Turn Storage Land Into A Park, Not A Condo, Brooklyn Tells MTA

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — Local advocates are slamming the MTA's plans to turn a waterfront storage site into residential property as "tone deaf and offensive" to their neighbors, including a park that sits just feet from the facility.

The MTA has been collecting proposals for several months to redevelop its 40 Quay St. site, which sits just north of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border next to Bushwick Inlet Park.

But elected officials and advocates from the park are calling for the transit officials to withdraw their request, fearing it could mean the publicly-owned land will turn into yet another condo or apartment tower for the neighborhood's waterfront.

Instead, the locals say, the land should become an extension of the 27-acre park.

"Selling off this piece of public land to the highest bidder is irresponsible and short-sighted," Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park Co-Chair Steve Chesler said. "This RFP should be withdrawn and the MTA and Governor Cuomo should rethink their priorities for the Greenpoint waterfront.”

The MTA contends that it has not specified a use in its request for bids for the land, except to ask bidders to consider ways the transit authority could still use part of the property. The Quay Street site currently houses a fleet of 100 vehicles used for cleaning the subways and other cleaning supplies, MTA spokesperson said.

But, the transit officials also said they cannot rezone 40 Quay St., which is zoned for residential uses. When asked to clarify if this meant only residential proposals or MTA-uses would be considered, the spokesperson simply repeated the first response.

The spokesperson also did not answer repeated questions about why the MTA is redeveloping the property.

Advocates predict that the redevelopment likely has something to do with the transit agency's "critical funding shortfalls." A financial outlook for the MTA late last year projected that it would see a $634 million budget gap in 2022 despite fare and toll hikes the next two years, according to the state comptroller.

"The one-time injection of cash that a sale of 40 Quay Street would bring is not the way to solve the MTA’s systemic funding problems," the group said.

The advocates contend that the land is a perfect addition to the park, given its spot near the narrowest part of the green space, which now sits just 50 feet wide. A park at 40 Quay St. would create a gateway to the public waterfront instead of "walling off" residents from the parkland with a residential building, they said.

Assembly Member Joseph Lentol said he and the park advocates have already voiced these concerns to the transit officials. The group attended a meeting about the land last month with MTA CEO Pat Foye, he said.

“I have been following this issue since the day the RFP was released and have been working with community leaders for the past several months to try to acquire and add this piece of land to Bushwick Inlet Park," Lentol told Patch. "In a united front, myself and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park...told the MTA in no uncertain terms that this community wants a park and not a condo."

Lentol's opponent Emily Gallagher has also gotten in on the fight, urging residents to write to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lentol and other officials.

"Tell them we won't allow the MTA to make up their deficit on our back," she said in a Tweet.