The city has $20 million earmarked for a new cruise ship terminal in Red
Hook — now it has to convince the public it is feasible.
While the city and two cruise lines — Carnival and Norwegian —
were initially eyeing Pier 7, just south of Atlantic Avenue, the city
Economic Development Corporation confirmed this week that it was now focusing
its attention on Pier 12 , on the Red Hook waterfront near Pioneer Street.
But the city now also wants Pier 11 to provide vehicular access to the
new terminal, EDC Vice President Paul Januszewski told the Community Board
6 economic and waterfront development committee on Monday night.
“We’re trying to get that ready for sometime next summer,”
Januszewski said at the meeting, which was held at Long Island College
Hospital on Hicks Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Some committee members questioned whether car traffic was the best use
for what is currently a working pier and wondered if there was any connection
to a major warehouse-to-residential condominium renovation planned just
upland of that pier at 160 Imlay St.
The city recently began a traffic study to examine what effect the new
terminal would have on local intersections and what improvements would
be needed.
Philip Habib, the traffic consultant conducting the study, said most cruise
ships carry anywhere from 1,800 to 3,600 passengers, most of whom would
come by car. The closest mass transit to Pier 12, roughly at Pioneer Street
on the Buttermilk Channel, is the B61 bus, a couple of blocks away.
Habib said that fact that most vehicles would come and go during non-peak
hours would help mitigate many traffic problems.
But with 1,000 workers on many ships, he said there was dire need for
sidewalk improvement, many of which he said were in “really poor”
condition.
Last month, the city announced a major deal to keep the world’s largest
cruise lines docking here.
With the Manhattan terminals operating at capacity, and the cruise line
industry threatening to flee to New Jersey — Royal Caribbean now
calls the Port of Bayonne its New York metro home — the new plan
calls for the creation of four modern berths over the next four years
with the possibility of further expansion in 10 years.
At the heart of the agreement is a plan to construct a pier on Brooklyn’s
waterfront.
Officials of both Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines agreed to pay at
least $200 million in port charges through 2017, and the city agreed to
kick in the initial $150 million to cover the cost of construction and
renovations.
Pier 7 has been almost entirely ruled out because during simulations ships
crashed up against the adjacent pier, Janusczewski said.
