The Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation and Advisory Task Force, explained

Two months after the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force unceremoniously voted through the vision plan for the redevelopment of Brooklyn’s last working waterfront, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation (BMTDC) was formed to shepherd the plan from vision to reality. Local development corporations like this are commonly established in New York State as part of major redevelopments, primarily because they are not subject to the same debt limits as municipal governments and can issue, for example, revenue-backed bonds.

Three meetings have been held so far, in December 2025, April, and June; the current board was appointed after the first meeting. The following two board meetings both included extensive presentations from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the public-benefit nonprofit managing the redevelopment of the

Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) on behalf of the City of New York, with little opportunity for questions (also a recurring criticism of how the BMT task force meetings were conducted during the public engagement process in 2024 and 2025).

Alongside the BMTDC board, EDC also created an advisory task force, formally named the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Advisory Task Force (BMTATF). As the name suggests, its role is to advise on changes to the plan as it moves through the general project plan (GPP) process. This task force is an expanded version of the task force that voted through the vision plan in September of last year, now also including the chairs of the six groups that advised on the vision plan, as well as a representative of the Columbia Street Waterfront District.

Once the GPP has been approved, the BMTATF will transition into the BMT Oversight Task Force (BMTOTF), tasked with keeping the public apprised of the progress of the project. (A similar group was formed as part of the Gowanus rezoning.) The entity’s ability to oversee the redevelopment only stretches as far as advising that commitments are followed through on.

Despite the BMTDC’s outsized power over the redevelopment of the 122-acre site, not much has been made about the members of the board. While it includes several members from the original BMT Task Force—two no-voters and seven yes-voters got a seat at the table—some are new to the BMT redevelopment.

In May of 2025, the Star-Revue put together a list of the people who would decide the future of Red Hook, who at the time were the members of the BMT task force. They did their part, voting yes (in a 17-8 vote that narrowly won the required supermajority) to the highly contentious vision plan, after which they handed off the baton to the board of the development corporation. You can see this list as a continuation of that article—these are the people who will decide the future of Red Hook and the Columbia Waterfront District.

Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director, Fifth Avenue Committee (Chair)
Executive director of a nonprofit focused on affordable housing development. Voted to approve the vision plan. Ardent supporter of the Gowanus rezoning plan of 2021.Chair of the BMTDC board. Mayoral appointee.

Karen Blondel, President, Red Hook West Tenants Association
Outspoken supporter of the BMT vision plan, who since the vote has become an advocate for the privatization of public housing (through the PACT program) and against warehouse workers’ rights. (Blondel participated in a commercial paid for by the Five Borough Jobs Campaign, which ran in opposition to a bill that would force warehouse operators like Amazon to improve worker safety.) Red Hook West and East will receive $200 million as part of the BMT redevelopment. Mayoral appointee.

Tonya Gayle, Executive Director, Green City Force
Green City Force recruits NYCHA and low-income/affordable housing residents between the ages of 18 and 24 for an early-career development program. Mayoral appointee.

Thomas McMahon, Principal,Elk Street
Lobbyist and principal at Elk Street, a government lobbying group in Albany. Founded his own lobbying firm in 2005, where he focused on affordable housing and lobbied on behalf of real estate developers. Mayoral appointee.

John Nardi, President, Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey
Voted yes to the BMT vision plan. Never responded to the Star-Revue’s requests for comments last year when asked about his position on the redevelopment. Mayoral appointee.

Jesse Solomon, Executive Director, Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation
Voted yes to the BMT vision plan. Never responded to the Star-Revue’s requests for comments last year when asked about his position on the redevelopment. Mayoral appointee.

Jessica Yager, Senior Director of Housing Initiatives and Principal of Community Justice Solutions, Center for Justice Innovation
Housing justice advocate and board member of the Fifth Avenue Committee. Used to work for the Center for Justice Innovation’s Red Hook Community Justice Center. Mayoral appointee.

Mike Flynn, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation
Has extensive experience with large transportation infrastructure projects. The area around the Brooklyn Marine Terminal is a transit desert, and given that some 9,500 new residents are expected once the housing on the site is constructed, traffic is one of the redevelopment’s foremost challenges. Board member as a result of being a member of the mayoral administration.

Dean Fuleihan, First Deputy Mayor, New York City Mayor’s Office
Has worked in and around city government since the 1970s. Fuleihan is a key player in enacting Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda. Board member as a result of being a member of the mayoral administration.

Dina Levy, Commissioner, New York City Department of Housing and Preservation
Longtime affordable housing advocate. Board member as a result of being a member of the mayoral administration.

Jeanny Pak, Interim President & CEO, New York City Economic and Development Corporation
Pak is in the running to become the president and CEO of the EDC on a permanent basis, according to Crain’s. The mayoral administration has said that it sees the EDC as a key tool in advancing its affordability agenda, and that includes building more housing. Board member as a result of being a member of the mayoral administration.

Sherif Soliman, Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget
Along with Fuleihan, one of Mayor Mamdani’s key fiscal appointees. Plays a central role in advancing the administration’s affordability agenda. Board member as a result of being a member of the mayoral administration.

Gregg Bishop, Executive Director, Social Justice Fund
Has worked in both the private and public sector, including holding leadership positions with Mayors Bloomberg and de Blasio. His focus is on small businesses. Board Member at the Red Hook Initiative. Appointed by the governor.

Frances Brown, President, Red Hook East Tenant Association
Outspoken supporter of the marine terminal redevelopment, alongside fellow Red Hook Houses Tenant Association President Karen Blondel. Voted to approve the BMT vision plan. Appointed by the governor.

Carolee Fink, Principal, MSquared
“We are mixed-use, mixed-income housing specialists. It’s all we do,” reads MSquared’s website. Fink served in senior economic development roles in both the Bloomberg and de Blasio Administrations, and led the development of Brooklyn Bridge Park, which borders the BMT site to the north. Appointed by the governor.

Amanda Nichols
Served as the president of the Cobble Hill Association for four years, before stepping down at the beginning of June. Was a member of the BMT task force and voted yes to the plan, despite vocal protests from its members. Appointed by the governor.

Karen Saah, CEO, White Picket Fences LLC
Karen Saah is an Assistant General Counsel at Pfizer, according to her Linked-in page. She describes herself as having fifteen years of experience advising clients on complex, transformative deals. Appointed by the governor.

Carlo Scissura, President and CEO, Building Congress
Building Congress is an industry organization for the construction industry. Has a close relationship with the all-powerful Real Estate Board of New York. Former president of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.Appointed by the Governor.

Andrew Gounardes, State Senator
Former co-vice chair of the BMT task force and vocal advocate for the vision plan. The only elected official on the original task force to also serve on the board of the BMTDC. Appointed by the state senate majority leader.

Jim Tampakis, CEO, Marine Spares International
Longtime expert on the maritime industry and one of two no-voters from the BMT task force to serve on the board of the BMTDC. Has advocated for the EDC to follow through on its plans for the Blue Highway. Appointed by the state assembly speaker.

James Defilippis, Professor, Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
A researcher studying things like urban political economy and community development theory and practice. Represents the Columbia Street Waterfront District on the BMTDC board, after being denied a spot on the BMT task force because he didn’t represent an association. Appointed by the city council speaker.

Hank Gutman, Board Chair, Brooklyn Navy Yard
Also formerly a board member of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Board, he is the only other board member to have originally voted no to the plan as a member of the BMT task force. Spoke up early in the April meeting that several critical issues were never addressed by the BMT task force or reflected in the vision plan. Appointed by the Brooklyn Borough President.

Mike Racioppo, District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 6
Voted yes to the vision plan, despite CB6 criticizing the EDC harshly for its public engagement process. Ardent supporter of the Gowanus rezoning of 2021. Appointed by Brooklyn Community Board 6.