Usually, the third time is the charm. However, hours before the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force was set to vote on the future of the ambitious 122-acre redevelopment project along the borough’s western waterfront on June 27, the vote was postponed once again.
In a statement, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) said state officials notified him late Thursday night that they planned to commit additional funding to reimagine and modernize the deteriorated Brooklyn Marine Terminal. While Gounardes applauded the development, he said that too many details remained unclear.
“In order to fully understand the implications of this funding and how it could shape the Terminal’s future, I asked EDC to push back the Task Force’s vote,” Gounardes said.
Gounardes, who serves as the vice chair of the 28-member EDC Task Force, comprised of elected officials and community leaders, also wants to use the time until the next vote, scheduled now for July 17 or 18, to resolve concerns surrounding transportation and traffic congestion. Critics argue that, with an expected additional 15,000 to 18,000 residents, the city has not adequately addressed transportation planning and has failed to conduct critical studies.
“I also intend to use this additional time to push the NYC Department of Transportation for stronger commitments on congestion mitigation and traffic improvements for the surrounding neighborhoods,” Gounardes stated.
In May 2024, the New York City Economic Development Corporation took control of the long-neglected Brooklyn Marine Terminal from the Port Authority and introduced its BMT Vision plan. In addition to modernizing the container port and connecting it to a Blue Highways freight system, the plan includes 6,000 new housing units — reduced from 7,700 — as well as public spaces, resiliency upgrades, and transportation improvements for what the NYCEDC has dubbed the “Harbor of the Future.”
Gounardes’ top priority, he said, remains to create a Brooklyn Marine Terminal that meets the community’s needs.
“Together, we’ve gotten a commitment for 40% affordable housing at an average of 60% AMI, including 25% of that being family-sized units (an almost unheard-of benchmark), $50 million for a neighborhood affordable housing preservation fund, $200 million for NYCHA repairs, a commitment that the newly formed BMT Development Corporation will have approval and enforcement authority over all RFPs and contracts to avoid the mistakes of the Atlantic Yards project, a feasibility study to cap the BQE Trench in Cobble Hill, a 60-acre all-electric port, Blue Highway commitments that will revolutionize the way freight moves in New York City, among many, many other benefits,” Gounardes said. “I do not want to walk away from those things—I want to continue to make them better.”
From the outset, the project’s planning process has been shrouded in controversy due to what critics say was a lack of transparency and community input. Many, such as Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, say that the project is being rushed.
“A few more weeks won’t solve the issues at hand,” the beep told Brooklyn Paper. “EDC needs to slow down and work openly with Task Force members like myself and the community to build a proposal that puts the port first and won’t leave Brooklynites in the dark.”
Jeff Holmes, spokesperson for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, told Brooklyn Paper that the NYCEDC remained “fully committed” to transforming the BMT. Holmes described the project as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
“With a recent development of additional state funding for the project, and at the request of Task Force Leadership, we have decided to postpone the vote to either July 17th or 18th to give the Task Force additional time to review the comprehensive plan ahead of a historic vote,” said Holmes.
Council Member Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn), who also sits on the BMT Task Force, told the Brooklyn Paper she would have voted against the project had the vote proceeded last Friday.
Hanif, whose district includes the Columbia Waterfront District, said no local stakeholder from that neighborhood — an environmental justice community — was appointed to the task force, and the proposal still fell short of addressing transportation and infrastructure impacts, environmental resilience, and displacement protections.
“Even if the plan moves forward, residents will face years of disruptive construction without sufficient guarantees that the benefits will outweigh the burden. This neighborhood deserves a plan that puts community voices first and delivers real, lasting public good,” Hanif said. “That said, I’ve seen notable improvements to the plan in recent weeks, and I remain committed to returning to the table to push for a stronger, fairer, and more just vision—one shaped by and for the people most impacted.”
