Mayor Bill de Blasio today joined Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park Co-Chairs Katherine Thompson and Steve Chesler, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Council Member Stephen T. Levin, and members of the community to announce an investment of $75 million toward the development of the CitiStorage parcel of Bushwick Inlet Park in North Brooklyn.
“Bushwick Inlet Park shows how much can change when a community stands together,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This $75 million investment will ensure 27 acres of world-class green space on the North Brooklyn waterfront are completed for families to enjoy for generations to come.”
“Bushwick Inlet Park is a testament to what is possible when there is advocacy, determination, and collaboration. Thanks to Mayor de Blasio’s investment, we are one step closer to completing the vision for this park and honoring the open space commitments that were made to the North Brooklyn community,” said Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff. “Open space is a necessity, and all New Yorkers should have access to world-class greenspaces. Through the development of Bushwick Inlet Park we are making transformational, generational changes that will benefit and improve the quality of life for countless New Yorkers.”
“For years, Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents have fought to secure open space along the waterfront. I have been proud to lend my voice to that fight, supporting this project with critically-needed capital funds and even leading a sleep-out with other leaders in 2016 to ensure that the City lived up to its commitments. Today, we are taking another major step toward completing Bushwick Inlet Park and ensuring North Brooklyn residents have a world-class place for healthy recreation and relaxation right in their backyard. I want to thank Mayor de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Fialkoff for this historic investment, and look forward to overseeing the completion of this new phase,” said Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
“From the buzzing playground on weekday mornings to the lively club soccer matches on weeknights and the crowded Smorgasburg food festival on the weekends, there is always something happening at Bushwick Inlet Park,” said Senator Charles Schumer. “I am so grateful that Mayor de Blasio has honored the amazing grassroots work by the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, Councilmember Stephen Levin, Councilmember-elect Lincoln Restler, and other members of the community, who have committed so much time and energy to improving and expanding this precious local resource. This $75 million investment will make Bushwick Inlet Park an even greater urban oasis for the people of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and the rest of the city.”
“I am very grateful that Mayor de Blasio had continued his dedication to fully funding and building out Bushwick Inlet Park into his final months in office. This $75m allocation of capital funds will ensure that this long-promised park, the jewel of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint community, will be completed. Thank you, Mayor de Blasio,” said Council Member Stephen Levin.
“New York City promised the residents of North Brooklyn a park 16 years ago, and I am thrilled that Mayor de Blasio is committing $75 million to finish Bushwick Inlet Park. None of this would have been possible without the activists, community organizers, and elected officials who had a vision for a waterfront green space, and I am proud that the job will finally be complete,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “I fought for the first phase of the park when Borough President — now Mayor-elect — Eric Adams and I slept out overnight in the space, and I will not stop fighting for the completion of the park until the ribbon is cut on the full build of the park.”
State Senator Brian Kavanagh said, “Bushwick Inlet Park is a vital green space long-promised to a community with a rich tradition of environmentalism, but not nearly enough parkland or green open spaces. I thank Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Councilmember Steve Levin for following through on the promise of this project and delivering this critical funding—a huge victory and an incredible testament to the determined advocacy efforts of so many residents and community leaders, whom I’ve been happy to join. I look forward to continuing to work side by side with Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, residents of the community, and my colleagues in elected office—including Councilmember-elect Lincoln Restler, Borough President-elect Antonio Reynoso, and Mayor-elect Eric Adams—until the vision for Bushwick Inlet Park is fully realized.”
Assembly Member Emily Gallagher said, “When the 27-acre Bushwick Inlet Park is completed, it won’t just be making good on a promise made to Greenpoint and Williamsburg nearly two decades ago—it will be a gift to our entire city, a world-class model for urban waterfront open space. With Mayor de Blasio’s investment of $75 million in the 2022 city budget, he has put us on track to finally getting it done. I want to sincerely thank his administration and outgoing Councilmember Levin for all they’ve done to advance this project and extend my thanks to Senator Schumer for his support. There’s much still to do but we are on our way.”
“The creation of Bushwick Inlet Park was a central promise of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint Waterfront Rezoning 15 long years ago. The commitment by Mayor de Blasio of $75 million toward construction of the park on the Citi Storage warehouse parcel is a monumental step toward realizing Bushwick Inlet Park. Thank you to the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, Mayor de Blasio, Senator Schumer, Assembly Member Gallagher, Senators Kavanagh and Salazar, Borough President Adams, Congress Member Maloney, and Council Member Levin for pushing together to make the majestic waterfront park space a reality!,” said Council Member-Elect Lincoln Restler.
The $75 million in new funds, combined with $17 million previously allocated and $1 million in discretionary funding from the City Council, brings the total invested in park development to more than $90 million. These funds will go toward the demolition of the former CitiStorage warehouse, and design and construction of the next phases of the multi-phase build-out of the park.
The CitiStorage site is one of six parcels that make up Bushwick Inlet Park, the centerpiece of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg Waterfront. Already, 3.5-acres of the park are complete and open to the public, featuring a multi-purpose field and a building for community activities with a state-of-the-art green roof which doubles as a seating area. The newest section to be renovated, 50 Kent, will open to the public in early 2022. All of the parcels of land required for the park have all been purchased by the City and are in varying stages of remediation and development. Upon completion, the park will add over 25 acres of greenspace to the Greenpoint-Williamsburg community.
This administration has made notable progress to bring open space to North Brooklyn, including:
- In 2017, the acquisition of the CitiStorage site was completed ($165 million).
- In November 2019, NYC Economic Development Corporation completed demolition of the Bayside site.
- In April 2021 construction started on the parkland at the 50 Kent site with completion anticipated for early 2022 ($7.8 million).
- Design of the parkland at the Motiva parcel is expected to wrap up in early 2022 with construction start anticipated for late 2022.
