To the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) Task Force:

After Superstorm Sandy, Red Hook came together as a resilient community to rebuild and strengthen our neighborhood. Today, as we confront the growing threats of climate change and economic instability, we must ensure that any development in our community is thoughtful, inclusive, well-informed by relevant expertise, and sustainable.

Instead, EDC is fast-tracking a massive redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, bypassing the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) that could provide greater transparency, engagement, and consideration of community and regional development needs. Elected officials, expert partners, and community stakeholders have had only four months since the Task Force was convened in late 2024 to evaluate a project that will reshape our waterfront, our community, and the region for generations.

Other General Project Plan (GPP) projects such as Atlantic Yards have a well-documented history of broken promises, with thousands of affordable housing units still unbuilt nearly two decades later. Why should Red Hook trust that BMT results will be different? Why should we accept a hasty decision that could forever alter the fabric of our community?

We are not opposed to development. We support investment in resilient infrastructure, a working waterfront, affordable housing, and job creation. But we demand that it be done with us, not to us, informed by the full range of relevant expertise to design a port that meets the needs of the community, the city, and the region.

Red Hook residents and stakeholders deserve meaningful input and real power to choose among a full range of options, informed by comprehensive socioeconomic and environmental research, not a predetermined goal and rush to approval.

We thus call on the EDC and the BMT Task Force to:

1. Pause the GPP process to allow time for meaningful public consultation, expert input, and adequate oversight.

(a) Artificial deadlines must be thrown out and a new process that aligns with other ongoing planning processes and to allow for a comprehensive, transparent, community-led engagement effort. This includes additional public hearings with the Task Force with meaningful dialogue and interactive community workshops to clarify pros and cons across a range of proposals and values of this community.

(b) The timeline must accommodate independent expert assessment of environmental, social, and economic impacts of any proposal.

(c) NYCEDC should take no further action to advance the Brooklyn Marine Terminal project until after the upcoming mayoral election. Major development decisions with long-term impacts must not move forward without full democratic accountability and the opportunity for a new administration to review and respond to community priorities.

2. Produce a detailed Community Impact Report prior to any approvals. Before moving forward with any decision, the EDC must produce and release a comprehensive Community Impact Report detailing how this project will affect housing affordability, small businesses, local jobs, nonprofits, environmental risks, the working waterfront, and infrastructure needs. This report must be made public and evaluated by independent experts.

Sign this petition to demand a fair, transparent, fully informed, and community-driven process for Red Hook.

#OurRedHook #OurFuture #NoRushToGPP