The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey should sell the Red Hook Container Terminal and the Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal to a residential developer, in an effort to halt further losses, according to a report from watchdog group the Citizens Budget Commission.
Annual deficits at the marine terminals are expected to hit $107 million in 15 years, the report said. The Brooklyn-Port Authority Marine Terminal in Cobble Hill lost more than $205,000 per acre last year, while the Red Hook Container Terminal lost nearly $185,000 per acre. Closing the terminals would net the Port Authority yearly savings of $29 million by 2029, the commission said.
The CBC recommended that the ports be redeveloped as housing. The median sale price of single-family homes, condominiums and co-ops nearly hit a record last year, at $590,000.
“The Port Authority’s maritime facilities have a long history of running deficits and no prospect of making money in the near future,” Carol Kellerman of the CBC said in a statement provided to Bloomberg News. “Greater efficiencies must, therefore, be explored.” [Bloomberg News] — Mark Maurer