City officials have come to a preliminary agreement to hand over control of Sunset Park’s South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
The deal will allow Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to secure a 39-year lease and potentially sublease 72 acres of the facility to a shipping or marine cargo tenant.
City Council member Carlos Menchaca had originally fought the idea of turning the land over to the EDC on the 49-year lease it was seeking, saying that the City Council would not have enough oversight. The EDC is under mayoral control. A deal on the issue collapsed earlier this year.
He also wanted the deal to provide improvement to area parks and job training to neighborhood residents. The new deal will create a Sunset Park Waterfront Planning and Jobs Task Force, and the city has agreed to reinvest 5 percent of the site’s revenue into a community fund and make improvements to Bush Terminal Park.
“All we were calling for was just a pause to discuss and include community voice and really think through this together,” he said. “That’s the kind of respect this community deserves, and that’s what we got. This was a very different second chapter.” [WSJ] — Tess Hofmann