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Vote on massive Brooklyn waterfront redevelopment plan postponed… again. Decision is uncertain.
By
David Brand
Published Jun 27, 2025
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Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
By
David Brand
Published Jun 27, 2025
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The city’s economic development authority on Friday postponed a key vote on plans for a new high-end residential neighborhood along an industrial stretch of Brooklyn waterfront, hours before it was scheduled to take place. The delay marks at least the third time that New York City’s Economic Development Corporation has rescheduled the vote due to insufficient support from members of a task force deciding the project’s fate.
The vote will now take place on either July 17 or 18, according to an email sent to members of a task force weighing in on the proposal.
The authority is spearheading a plan to redevelop the gritty coast of Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront District to allow for the construction of about 6,000 new housing units — slashed in recent months from around 12,000, then 7,700. Under the current proposal, the city and state would also invest $200 million in nearby public housing developments and modernize some of the ports to make the Brooklyn Marine Terminal a node in the local maritime freight network, known as the “Blue Highway.”
But to accomplish its goals, the EDC is attempting to bypass the city’s normal community review process by working in conjunction with the state’s economic development authority. A 28-member task force made up of elected officials and community leaders must first give them permission to proceed with the plan. Two-thirds of its members have to approve the plan for it to move forward. Some task-force members say they've faced an aggressive pressure campaign from the EDC and members of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
The attempt to circumvent usual land-use procedures with what’s known as a General Project Plan has animated many neighborhood residents, along with some task force members, who call it an end-around to speed through a major project.
But Andrew Kimball, the EDC's president and CEO, said the arrangement is necessary for a project of such “regional importance.”
“The Vision Plan for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal lays out a historic, transformative investment in New York City’s economic future,” he said in a written statement Thursday.
Many task force members have said they’re willing to support the project under certain conditions.
In a June 4 letter to Kimball, nine task force members — including co-Chair Andrew Gounardes, a state senator; Councilmember Shahana Hanif; and the presidents of the Red Hook Houses tenant associations — outlined their demands for the plan, including the development of “truly affordable” housing that prioritizes low- and moderate-income New Yorkers, and delivering the $200 million for public housing immediately.
They urged the Environmental Development Corporation to model the project off the 2021 rezoning of the nearby Gowanus neighborhood, which included a 35% affordable housing commitment for new development. They said half of the apartments in the waterfront plan should be affordable.
The latest revised proposal from the EDC would only cap rents in 40% of the 6,000 proposed units — but still higher than the 25% threshold typical for new projects following a city rezoning.
The group of task force members also warned Kimball not to replicate another General Project Plan in the borough: Atlantic Yards. That project was supposed to deliver nearly 900 units of affordable housing, but developers have not even broken ground on the required units. Local lawmakers have urged the state to collect $1.75 million in monthly penalties from the project owner for blowing past the affordable housing deadline.
Other community residents say they worry about the new truck traffic into the neighborhood, and the limited public transportation in a peninsula choked off from the rest of the borough by a thicket of highways.
Community activist John Leyva, 54, said he also fears the plan will destroy the marine terminal’s maritime function.
“These ports are really important,” Leyva said. “We need to preserve this, and if you keep shrinking it, you’re setting it up to fail.”
Update: After initial publication of this article, the Economic Development Corporation postponed its scheduled vote on the Red Hook waterfront redevelopment plan. This story has been updated throughout to reflect the latest news.
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housing
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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