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Architecture And Design
New York

The city wants to transform old oil tanks into a waterfront park. Here’s why this architecture firm says oyster beds are a better alternative

Plan to remediate oil tanks would create oyster beds, a performance space and a community greenhouse

Renderings of The Tanks at Bushwick Inlet Park (Credit: Studio V)
Renderings of The Tanks at Bushwick Inlet Park (Credit: Studio V)

Time is running out for a plan that would turn 10 idle oil tanks into oyster beds and a performance space on the Brooklyn waterfront.

So far, the plan has had little traction with city officials, who are set to demolish the tanks by the end of the year. The demolition will allow the city to build a 30-acre waterfront park in Greenpoint and Williamsburg — a compromise reached with the community after a rezoning that allowed the development of luxury high-rises in the area. The alternative plan comes from architecture firm Studio V, Wall Street Journal reported.

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The plan to demolish the tanks would cost $22.1 million and would bring the city closer to completing Bushwick Inlet Park. A Parks Department spokeswoman confirmed that remediation and design of the park are still unfunded, though the department already has the cash on hand for demolition.

But Studio V founder Jay Valgora says that demolishing the tanks would force the city to dig up and replace the land they sit on, a considerable task that would potentially release noxious fumes into the air and lead to upward of $200 million in remediation costs. (The state confirmed to the WSJ that the site is contaminated.) The Department of Environmental Conservation stopped a similar remediation attempt in 2002 because of the stinking vapors.

While Studio V’s alternative plan is estimated to cost $26 million, it appears the city is not interested. The plan for the demolition of the would-be oyster paradise continues apace. [WSJ] — Georgia Kromrei