The Red Hook section of Brooklyn was once home to one of the busiest ports in the United States. But over the years, it was eclipsed by the container terminals that sprouted on the New Jersey side of the harbor.
Now, New York City wants to revive the Red Hook waterfront by rebuilding three dilapidated piers for the maritime industry and adding a new cargo crane. Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that the city would take control of more than 100 acres of the Brooklyn waterfront and invest $80 million in improvements.
Beyond that, he said, city officials would work with local leaders and community groups to develop a plan “to create a neighborhood on our shoreline that truly displays the promise of New York City.” No details were available on what the elements of that redevelopment would be; the announcement only said that the city would “explore a multitude of mixed-use development options, including housing and community amenities.”
The key to unlocking the mayor’s vision of a transformed Red Hook waterfront was a deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controlled 100 acres there. The Port Authority agreed to swap that land for control of a larger property on Staten Island, where it operates the Howland Hook cargo terminal. Mr. Adams described the deal as the largest real estate transaction involving city government in recent history.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said the state would invest an additional $15 million — boosting the total investment in the project to $95 million — to create a cold-storage facility at the port, which would allow for the delivery of perishable products by water rather than via trucks. “Narrow streets are clogged by delivery trucks that are here all day long,” Ms. Hochul said. “We want to find ways for these deliveries to occur without clogging the streets.”
But the deal had at least one powerful detractor: Representative Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, criticized the Port Authority for abandoning Red Hook, which is the only remaining container port on the eastern side of the harbor.
“It is of critical importance to New York City and the entire region that this port remains open and not converted into housing or some other usage,” Mr. Nadler said in a statement.
