CITY PLANS
CHANGING THE RED HOOK WATERFRONT
Text by Carolina Salguero. Editing, and background
on the ULURP process and terminology by Craig Hammerman, CB6
District Manager. |
 See
links to planning and zoning glossary and other info at bottom.
ULURP timetable/process flow chart
click
download map at right
click
Note:
December
20, 2006 the EDC launched a new website.
Background:
The Economic Development Corporation (the EDC) is a non-profit
corporation charged with creating and executing many of the city's
major economic plans. As the EDC is
not a department of city government, it is sometimes represented by
the Department of Small Business Services (SBS), for example as host
of the Piers 7-12 Scoping Meeting on 10/12/06.
The EDC is now re-studying Piers 7-12 after completing a Piers 6-12
Study in 2004. Their web page for
7-12 includes Powerpoints from prior presentations to Community
Board 6, plus new documents.
Piers 6-12 Study
Recently, the city (represented by the EDC) in conjunction with
the Port Authority (PANYNJ), did a study of the piers 6-12 area, often
referred to as the Red Hook Containerport, e.g. the piers from just
south of Atlantic Avenue (Pier 6) to about Wolcott Street in Red Hook
(Pier 12). The “6-12 Study” was announced in December 2002 and
released spring of 2004. Carolina Salguero and Allison Prete launched
a website for CB6 that covered this study
www.waterfrontmatters.org.
The city was not happy with the final study and tried to NOT
release the study to the public. They never made digital copies
available to the public. Hardcopies are located at PortSide and the
CB6 office. One result of that study was that Pier 6 was pulled out
of the mix and allocated to Brooklyn Bridge Park. The study catchment
area then became piers 7-12.
Cruise Terminal Study
Subsequent to the 6-12 Study, there was a Cruise Terminal study
and plan that led to the arrival of cruise ships in Brooklyn. That
process was also covered by
www.waterfrontmatters.org.
Piers 7-12 timeline
The EDC has their eye on April 2007, the date that American
Stevedoring's lease with the Port Authority expires. At that time,
the EDC expects the Port Authority to hand over control to piers that
the Port Authority had leased from the city (and in turn leased to
American Stevedoring). The EDC is pushing to do the full ULURP process
before April 2007, so that the city can move ahead with redevelopment
plans as soon as possible after that date. The transfer of ownership,
and other possible related actions such as potential rezoning, change
of uses, etc. would need to be approved before any redevelopment can
take place. American Stevedoring has not given up the fight and has
made no noises about moving, and the city has made no noises about
finding ASI a home elsewhere.
In November 2005, Kate Ascher, Executive Vice President,
Infrastructure of the EDC, announced that the Atlantic Basin area
would be replanned.
April 2006, a public workshop was held to gather ideas. Summer of
2006, an RFEI (Request for Expressions of Interest) was announced with
a deadline of September 1. The EDC set no date for announcing results
of the RFEI and said an RFP (Request for Proposals) could be announced
after the RFEI. Note: PortSide NewYork submitted a response to the
RFEI, requesting waterspace for ship berths and space inland to
include a waterfront museum, youth programs, our office space, a bait
and tackle shop, cafe and other retail oriented towards local needs.
Calendar of meetings/hearings:
The CB6 Economic and Waterfront Development Committee (CB6 E/W)
usually meets the first Monday of every month. CB6 E/W is always
involved in waterfront issues, though other committees sometimes
co-host meetings.
CB6 E/W schedule is changing often in 2006 due to the EDC schedule
on piers 7-12 planning.
Meetings hosted by CB6 are on their calendar webpage
http://www.brooklyncb6.org/calendar
When other parties (EDC, SBS, etc) run the meeting/hearing, it is
listed on the CB6 website page
announcements.
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12/14/06 City Council Hearing preceded by press conference/demo:
12:00 the Land Use Subcommittee Landmarks, Public Siting,
Maritime Uses was joined by the Committee on Waterfront for an
oversight hearing "South Brooklyn Working Waterfront."
Courtroom drama tension was brought to a City Council hearing that ran
over three hours. The EDC unfurled plans, never before seen, for the
Red Hook and Sunset Park waterfront; council leaders were skeptical
even prosecutorial, expert witnesses even more so. Most media were
long gone, having merely stopped by for photo op and sound bytes of
the pro-containerport demo on City Hall steps before the hearing, so
read the transcript for yourself.
click
11/20/06 6:30pm at
LICH, Long Island Community Hospital.
CB6
Economic/Landmarks/Transportation committees. Continued discussion
with the EDC about Piers 7-12, with specific emphasis on the
development of the westside of Columbia Street between Warren and
Degraw (known as Parcel M) aka the mirroring or housing parcel on
Columbia Street.
10/12/06 at LICH, Long Island Community Hospital. The
city, as represented by SBS, hosts a Scoping Session on the proposed
scope of the analysis of the DEIS.
10/12/06 6:30pm at LICH. The EDC hosts a Scoping Session on
the proposed scope of the analysis of the DEIS. Sign in will be
required. Speakers will be limited to 3 minutes. There is usually a
comment period of 10 days after the Scoping Session when written
comments of any length can be submitted.
9/28/06 CB6 hosts a meeting by several committees
(Landmarks/Land Use, Economic Development/Waterfront, and
Transportation) to get public commentary to inform CB6's statement at
the Scoping Hearing as part of the new Study of Piers 7-12.
9/1/06 Atlantic Basin RFEI responses due.
Related EDC
news:
From summer to fall 2006, The EDC launched a noteworthy number of
major initiatives that pertain to the waterfront and especially
the waterfront near Red Hook (Upper Bay and East River). The
dates below are the dates the RFP or the position was announced on
their website. In the planning world, RFP's that run on a short
timetable are a way to narrow the field of applicants (few firms
can meet the requirements of a complex proposal on a short
timeframe) or suggest that a vendor has likely been pre-identified
and is prepped to respond.
The EDC has a new website as of
12/20/06. The new
EDC careers page no longer lists the waterfront related
positions below. We have asked them whether the positions were
filled or withdrawn. Once we have an answer, we'll update this
page.
6/5/07 The
EDC has issued a 94
page
RFP to find an event manager to solicit, market and coordinate
both commercial and not-for-profit/community events at the Red
Hook Cruise terminal when cruise ships are not in. Responses due
by July 13, 2007. Download RFP
click
No official word
on results of the Atlantic Basin RFEI and RFP processes
(disclosure: PortSide submitted proposals to both), though local
papers have reported that Pier 11 will be made available to
Phoenix Beverages.
7/18/06 The EDC is seeking a
Harbor District
Director a new position. The job description says "the
Harbor District will become a unique recreational and tourist
destination, featuring a range of distinct but linked sites."
Those sites include parts of the Red Hook waterfront and
nearby Governor's Island.
9/25/06 The EDC is running a speedy
RFP about East River Ferry Services (deadline 11/6/06).
It's focus is on new ferry services to support "residential and
commercial development in emerging waterfront areas in Brooklyn
and Queens, provide an additional (and faster) alternative to
those who commute to Midtown and Lower Manhattan from East River
waterfront neighborhoods that are not well served by existing
transit systems, accommodate potential growth in ferry traffic,
support the revitalization of Lower Manhattan, provide additional
capacity in major commuting “corridors” in which existing transit
systems are already seriously overcrowded during peak periods, and
increase overall capacity for quickly and flexibly moving people
during emergencies."
9/13/06 EDC seeks a new
Director of
Cruise Operations
10/6/06 The EDC is running a speedy RFP (deadline
11/3/06) to seek a consultant team for a
Harbor District Planning and Market Feasibility Study to
“undertake a comprehensive programming, land use and
transportation analysis and market feasibility study for the
Harbor District.” This includes Red Hook's Atlantic Basin.
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