GREENPOINT, Brooklyn (WABC) — Construction is officially underway on Box Street Park, a long-planned waterfront green space in Greenpoint that city officials say will bring much-needed parkland to the neighborhood.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and NYC Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Anthony Shorris to announce the start of work on the $40 million project, which will convert a former MTA site along Newtown Creek into a 2.5-acre public park.
“Today, we are finally making good on a promise that Greenpoint families have been waiting decades to see fulfilled: turning a parking lot into a park,” Mamdani said.
The new park will include an elevated waterfront esplanade, ADA-accessible pathways, gardens, a lawn, a basketball court, picnic areas, dog runs and a public restroom. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2028.
Shimamura said the project fulfills a longstanding community goal.
“This community never gave up on this park — and neither did we,” she said. “This project is an important step toward delivering the greenspace and waterfront access that all New Yorkers deserve.”
Council Member Lincoln Restler said neighborhood residents have pushed for the project for more than two decades.
“While we’ve built tens of thousands of new homes in our community in the intervening years, Box Street Park remained a broken promise,” Restler said. “After years of relentless advocacy, I’m thrilled that we’re finally breaking ground on this beautiful new multipurpose public park.”
The park will feature native trees, grasses and shrubs designed to improve air quality, support local wildlife and help the site withstand extreme weather.
City officials said the project will help close a gap along the northern Greenpoint waterfront and connect existing esplanades to the east and west. A future phase will add another half-acre of parkland after the MTA relocates its Emergency Response Unit from part of the site.
The project is funded primarily through mayoral capital funding, along with contributions from the City Council and private sources.
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