On July 24, the vote on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) was postponed again, for the fifth time. This time was somewhat different from last, as it was initiated by outspoken no-voters on the BMT Task Force, to allow for more time to come up with a viable plan for the site. Nevertheless, for many community members this postponement only […]

Representative Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) delivered the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, at a community rally in Red Hook in support of the Brooklyn container port: “Thank you for inviting me here today. As many of you know, I have advocated for the Port of New York and New Jersey for more than forty years. For many of those years, […]

Robert Moses’ legacy is evident across New York City. The “power broker” left his fingerprints on virtually every kind of public infrastructure that exists in the city today: parks, bridges, public housing developments—and yes, highways. That includes the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, or BQE, and particularly the triple cantilever that forms the highway’s bend around Brooklyn Heights. Opened in 1954, the now […]

Last May the NYC Economic Development Corporation, backed by Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul, gave Red Hook a death knell. They fully expected the community to remain quiescent while they pushed through their plan to add a large number of thirty, forty and even fifty story high rise buildings, mostly filled with luxury condos, along the waterfront—from Atlantic Avenue all […]

At the beginning of July, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced that there is a proposal on the table for how to clean up a chunk of Public Place, the infamous Gowanus site that used to house a manufactured gas plant. The site, under which there is a coal tar plume reaching about 150 feet deep, has […]

At 9:15 pm on Wednesday, July 16,  the evening before the  Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force was to vote on the future of the EDC Vision Plan for the Red Hook and CWD waterfront, members received the following e-mail from Congressman Dan Goldman’s office. Goldman is the leader of the Task Force. Hi everyone, Senate Republicans are currently working to […]

As I write this, I’m listening to the news talking about the “big, beautiful bill.” That is our legislature trying to put into law all the things that Donald Trump wants to do but can’t without the cooperation of the US Congress. A certain amount of votes are needed by the Republicans. There is all kind of horse trading going […]

Dear Cobble Hill Association Board, I hope you are well. I write in response to your June 24th newsletter regarding the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) Vision Plan vote. For over a year now, I have been closely engaged in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal process. After speaking with two of CHA’s former Presidents, I felt compelled to share my perspective with you. […]

Almost 20 years since the first decision document outlining the remediation plan for Public Place, a site along the Gowanus Canal which used to be the site of the Citizens Manufactured Gas Plant but now was supposed to become the flagship development of the rezoned Gowanus, with affordable housing and green space, sits desolate. As one of the most polluted […]

FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: As Kimball sees the writing on the wall about today’s vote – an email was just sent out to all the Task Force members announcing a two or three week delay, into the middle of July likely interrupting Dan Goldman’s vacation. My guess is that Eric Adams leaned into Governor Hochul to try and find more funding […]

The Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) Task Force is barreling toward a decision that will irreversibly reshape Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront. Let’s be clear: the proposed redevelopment plan is not about helping communities. It’s a land grab by developers disguised as “revitalization,” and it must be stopped. This isn’t urban planning, it’s a bad real estate deal. We […]

It’s primary month. As far as the City Council is concerned, the Democratic Party primary in June is the real election, not the usually uncompetitive one in November. The battles over two city council seats in South Brooklyn, Districts 38 and 39, seem to be coming down to the wire. In district 38, which includes Red Hook, incumbent progressive Council […]