you. 4 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Thank you very 5 much for your testimony. I wanted to ask you a few 6 questions before we open it up to our colleagues and 7 just repeat, since Council Member Gonzalez is here, 8 I mentioned earlier that you have really been a very 9 strong and forceful advocate for your community, a 10 real leader who is on top of the issues and working 11 incredibly hard. Your leadership, I really wanted 12 to note that on the record. 13 I wanted to, I don't think anyone 14 envisions us competing with New Jersey, but you 15 state in your testimony "demand for container 16 expansion in New Jersey is forcing industry to find 17 new locations." So, I guess I wanted to start with 18 an overall question, because I was not clear from 19 your testimony, because you talked about uses that 20 are not container-related. You talked about cargo 21 and other things. So, the 1999 plan that we talked 22 about during the Axis Hearings and I think Andrew 23 mentioned that the City at that point was adhering 24 to or following, does talk about more 25 container-related uses, and what you are talking 37 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 about today is not. So, I just wanted to ask 3 overall, is the City still following the 1999 Port 4 Plan, or moving in a different direction? 5 MS. ASCHER: Well, I wasn't here in 6 1999 so I can't speak to that. But, let me just 7 clarify about containers. 8 Our vision is that there will be 9 containers in three places in the harbor in a larger 10 sense, and some supporting container cranes in other 11 places. 12 Clearly, Port Newark/Elizabeth is the 13 main area for container handling because of its 14 inland connections. Likewise Howland Hook on Staten 15 Island has had tremendous City and Port Authority 16 investment and will have rail access. South 17 Brooklyn Marine Terminal that we are talking about, 18 we envisioned handling containers as well. There 19 will be some residual containers handled at Piers 7 20 to 9-B in the maritime industrial complex because 21 those uses, which may be distribution uses, there 22 may be other types of breakbulk commodities there, 23 require container handling, as well. So, you really 24 have four focal points for container handling with 25 Newark/Elizabeth being by far the largest and 38 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Howland Hook in Staten Island, being a very close 3 runner-up because they huge tracts of upland area. 4 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: I understand 5 that, and again I am not trying to compete with 6 Staten Island or New Jersey but handling overflow. 7 And I think that the '99 plan discusses moving to 8 Sunset Park, ultimately for a more expanding 9 container port, but using Red Hook until that is up 10 and operating. So, is that still the 11 Administration's intention? 12 MS. ASCHER: Well, I think the idea 13 that Sunset Park Marine Terminal be a focal point 14 for containers on the Brooklyn side of the harbor is 15 correct. If in fact container growth continues at 16 the rate it has, it is possible that the New Jersey 17 facilities in Staten Island will not be able to 18 handle it. At that point a decision will have to be 19 made by all of us as whether to invest and undertake 20 the complex planning that is necessary to create a 21 sizable container port at Sunset Park. And by 22 sizable you are talking hundreds and hundreds of 23 acres, probably thousands, which is possible, but as 24 a complex planning exercise, I think the '99 port 25 plan pointed out. 39 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: It does. I guess 3 my question is, are we planning to continue these 4 operations in Red Hook until we get to that point 5 with Sunset Park, or to cease these kinds of 6 operations altogether and then see what happens down 7 the road. 8 MS. ASCHER: I think what we said, and 9 maybe I didn't make it clear, is that we are 10 envisioning putting containers in the Sunset Park 11 Marine Terminal as soon as we can physically restore 12 the berth and move the container cranes there. That 13 could take anywhere from, you know, six months to 18 14 months, I'm not sure. That will allow us to handle 15 containers there. Today we cannot. We do not have 16 container cranes or the capability to handle 17 container cranes there. Once those cranes are 18 operating, there is no need to be handling those 19 types in Red Hook. Having said that, we will 20 continue to have container handling capability on 21 Pier 9-A, which is a separate pier, outside of the 22 existing Red Hook container terminal. 23 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So you are 24 planning to keep Red Hook operational until six 25 months, 12 months, 18 months down the road Sunset 40 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Park is -- 3 MS. ASCHER: Sorry, but we don't 4 operate the Red Hook container terminal. It's a 5 Port Authority facility. So you need to speak with 6 folks at the Port Authority. 7 What we have talked about with the 8 Port Authority is our desire to have 9 container-handling operations in South Brooklyn. 10 We've asked their help in securing cranes and 11 securing some of the infrastructure necessary to do 12 that as soon as possible. 13 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: But the City 14 wants to acquire these piers from the state. So, if 15 the City was successful in acquiring these piers 16 from the state, what would the City do with the 17 piers? 18 MS. ASCHER: I think I just outlined 19 what the City intends to do with all of the piers, 20 pier by pier. So, we can go back and go through it 21 from seven down. 22 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: No, I guess 23 because of the other issue that has been raised, if 24 Pier 10 becomes a cruise ship pier, is it possible 25 to continue to do the kind of container port uses 41 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 that are in Red Hook, before Sunset Park is 3 operational? 4 MS. ASCHER: By the time that the 5 cruise terminal opens on Pier 10, there will be 6 container handling capability at the Sunset Park 7 Marine Terminal, absolutely. 8 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. I wanted to 9 ask a little bit about jobs because you talked a lot 10 about job numbers. I think that the draft scope 11 that you have out for Piers 7 through 12, you talk 12 about 290 jobs that were created through the cruise 13 terminal. Today in your testimony you mentioned 14 over 250 jobs, but 41 port calls. 15 So, how many of those jobs are 16 full-time jobs? 17 MR. GANN: My name is Andrew Gann 18 (phonetic) and I work at EDC in the Transportation 19 Department. During regular ship calls at the 20 Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on average we have 255 21 people working. Approximately 89 of them are 22 members of the ILA. When the ships are not there we 23 have essentially a regular staff of approximately 24 eight to ten people who keep the facility in 25 operation. 42 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So, is it 41 days 3 a year you have 250 people, or more than 41 days a 4 year: I just want to be clear. 5 MR. GANN: In our first season we are 6 going to have -- 7 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Right. 8 MR. GANN: -- On those 41 days, 9 that's when you see the majority of those people 10 working. The stevedore at Pier 12 series has sort of 11 their own crew that is the eight to ten people they 12 keep on a regular basis and those are members of the 13 ILA. 14 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So 41 days a year 15 you have 250 people, the other 320 days a year, give 16 or take, you have eight to ten people, or more than 17 that? 18 MS. ASCHER: That's correct. 19 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Eight to ten, 20 okay. I just wanted to sort of point out -- 21 MS. ASCHER: Well, just so you know, 22 that is very typical of any facility that is used by 23 ships. When the ships are in, you have great swarms 24 of people and when the ships are out you have a 25 skeletal staff. So our goal is to get as many ships 43 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 as possible, as many days as possible at the 3 Brooklyn facility. You may be aware that cruise 4 ships prefer weekends and so we are chockablock on 5 weekends and want to push some of that traffic to 6 during the week to create that additional work. 7 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. I have 8 some other questions, but we have a lot of 9 colleagues here and I wanted to turn it over to 10 Councilman Nelson and then Council Member Gonzalez 11 and Council Member Yassky, after that. 12 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: I would like to 13 mention, too, that Council Member Vincent Gentile 14 from Brooklyn has joined us and Council Member Gale 15 Brewer from Manhattan. Thank you. 16 You mentioned the Port of Galvaston 17 as an example, analogy, that it can thrive being 18 smaller. But I don't know. Per capita, would you 19 know about the size in acreage and compared to the 20 amount of containers they receive, as compared to 21 Brooklyn? 22 MS. ASCHER: I don't have those exact 23 figures on those specific ports, but they are fairly 24 to easy to get if you wanted us to put something 25 together. 44 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: I'd be curious. 3 MS. ASCHER: There are a lot of ports 4 like that that are very successful at this point in 5 time in the States. 6 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: It's fairly 7 technical, I realize. I would appreciate that. The 8 last thing I am going to mention is that what I read 9 on page 18, is your goal is to retain these 10 longshore jobs in Brooklyn and grow additional jobs. 11 And you said let me repeat this. "Under our plan, no 12 existing longshore jobs will be lost, rather 13 expanded job opportunities." Could that be 14 contractual? 15 MS. ASCHER: I'm not sure I 16 understand. 17 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Could that be in 18 writing? In other words, you are saying no jobs will 19 be lost. No stevedore jobs will be lost. Page 18. 20 It says, they won't be lost -- as a matter of fact 21 will be more jobs. Not stevedoring jobs, but -- 22 MS. ASCHER: Let me explain so that it 23 is very clear. 24 We will have two cruise berths and we 25 will have a cargo center at the Sunset Park Marine 45 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Terminal. The number of longshore jobs, remember 3 there are other union jobs as well. We are just 4 talking about longshore jobs here. The number of 5 longshore jobs that will be in operation with the 6 two cruise berths alone, before we expand to a third 7 in the Sunset Park Marine Terminal, will far exceed 8 the number of longshore jobs now. As you know, 9 longshore workers move around to where the work is. 10 So these are not employees of a specific type of 11 cargo company. These are longshore workers that 12 work ships, wherever the ships come in, in the local 13 area. 14 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: It's not the same 15 jobs that are presently in the positions at 16 Brooklyn. There is no guarantee -- 17 MS. ASCHER: Well, we didn't say the 18 same job. 19 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: -- The same 20 people. 21 MS. ASCHER: These people are not 22 employed by a specific company. They are employed 23 on a day-to-day basis by a specific company to 24 handle a ship. But they are not employed by a 25 company that's going to decide to relocate to 46 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Albany. They longshoremen and women will stay with 3 that longshore work in that area. It doesn't matter 4 whether it's a container ship, a breakbulk ship or a 5 cruise ship, they will work those piers. 6 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Okay. 7 MS. ASCHER: It's important to 8 understand, I'm glad you asked that question. 9 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: It is, yes 10 really. But not necessarily the exact same people 11 who have the jobs now. You did say that? 12 MS. ASCHER: I'm sorry. 13 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: What the job is 14 now. 15 MS. ASCHER: Not everybody can become 16 a longshoreperson. 17 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Sure. 18 MS. ASCHER: And if you do, you have a 19 right -- 20 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Sure, you know 21 it's a low rung job. 22 MS. ASCHER: -- Have a right to work 23 there. So, those same people who are now working in 24 Red Hook. Perhaps they are working a combi-ship 25 today. If a cruise ship comes to that pier, they 47 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 will have a right to that work. That is correct. 3 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Thank you, Ms. 4 Ascher. By the way, I think you presented your case 5 very well, I have to say. 6 MS. ASCHER: Thank you. 7 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Madam Chair. 8 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Council Member 9 Yassky. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Okay. Thank 11 you. I appreciate your indulgence. I know I am not 12 a Member of the Committee, I appreciate your 13 permitting me to participate here. It's a matter of 14 real interest. 15 Ms. Ascher, I enjoyed your testimony, 16 and I thought there was a lot of good in there, 17 interest in there, but at the core there is 18 something missing, which to me is the container 19 terminal. And, I can't help but to kind of read your 20 testimony as envisioning the loss of a container 21 terminal at Red Hook, and I just want to be clear 22 about that; am I correct? 23 MS. ASCHER: If you ask me as part of 24 our plan, will there be a container terminal in Red 25 Hook? I though I made it clear that we are 48 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 envisioning having a cruise terminal and marine 3 repair work on Pier 10. 4 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Well, I 5 thought you were clear, but I want to make it 6 crystal clear actually, because, I mean, for 7 example, when you said earlier, you first said, I 8 picture it three places, where there are containers 9 coming into the harbor - one in Newark, one in 10 Howland Hook, one in Sunset Park - and then just a 11 few minutes later you said four kind of focal 12 points, including Red Hook. I want to be crystal 13 clear because -- 14 MS. ASCHER: I want to be clear. 15 We're talking about Pier A. There are container 16 cranes there now and we would propose to leave them 17 there, because the maritime industrial users on Pier 18 7 and 8 will need those cranes. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: And Pier 8 is 20 to be determined, if I get it. It is a shed to be 21 determined through RFP. 22 MS. ASCHER: It is a shed and there 23 are a number of people who are interested in it. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: And nine is to 25 be reserved for use by GIPEC? 49 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 MS. ASCHER: There is 9-A and 9-B. 3 Nine-A has the container cranes and 9-B -- 4 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: I'm sorry, 5 wait, 9 -- 6 MS. ASCHER: -- Again a very large 7 shed, which at the time we are envisioning holding 8 for Governors Island, unless it turns out they don't 9 need it and in that case they wouldn't use it. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: -- Okay. So 11 right. Nine-A is cranes continue to be there to 12 support other stuff going on. 13 MS. ASCHER: Correct. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Eight is to be 15 determined through RFP. 16 MS. ASCHER: Correct. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Nine-B is to 18 be reserved for GIPEC. 19 MS. ASCHER: Correct. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: When do you 21 think they would need it, just out of curiosity. 22 MS. ASCHER: I wish I knew. I don't 23 know. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: And, I guess 25 to me what that amounts to -- I mean, without even 50 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 getting to 10 and 11, which I would get to if it 3 wouldn't, maybe I will, depending on how much I want 4 to try the patience of my colleagues, but, you know, 5 at the very least you are talking about 8, 9-A, 9-B, 6 all which I see kind of a deliberate decision, 7 rather than to use them to keep in operation, a 8 container terminal, which employs hundreds of people 9 at jobs that support families, a decision to say, 10 let's find somebody else on 8, let's hold 9-B for 11 something that you and I both have no idea when that 12 might possibly be and then 9-A will have some cranes 13 there to support other things that are going on in 14 some undefined way. 15 MS. ASCHER: Seven or eight are not 16 part of -- 17 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Just bear with 18 me a second. Let me just ask a question. I guess I 19 don't understand and really the Chair Lappin kind of 20 got it, this I thought effectively. The City's 21 stated policy for years has been, yes, Sunset Park 22 that is a great port. That would make a great 23 container port. That's where it should be and let's 24 work towards that. But until then, let us not kick 25 out a functioning container port that employs 100s 51 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 of people, and I see a departure here from that 3 policy here and I object to it. 4 MS ASCHER: But guess what. I think 5 maybe we are wordsmithing here but the then is now. 6 We are building the Sunset Park Marine Terminal. We 7 have a stevedore, we're committing to put container 8 cranes there. We're looking to put rail there. We 9 have money to put rail there. It is now. Pier 7 10 and 8 have not been part of any container terminal. 11 We are trying to activate them and get more jobs 12 there. Pier 9 being Governors Island is, I agree, a 13 question mark. And if in fact Governors Island does 14 not need that shed in the near term future, we will 15 find another job-intensive use for it until such 16 time as they do. 17 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: I hear that 18 and that's encouraging, that now is now. I would 19 say let's -- no, no, I mean that. Let's say let's 20 be sure. You know, and let's really mean it. Given 21 that you've got a functioning business there to shut 22 it down, lose those jobs before it's really there, 23 before now means there are ships coming in and being 24 unloaded at, you know, the same or more level that 25 you have now. That would I think be a grave 52 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 mistake. 3 MS. ASCHER: I have ships ready to 4 come into Pier 10 with cruise passengers. 5 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: I'm sorry, we 6 were talking about the container part. 7 MS. ASCHER: No, we are talking about 8 -- 9 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: We can get to 10 the cruise part. I think Chairperson Lappin covered 11 that quite effectively. 12 MS. ASCHER: Let's remember, we care 13 about the jobs. 14 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Yes, we do. 15 MS. ASCHER: We don't care about the 16 boxes that are coming anyway. We care about the 17 jobs they create. That's what this is about, 18 economic development. We have cruise ships that are 19 ready to come to Pier 10 to create more jobs than 20 are there now. I'm talking about getting rid of the 21 container activity that is there now. I'm talking 22 about relocating it to a place where it will find a 23 better home, with deep water, with rail, within an 24 industrial neighborhood, which all makes sense. And 25 all I'm saying about timing is, the time to do that 53 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 is now and we are investing funds in doing it. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: And a year 4 from today there will be container ships coming to 5 Sunset Park? 6 MS. ASCHER: We're just doing a study 7 now to see how fast we can shore up the bulkhead to 8 move the container cranes that will be part of the 9 Sunset Park Marine Terminal. I can get back to you 10 on exactly when that will be. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Okay. What I 12 would do, I would leave it at this, I would submit 13 you know now is when, the now for the purposes of is 14 when we know there are container ships coming and we 15 know what the shipping line is that's bringing them 16 in, and how many containers are going to be. That is 17 the now. 18 MS. ASCHER: Remember, I don't 19 determine the ships that are coming. I put the 20 container cranes there -- 21 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: I know you 22 don't. 23 MS. ASCHER: -- And if the cargo wants 24 to come to Brooklyn, they will come. 25 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: And the last 54 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 point. Again, I really appreciate your indulging 3 me, so I will make this the last. When Chair Lappin 4 asked you does the City intend to maintain in the 5 container terminal, and you said, well we don't run 6 it, which of course you don't, but the City is 7 seeking to take ownership and management of the 8 piers; am I correct? And I guess my question is, 9 assuming if the City does in fact take ownership and 10 management of the Red Hook Piers, maybe you have 11 answered this already, will you keep the container 12 terminal in operation right up until their container 13 ships are coming into Sunset Park, or not? 14 MS. ASCHER: The container terminal 15 will not be in operation when we take over the 16 piers. We are as you know going through the ULURP 17 process to acquire the piers. We are beginning 18 design of the cruise terminal on Pier 10. We will 19 supplement it with the marine repair work that goes 20 along with the marine support services initiative I 21 talked about before. 22 COUNCIL MEMBER YASSKY: Okay. Again, I 23 think we are clear, but there is a real 24 disagreement. And you know, the plan you put out 25 has a lot of appealing elements, there is no 55 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 question about it. But, it's like we're going to 3 take a car and put shiny new bumpers and put in a 4 sunroof and a tape deck, but there is no engine. 5 And you've got to keep -- the engine is the 6 container terminal. In my view if you lose that 7 engine, the rest of this is not nearly worth what 8 you have lost. Thank you. 9 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Thank you. I 10 have some follow-up questions is terms of the "then" 11 is "now." The Landmark Subcommittee approved a lease 12 for the Axis Company six months ago. Has that lease 13 been signed? 14 MS. ASCHER: I believe there is a 15 couple of final issues that are being resolved in 16 terms of infrastructure investment. There is some 17 additional some substructure work that needs to be 18 done that hadn't been funded. And we are talking 19 with the Axis Company about who is going to fund 20 that right now. 21 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. So, the 22 answer is no, that there are still issues being 23 resolved. So, I just wanted to point out that back 24 then was then. Now is now and we still don't have 25 an agreement on paper that is signed with Axis. So 56 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 we are still -- we're not at a point where they are 3 operating it as BMT. I just wanted to point that 4 out. But, I also wanted to say and just sort of 5 restate for the record, that you said you don't care 6 about containers, you care about jobs. In response 7 to Council Member Yassky's questions you said we 8 don't care about containers, we care about jobs. I 9 think there are some people -- we're going to hear 10 from a lot of different people today, who say a lot 11 of different things, but there are people who feel 12 that containers will bring ultimately the highest 13 number of jobs, that they will reduce the truck 14 traffic and improve the environment to the greatest 15 extent. So, I guess I just wanted to give you an 16 opportunity, I mean, is that how the Administration 17 feels, that you don't care about containers, you 18 care about jobs? 19 MS. ASCHER. It's not about that. We 20 are not choosing between cargos because of what they 21 look like. What we are trying to do on the 22 waterfront is create as many jobs as possible. 23 Container handling is highly automated and is less 24 labor intensive than other forms of breakbulk 25 handling. That was my only point. What we are 57 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 looking for is a mix of breakbulk, auto and 3 container usage in one terminal and over time those 4 trends will change. It may be that cement doesn't 5 want to come here five years from now, it may be 6 that more containers do. But the best thing we can 7 do with a new marine terminal is really to make 8 accommodation for all of those cargos, but be 9 mindful of those activities that create the most 10 jobs. That was my only point. 11 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. The last 12 thing I wanted to come back to is the RFEI for 13 Atlantic Basin. Because you mentioned in your 14 testimony and discussed -- you can turn off your 15 cell phone, please. Thank you -- related maritime 16 uses. The draft scope talks about a hotel, talks 17 about retail, talks about markets. I know at least 18 one respondent talked about building a beach. So I 19 wanted to ask for some more information about what 20 you are really looking to do there. 21 MS. ASCHER: We put out a very 22 open-ended request for expressions of interest, 23 asking for people to respond to a large development 24 of property with as many ideas as they had, so long 25 as they included the marine repair components. The 58 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 responses we got were very creative. What we have 3 decided to do, though, is to take it step-by-step 4 and instead of looking for a commission for a big 5 development to focus solely and primarily on the 6 marina and marine repair work first, so we are 7 moving past that request for expressions of interest 8 to a more finite request for proposals. It is 9 looking for those bidders or others to come back 10 with a more narrowly scripted proposal for 11 developing marine repair work with an adjacent 12 marina. 13 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So, you are not 14 looking to build a hotel and a spa? 15 MS. ASCHER: As part of this request 16 for proposals, no. 17 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. Council 18 Member Gonzalez. 19 COUNCIL MEMBER GONZALEZ: Good 20 afternoon. Thank you Chair Lappin and Chair Nelson. 21 I mean this is a very significant Hearing. I want 22 to say to all the folks who are here from my 23 district, Sunset Park and Red Hook, and everyone who 24 is vested and invested in that district, that this 25 is just the beginning. So I see folks kind of 59 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 nodding their head here and there and that's very 3 fair, but we have had many, many meetings with EDC 4 and I want to say to Kate and to everyone from EDC 5 that we have been learning a lot about the future. 6 But I just want to say to you as a 7 Council Member of that district and to everyone here 8 today, our goal and our vision is the vision that 9 was the vision then. And that means the 197-A, that 10 means the principles that were set in place by the 11 pulse and the people in the community and so that's 12 what we have worked with EDC. There are a lot of 13 people that are creative in and innovative and have 14 given different designs and things, but ultimately 15 we will look to ensure that this economic 16 development, job creation, recreation, parkland, 17 everything that is necessitated in that district for 18 the future of that district because it is about 19 vitalization. 20 So, I just wanted folks to know that 21 we are on top of it. We have been working very 22 closely with EDC and everyone involved, our biggest 23 concern is displacement, displacement of jobs, 24 displacement of companies. Our biggest concern 25 there is also security. That has been a big concern 60 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 for me that I have brought up many times and will 3 continue to do that. This is the beginning of a 4 process. 5 And I want to leave you with that and 6 I want to thank each and every person who is here 7 today. And again, we leave it in the hands of the 8 community and the people in the district and hope 9 that we can come up with a plan that significantly 10 would allow us as a Council, and me as a Council 11 Member, to make a decision that I can live with and 12 we can live with. Thank you. 13 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: I think the last 14 person is Council Member Brewer. 15 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Thank you 16 very much. I don't know this as much as my 17 colleagues, but I did go on the tour, so I know 18 where Brooklyn is. My question is, very quickly, 19 Congressman Nadler has a certain perspective. I 20 don't know if it was completely articulated by 21 Council Member Yassky, but I want to know what you 22 think of his opinion, very quickly. I know it's a 23 long discussion, but a short version. And second, 24 what's our competition? Is it New Jersey, is it the 25 West Coast. When you are thinking about these jobs 61 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 because they can move elsewhere, what are we doing 3 to enhance? Maybe what you will say is we have the 4 best program and so the jobs won't go anywhere, the 5 ships won't go anywhere, they will all come to our 6 waterfront, but I just wanted to know, what is your 7 competition? 8 MS. ASCHER: Okay, let me try to 9 answer those two questions as quickly as I can. I 10 think Congressman Nadler is here today. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: I've got his 12 testimony. Yes, he's here today. 13 MS. ASCHER: And I am sure he will 14 share with you his vision. I will say that he and I 15 both care deeply about this industry and I give him 16 great credit for keeping this issue alive and 17 rightly pointing out there is a future for South 18 Brooklyn in the maritime industry, and it's in part 19 because of the deep water, it's in part because of 20 the tremendous local market. The Congressman 21 believes that it could someday be the site of a 22 large container port to rival those in 23 Newark/Elizabeth. He has worked hard and diligently 24 to see a freight tunnel built that would make that 25 idea a reality. And indeed if that freight tunnel 62 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 is built, we will be revisiting the idea of whether 3 the major container port should be in New Jersey or 4 it should be in New York. And I think he has done 5 yeoman's work so far with that. But I think that 6 day is a little bit further afield than where we are 7 today. 8 We see Sunset Park Marine Terminal as 9 essentially holding the candle for that possibility, 10 by keeping a diverse array of maritime cargos 11 located on the Brooklyn waterfront, one of which is 12 containers. 13 To your second point about 14 competition: I would not say that we should think 15 about New Jersey as our competition. This is one 16 port. It's an accident of history that in fact the 17 City has some peers and the Port Authority has 18 others. As we think about both cruise and cargo, we 19 should look at the region holistically. It has 20 helped us greatly that Bayonne had the capacity to 21 handle cruise ships, although we lost man hours on 22 the West side, we could not have handled all of that 23 traffic, likewise there is no way that we could 24 handle the volume of containers that moves through 25 Newark and Elizabeth, and we all benefit from the 63 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 lower cost of living because those containers come 3 in there. But the New Jersey container port is not 4 the best place to handle niche' cargos, which are 5 also important to us, cement, lumber, a variety of 6 other cargos that need a home. And I think together 7 we can work sympathetically to create and continue 8 what has been really for 200 years a very robust 9 regional port and I think that is the way we should 10 think about it. 11 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: So, we should 12 be thinking about other countries or the West Coast 13 in terms of the competition and working in the 14 region, is what you're saying? 15 MS. ASCHER: I mean, certain cargos 16 destined for this region will come here. But the 17 competition is really for containers. Containers 18 move seemlessly inland to places like Chicago, St. 19 Louis and Montreal. They don't need to come through 20 New York. Many of those can come through Halifax, 21 they can come through Norfolk, they can come through 22 any other places. That's where New Jersey has 23 become so important because of its rail access. 24 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: So there is an 25 interest regarding trying to keep the containers as 64 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 much as possible, that business. 3 MS. ASCHER: Personally, I think it's 4 very worthwhile to keep the volume of containers in 5 this region up, because it does create jobs in 6 aggregate. 7 COUNCIL MEMBER BREWER: Okay, thank 8 you. 9 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: The last question 10 I have, which is a follow-up: You mentioned because 11 of a quirk, there is some piers that are City-owned, 12 the City is trying to acquire piers 7 to 12 from the 13 Port Authority, there is a new Governor-elect, I 14 wanted to ask if he has indicated a position, where 15 you are in that process at this point with the new 16 Governor-elect? 17 MS. ASCHER: I haven't spoken directly 18 with the Governor-elect or his transition staff. I 19 have heard from many people that everybody knows 20 what he thinks on the subject of the Brooklyn 21 waterfront, but I can't speak to it directly myself. 22 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So, it's not 23 moving forward? It's on hold for the moment? 24 MS. ASCHER: Sorry, what's on hold? 25 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Acquiring these 65 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 piers from the Port Authority? 3 MS. ASCHER: No, we are moving ahead. 4 That's a City process. The Land Use Review Process 5 that we go through is a City process. We have 6 completed an MOU with the Port Authority. Our deal 7 is structured. We cannot complete a contract of 8 sale and effectuate the transfer until we go through 9 the Land Use Review process here at the City 10 Council. 11 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: So the Port 12 Authority has already agreed to give you these 13 piers? 14 MS. ASCHER: Correct. Not a total 15 gift. We'll have to pay to support them, but yes. 16 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: To transfer the 17 piers. 18 MS. ASCHER: The transfer and the deal 19 for the transfer has been completed. The transfer 20 itself can't be executed until we complete 21 successfully the ULURP process here. 22 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Okay. Thank you 23 very much for taking the time to testify. 24 CHAIRPERSON NELSON: Okay. For 25 purposes of inclusion and perhaps sanity, we are 66 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 going to go into the Chambers now. Oh, and 3 Congressman Nadler will be the first speaker. 4 (Hearing transferred from Committee 5 Room to Council Chambers.) 6 CHAIRPERSON LAPPIN: Thank you for 7 moving in here so quickly and I wanted to ask our 8 next witness Congressman Nadler to begin. 9 CONGRESSMAN NADLER: Thank you very 10 much, Madam Chairperson. I have a formal statement, 11 which I will read which starts off with thanking 12 everybody as usual. But before I do that I'd like 13 to make some comments on the testimony of the EDC 14 before I forget the testimony. 15 First of all, talking about the EDC's 16 plans for these piers is very much following a 17 moving target since it seems to change all the time. 18 We have at the moment at least three 19 different versions before us. One is the scoping 20 document. The scoping document for the EIS, which is 21 the formal process they're starting to go through, 22 is quite different from what Ms. Ascher enunciated a 23 few minutes ago. 24 The scoping document, for instance, 25 has luxury housing in it. It has a hotel on Pier 10. 67 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 It has various other things, which there were no 3 mention of in that presentation. Maybe it's changed. 4 If so, it's been in the last week. 5 Secondly, at the Axis hearing back in 6 June, EDC testified that the City was still in 7 complete support of the 1999 Port Plan and was going 8 to implement it. Well, what you heard today was very 9 different from the 1999 Port Plan, it is in fact a 10 total rejection of that port plan. 11 Now, if they want to reject that Port 12 Plan, well, they are privileged to do so, but they 13 ought to come out and say why. They ought to come 14 out and say why that plan that provided for 30,000 15 new jobs, not 1,700, is wrong. Why it is no longer 16 practicable, why it is no longer financeable, why it 17 is not a good idea, don't just say that we're 18 following it and then come and present the scoping 19 document that doesn't follow it and then come and 20 present here a new plan that also ignores it. 21 So, which is it? We have testimony 22 that they're following the 1999 plan. We have this 23 plan which has nothing to do with the 1999 plan, and 24 we have the scoping document that this has nothing 25 to do with, number one. 68 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Number two, if you look in this -- 3 first of all, at the very end of her testimony she 4 stated that the deal to sell the piers to the Port 5 Authority was complete. That's not true. It is 6 simply not true. 7 Now, they have signed a memorandum of 8 understanding, as I understand it. Which means the 9 staffs have gotten together, but that deal cannot go 10 forward until the Board of Commissioners of the Port 11 Authority, which will be reconstituted under the new 12 Governor in January, votes on it. 13 That's like saying that the rezoning 14 is completed even thought the City Planning 15 Commission of the City Council hasn't voted on it, 16 because the staff signed off on it. And they have to 17 go through a ULURP also before they can even submit 18 it. So, it is not true that that is a done deal and 19 that that is done. 20 Third, they talk about how they're 21 going to replace the containers, the current 22 operation in Red Hook is not going to stop until 23 they start the container operation in Sunset Park. 24 That would be nice if it were true. But they're 25 insisting, but she couldn't give you a date when 69 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 it's going to start, as soon as possible, but, of 3 course, they are insisting that the lease in Red 4 Hook end March 31st, and they want to take Pier 10. 5 They want to take the entire lease for the Red Hook 6 Container Terminal to cease March 31st, they're not 7 prepared to open anything, they can't tell you that 8 they'll open anything in Sunset Park, March 31st. 9 Hopefully, in the year, 18 months maybe. 10 Point four, the Red Hook Container 11 Port is doing 200,000 containers this year. That's 12 400,000 20-foot equivalent units or TEUs. If you 13 look at this nice presentation, which I have seen 14 for the first time today, they say that the ultimate 15 capacity in Sunset Park will be 50,000 containers, 16 or 25 percent of what they're doing right now. 17 So, they want to eliminate the three 18 quarters of the containers they're doing now and 19 presumably three-quarters of the jobs now. 20 Finally we're told, and by the way, 21 the 1999 Port Plan envisioned 30,000 22 directly-related jobs from the container port in 23 Brooklyn. Not 1,700, 30,000. Brooklyn cannot compete 24 with New Jersey container ports. Well, the problem 25 is -- well, yes and no. The forecasts made in the 70 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 Year 2000. And by the way their figures, when she 3 says they're 230,000 port-related jobs, those are 4 2,000 figures, based on the two and a half million 5 TEUs that the entire Port of New York and New Jersey 6 was doing then. The entire Port is doing almost 4 7 million now, and I presume there are more than that 8 number of jobs, they haven't updated those figures. 9 But based on the two and half million TEUs and 10 230,000 Port-related jobs the entire Port of New 11 York and New Jersey was doing in 2000, the Port 12 Authority and EDC forecast that with the projected 13 increase in containershipping in worldwide trades, 14 that we would do ten million TEUs in the entire Port 15 by 2020, and 15 to 18 million by 2040. As was 16 pointed out by Ms. Ascher, since then we've had a 51 17 percent increase in container traffic, which is much 18 higher than forecasted, we're up to almost 4 million 19 now, and if you project that out, you're talking 20 about much, much more than 15 to 18 million. 21 In other words, the projected 22 increases are going a lot higher and a lot faster 23 than the 2000 projection, which envisioned 15 to 18 24 million TEUs eventually. 25 Now, if we're going to do 15 to 18 71 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 million, or 20 to 25, which is what it's starting to 3 look like, you are going to need every acre of land 4 you can lay your hands on in Newark, Elizabeth, 5 Howland Hook, Bayonne and Brooklyn to handle it. 6 Now, the old Port Authority, that is 7 to say before the new Port Authority takes over in 8 January, would tell you that based on conservative 9 projections of increased container growth, you don't 10 need a major containerport in Brooklyn. You can 11 handle it in Newark, Elizabeth and Howland Hook. 12 Well, I would contest that, but in any event, that's 13 simply irrelevant because we're seeing that the 14 container growth is going much faster than was 15 projected back in 2000. And you can project that 16 there will be a lot more traffic to be handled, and 17 this clearly will need a major capacity in Brooklyn, 18 and certainly not just the 50,000 containers that 19 they're envisioning. 20 Let me just see, before I get into my 21 major statement, if there is anything else here. 22 Again, everything they talk about in here envisions 23 Brooklyn to be only a very minor containerport, 24 mostly other things, which is exactly different from 25 what the 1999 plan said. 72 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 And one other thing, the rail 3 terminal, she mentions the 65th Street rail yard, 4 this is a little outside this Port 7 to 12, but she 5 mentions the 65th Street rail yard, and she mentions 6 in here that they want to make certain improvements 7 to that rail yard. Planned improvements at 56th 8 Street rail yard. 9 Those improvements would be to bring 10 in a rail dependent use, unquote. What that means 11 is, if you want to build a shoe factory, the shoes 12 will be shipped out by rail, that's a rail-dependent 13 use, just as they destroyed much of the capacity of 14 the Harlem River Yard for rail traffic by building a 15 recycling plant there, that means that that rail 16 terminal will have much less capacity to handle rail 17 traffic for all uses than otherwise, and that should 18 not be permitted. That terminal should be for rail 19 uses, not for rail dependent uses. 20 Now, let me go into my formal 21 testimony. 22 First, I want to thank the Waterfront 23 Committee Chair, Mike Nelson, Landmark Public Siting 24 and Maritime Uses Committee Chair Jessica Lappin, 25 for both of your leadership in arranging today's 73 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 hearing. I want to thank Red Hook's representative 3 in City Council Sara Gonzalez, for her continued 4 leadership in this area, and Council Member David 5 Yassky, also for being longstanding champions of 6 maritime use of the port, and for your openness for 7 examining the Brooklyn Waterfront's place in the 8 larger context of New York City's economic 9 development. 10 The imminent arrival of a new 11 Governor in Albany affords us a golden opportunity 12 to articulate a holistic and long-term vision of 13 regional transportation, development and economic 14 planning. 15 I had been in active communication 16 with Governor Spitzer's Transportation team on the 17 issue of Brooklyn's containerport, among other 18 topics, and I believe we'll have considerable 19 momentum on our side and very willing ears when the 20 new administration arrives. 21 Today the first question at hand is, 22 will and should the City redevelop Piers 7 to 12 in 23 Red Hook, and if it does, what will become the 24 maritime uses that are currently thriving there? 25 As of this writing, I am entirely 74 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 unsure what the City's actual intentions are for the 3 piers and this writing, which was yesterday, we 4 hadn't heard this new presentation, so now we have 5 three different City plans. 6 The City's EDC has publicly preferred 7 one plan for the piers and privately just days ago 8 suggested a different and vague plan, one which 9 appears to have been devised in anticipation of 10 today's charged hearing. 11 It is difficult to know which plan 12 merits a response. For the sake of clarity, I will 13 assume that the plan before us today is one that was 14 publicly released in the scoping report for the 15 environmental impact statement. 16 This plan includes a variety of 17 mixed-use facilities and open space on Pier 7 to 12, 18 and it appears will preclude room for Red Hook's 19 container terminal. 20 Let me just say that anybody who says 21 that the container terminal would be on Pier 9-A, 22 that is far too small an area for an economically 23 viable container terminal. 24 They're just blowing smoke in your 25 ears, they want you to hear a container terminal, 75 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 but what they're really proposing is no container 3 operations. 4 You cannot have a container terminal 5 just on Pier 9-A. It's simply too small. 6 The City's initial assumption here is 7 that the Board of Commissions of the Port Authority 8 will authorize the transfer of ownership of the 9 piers from the authority to the City. In fact, you 10 heard Ms. Ascher say it was a done deal. But this 11 isn't as logical as the City Administration has 12 suggested, and it certainly isn't a fait accompli. 13 Why should the Port Authority in the 14 City agree to such a transfer particularly of both 15 body's stated objectives are to keep a working 16 waterfront active in Red Hook. And why separate the 17 Port Authority from its traditional role as guardian 18 of the Brooklyn waterfront? 19 The Port Authority was established in 20 1921 for the expressed purpose of administrating the 21 common harbor interests of New York and New Jersey. 22 This is still very much true today. 23 New York and New Jersey on reality 24 one port, one region and one market, divided only by 25 a river, and political accidents due to the kings of 76 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 England in the 18th century. 3 The volume of container shipping 4 traffic within the Port of New York and New Jersey 5 is the potential to increase exponentially over the 6 next ten to 20 years. 7 Currently the port is moving almost 4 8 million TEUs, that is 20 foot equivalent units, one 9 40 foot container is two TEUs. And that amount has 10 been forecast to increase to some 15 to 18 million 11 TEUs. And as I said, that forecast was based on the 12 two and a half million being done five years ago. 13 The increase is running much ahead of forecast, so 14 it's probably going to be a lot more than 15 to 18 15 million. 16 Such a boom will tremendously augment 17 the 230,000 port-related jobs in the region that 18 were created as of 2000 by the two and a half 19 million TEUs that the port was then moving, and it 20 will boost many disparate sectors of our regional 21 economy. 22 These statistics are extremely 23 relevant in light of Mayor Bloomberg's statement 24 this week outlining the City's plan for long-term 25 growth and sustainability. 77 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 The Mayor's vision sounds sensible 3 and just on the surface, but it will be entirely 4 incomplete if it does not incorporate the needs of 5 our regional shipping and rail infrastructure of a 6 booming maritime economy and of mass job creation in 7 the industrial sector. 8 It is clear, by the way, I mean one 9 thing that this administration seems not to care 10 about is blue collar jobs. They seem, and Deputy 11 Mayor Doctoroff seem entranced with high-tech jobs, 12 tourism jobs and so forth, but the fact of the 13 matter is, not everybody has a college diploma, and 14 we need blue collar jobs, we need industrial jobs in 15 the City. Some we cannot retain because of 16 competition in China, but the City has for a 17 generation or more been throwing manufacturing jobs 18 out unnecessarily and we ought to protect them and 19 the policies of this Administration seem designed 20 not to protect them at all, and what we're hearing 21 today is just part of that. 22 It is critical that Brooklyn 23 achievers deserve a place within the economy of 24 international shipping. Accept for Red Hook's 25 current movement of, it's not 90,000 but almost 78 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 200,000 containers a year, the balance of the nearly 3 4 million TEUs of cargo is unloaded on the other 4 side of the Hudson River in New Jersey and Staten 5 Island. 6 As a region, if we're ever going to 7 move anything close to the projected 15- to 18 8 million TEUs or greater, we're going to need, as I 9 said before, every acre of available waterfront 10 space in Elizabeth, Newark, Bayonne, Howland Hook 11 and Brooklyn. 12 And by the way, just to show you that 13 planning officials other places can be just as 14 foolish and shortsighted as planning officials here, 15 they are planning, only if they are lucky, a 100- to 16 150-acre containerport in Bayonne. They could do 900 17 acres and then they'd rule the shipping world. 18 They're only planning 100 to 150 acres because some 19 condos and golf courses have a higher priority there 20 and if I were a New Jersey politician, I wouldn't be 21 happy about that. 22 Even if this were not the case, why 23 should New York concede all of the direct job and 24 tax revenues to New Jersey. We are not in 25 competition with New Jersey. The entire port is in 79 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 competition with Norfolk and Halifax, but if we 3 become the hub port and I'm pretty sanguine about 4 that now, we will have a lot more than 15 to 18 5 million TEUs eventually, we will need every acre we 6 could lay our hands on, but even if that weren't 7 true, why shouldn't we have part of it in New York? 8 Why only in New Jersey. 9 Additionally, it costs roughly $600 10 to truck a container across the river from New 11 Jersey. Yet, two-thirds of the population, and 12 two-thirds of the economic activity is on this side 13 of the river. 14 Our economy would greatly benefit 15 from having containers bound from New York City, 16 Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut, landing 17 directly in Brooklyn, and saving that $600 cost per 18 container. 19 And by the way, it is entirely 20 predictable, I cannot guarantee it, it is entirely 21 predictable, if you look at better containers at the 22 increasing computerization, and at the Just In Time 23 Delivery System, that ten or 15 years from now you 24 will load a ship in Yokohama or in Rotterdam full of 25 containers whose cargo is bound only for New Jersey 80 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 and the west side of the river, and you'll load 3 another ship with containers bound only for the east 4 side of the river, and that ship ought to land in 5 Brooklyn and avoid the $600 container charge of 6 getting across the river, not to mention all of 7 those trucks and all that C02 and all that pollution 8 and all that congestion. 9 And remember, two-thirds of the 10 market, the regional market of 35 million people is 11 on this side of the river. 12 And by Brooklyn I mean a yet-to-be 13 realized containerport in Sunset Park centered on 14 the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal but not 15 exclusively the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. 16 Sunset Park is the proper long-term 17 location on the New York side of the harbor for deep 18 water containerport with the necessary rail access. 19 But there is no current plan for a large scale 20 containerport in Sunset Park, and what you heard 21 before saying maybe 50,000 containers eventually is 22 not a plan for a large-scale containerport. It is 23 quite clear that the 1999 EDC plan for a 300-acre 24 containerport has been gathering -- by the way, that 25 plan is at 300 acres and can handle three and a half 81 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 million TEUs, not the 100,000 TEUs of 50,000 3 containers that they're talking about now. 4 Three-and-a-half million of 20 or so million that 5 will be here eventually. 6 It is quite clear that the 1999 EDC 7 plan for a 300-acre containerport has been gathering 8 dust in the draw since the advent of the Bloomberg 9 Administration, with no work having been done to 10 effectuate or for that matter to replace it, or to 11 refute it, to say why they no longer agree with it 12 or anything, just ignored, except in June when they 13 said they were following it, but that's obviously 14 not true. 15 So, Red Hook is currently, and for 16 all intents and purposes, likely to remain our only 17 container terminal on the New York side of the 18 harbor, and its continued health and vitality are 19 critical for Brooklyn and for New York City. 20 The City should not be allowed to 21 close the Red Hook facility as it plans to do next 22 spring without contemporaneously opening a container 23 terminal of at least equal size, that is to say 24 200,000 TEU capacity right away in Sunset Park. 25 Once all operations are located 82 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 outside of Brooklyn, it will be very difficult to 3 restart a container port in Brooklyn. 4 Though the EDC stated in a June 2006 5 City Council hearing on the Brooklyn waterfront that 6 they're still following its 1999 strategic plan for 7 the Port, reality tells us otherwise. 8 That 1999 plan envisioned two 9 container terminals in Sunset Park totalling 300 10 acres that would directly create 6,000 jobs in ten 11 years and 17,000 jobs at full build out in 20 years. 12 The plan also called for Red Hook to 13 remain open until operations could be moved to 14 Sunset Park. This sensible strategic plan won the 15 support of the local community boards, neighborhood 16 residents, all the elected officials, organized 17 labor and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. 18 Today, however, the City's scope of 19 work for the EIS seems only to support a container 20 terminal in theory, while in reality imagining the 21 transformation of Pier 7 to 12 into a mixed use 22 mecca of retail, recreation, cruise ships, housing, 23 dining and other uses, not generally compatible with 24 a functioning containerport. 25 The scope mentions the need for 83 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 preserving maritime uses but I am enormously 3 skeptical of the City's definition of maritime uses. 4 If realized, the City's new plan 5 could spell the end of Brooklyn's coveted piece of 6 the shipping pie. This type of myopia and short-term 7 economic plan will mean fewer jobs for New York 8 City, a less dominant shipping industry, more 9 vehicular traffic, more congestion, more air 10 pollution, and rising transportation costs for all 11 of us. 12 Absent the Brooklyn containerport, we 13 would be entirely dependent on the ports located on 14 the other side of the Kill van Kull. And by the way, 15 that means we would be entirely dependent on ports 16 that would be totally closed if one ship were to be 17 sunk in the Kill van Kull, it would be closed for 18 six months. That's a national security danger. This 19 must not happen. 20 I genuinely hope that my colleagues 21 and I will be able to work in concert with both the 22 City and State toward this goal of regional 23 necessity. 24 Unfortunately, as it stands at this 25 moment, the City administration is conducting itself 84 1 WATERFRONTS AND LANDMARKS 2 in the manner inconsistent with long-term economic 3 or infrastructure planning. 4 Frankly, I don't find the City 5 Administration to be a trustworthy guardian of our 6 collective waterfront interests, large or small. 7 This administration's lack of