Sleep-In Planned at Bushwick Inlet Park

Pictured: Norm Brodsky's waterfront property. Images courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Local activists, along with at least one Brooklyn legislator, are planning to sleep on the street at the corner of land owned by Williamsburg businessman Norm Brodsky this Saturday — all in the hope of pressuring him to sell his waterfront parcel to the city, so it can be added to Bushwick Inlet Park.

Saturday night's our community sleep-in, as #Greenpoint and #Williamsburg continue to fight for @BushwickInlet Park. pic.twitter.com/Xo5gw5UlO3
— Eric Adams (@BPEricAdams) July" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/BPEricAdam... 6, 2016

Brodsky has shown no public interest in accepting the city's officer.

To the contrary, realtors with Cushman & Wakefield recently rolled out a website, 1n11th.com, pitching Brodsky's land as a major development opportunity in one of the city's most desirable neighborhoods.

Brodsky, the founder of CitiStorage, owns the land west of Kent Street between N. 10th Street N. 11th, as well as two parcels between N. 11th and N. 12th.

Pictured: Brodsky's land, in gray

In June, the city offered him $100 million for the property, with the aim of adding it to Williamsburg's existing Bushwick Inlet Park.

The creation of a 27-acre park was promised to Williamsburg's residents in 2005 in a redevelopment deal approved by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council.

To that end, the city has already purchased the land west of Kent between N. 12th and N. 15th.

If Brodsky's parcels are added, the full-sized park would be realized. If not, the (smaller) park would be divided in two.

But Brodsky quickly rejected the city's offer, according to the Brooklyn Paper. A real estate trade publication pitched his land for $300 million.

Neither Brodsky nor Cushman & Wakefield have returned requests for comments from Patch.

An article in Crain's New York valued the land at between $120 million and $180 million, while activists with Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park peg it at between $73 million and $88 million.

The city's offer of $100 million expires in about a month. The Friends have already rolled out a countdown clock listing the deal's remaining days, and now they'll be rolling out the sleeping bags.

The sleep-in, announced Wednesday, will start at 7 p.m. near the corner of N. 12th Street and Kent Avenue.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will stay overnight with the protesters, according to spokesman Stefan Ringel. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, whose district includes Williamsburg, is scheduled to be there as well (no word yet from her office if she'll spend the entire evening).

Both Adams and Maloney have called on Brodsky to sell his land to the city.

Cushman & Wakefield's new website marketing the property, on the other hand, suggests Brodsky isn't considering the city's offer.

The site sets a deadline of July 20 at 5 p.m. for offers, and encourages developers to envision the property as "a unique opportunity to construct a one-of-a-kind retail and office complex with unobstructed views of Manhattan on the coveted North Brooklyn riverfront."

Below, the property's video advertisement.

Steve Chesler, a lead organizer of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, said the website was "very unfortunate." He urged Brodsky, who has longstanding ties with Williamsburg locals, to "keep the community in mind that he's a part of."

If Brodsky sells his property to a private buyer, the city or state could still claim it via eminent domain — a move supported by Williamsburg Councilman Stephen Levin, State Senator Daniel Squadron, State Assemblyman Joe Lentol, and Maloney. That, however, would require the government to pay whatever market value had been established for the land.