“New Yorkers cherish our city’s outdoor public spaces, and every community across the five boroughs deserves a high-quality park close to home,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Anthony Shorris. “NYCEDC is thrilled to break ground on Box Street Park alongside our partners at NYC Parks and across city government, closing a key gap on the Brooklyn waterfront and delivering a new vibrant green space the Greenpoint community will enjoy for generations to come.”
Once complete, the project will fill a critical gap along the waterfront at the northern tip of Greenpoint, connecting with waterfront esplanades to the east and west. The park will ultimately expand an additional 0.5 acres after the MTA’s Emergency Response Unit (ERU) is relocated from the southeastern corner of the site.
The current 2.5-acre capital project is fully funded with $34.5 million from the Office of the Mayor – including a $2 million investment the Mamdani administration made in the September Capital Commitment Plan released this week, $500,000 from the City Council and approximately $5 million from local developers through air rights sales and private funds.
“For more than a decade, I’ve been proud to stand with Greenpoint residents and community leaders in the fight to make Box Street Park a reality,” said Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. “For years, this site has been a missing tooth in the string of waterfront parks promised as part of the 2005 rezoning. Now, this community will finally get the open space it was promised and a place for families and neighbors to gather for years to come. I’m thrilled that construction is moving forward and grateful to Mayor Mamdani, Council Member Restler and everyone who helped get us to this point.”
“The start of the Box Street Park is a huge win for residents of Greenpoint who have waited over a decade for this park space to be constructed and open for their community,” said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. “As more and more residential developments are built in the neighborhood, more people need affordable third spaces that everyone can enjoy. This project will improve the lives of families and increase access to our waterfront. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani and the Parks Department for making our green spaces a priority.”
“Greenpoint has some of the lowest park space per person in the city,” said Assemblymember Emily Gallagher. “As our district has seen an explosion in development and population over the past two decades, the need for greenspace – which make our neighborhoods more livable and serve as places to build community – has only become more urgent. Though long overdue, I’m so excited that the city will finally begin construction on Box Street Park.”
“Box Street Park has been part of the vision for a continuous Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront for more than twenty years, and today’s groundbreaking is an important step toward realizing that promise,” said Katie Denny Horowitz, Executive Director of the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance. “Throughout that time, this particular site has required extraordinary coordination across New York City and New York State, and we are grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Council Member Restler, alongside the elected officials, agency partners and community advocates who have remained committed to seeing this project through. With an accessible shoreline, new green space and a much-needed dog run, Box Street Park marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for northern Greenpoint, with major investments along Commercial Street still to come.”