{"id":182962,"date":"2026-04-02T01:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T01:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/182962\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T01:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T01:08:11","slug":"brooklyn-marine-terminal-comment-period-extended-at-last-minute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/182962\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Marine Terminal comment period extended at last minute"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLUMBIA STREET WATERFRONT DISTRICT \u2014 Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su has approved a request<\/a> by Brooklyn officials for an extension of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal<\/a> comment period, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon announced late Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The decision came at the last minute: Tuesday had been the original deadline to submit written testimony on the project\u2019s Draft Scope of Work<\/a>. (A DSOW is used to develop a project\u2019s consequential Environmental Impact Statement.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new deadline for public comments is May 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Brooklyn waterfront residents and officials celebrated the news, sending out a flurry of emails thanking all who had sent letters to the city requesting the extension.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AssemblymemberAssemblymember Jo Anne Simon. Photo: Gabriele Holtermann\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, Councilmember Shahana Hanif and Alexa Avil\u00e9s \u2014 and to Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso who joined our efforts. And to the community who weighed in! Your voices have been heard,\u201d Simon, herself a signatory, wrote.<\/p>\n

There were several reasons the extension of time was necessary, officials said. The first was the Economic Development Corporation\u2019s release \u2014 just last week \u2014 of 25 never-before-seen maritime-based proposals the EDC received as a result of its September 2025 \u201cRequest for Expressions of Interest<\/a>.\u201d The RFEI was meant to solicit ideas for how the BMT<\/a> could be better used for maritime\/industrial uses.<\/p>\n

\"SchematicSchematic overview of the 122-acre Brooklyn Marine Terminal site. Diagram: NYCEDC<\/p>\n

The outcome of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Vision Plan has been described as \u201cone of the largest and most consequential public land use decisions in decades,\u201d with long-lasting effects on the entire city\u2019s maritime, Blue Highway and security future.<\/p>\n

Given that the 25 maritime-centered responses were shared by EDC just one week ago, and only in cursory form, officials said that was not nearly enough time for the public to examine and evaluate them before the Tuesday deadline.<\/p>\n

Other reasons for the extension included the lack of public, in-person meetings on these late-arriving proposals, and the lack of the mandatory meetings of two oversight committees.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe 122-acre Brooklyn Marine Terminal site stretches along the East River from Atlantic Avenue to Red Hook.\u00a0Photo: NYCEDC
\nEDC hopes to replace more than half of site with housing<\/p>\n

The 122-acre BMT site stretches on public land from Atlantic Avenue to Red Hook on the East River, and includes a container port, the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, and other maritime and industrial tenants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Economic Development Corporation\u2019s preferred $3.4 billion BMT Vision Plan would take over more than half of this industrial acreage and convert it to residential development, including 6,000 units of 60% market-rate housing. This would leave 60 acres for maritime\/industrial use.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vote approving<\/a> the controversial plan had been postponed<\/a> five times amid issues including the shrinkage of scarce maritime acreage, the lack of a transportation plan<\/a> to handle already-congested streets, a fuzzy financial plan, and the effect of roughly 18,000 new residents in an area with failing infrastructure in a floodplain, among other points.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"StateState Sen. Andrew Gounardes. Photo: Andrew Gounardes<\/p>\n

Reynoso had agreed to vote for the EDC\u2019s plan last year on the condition that EDC issue the RFEI seeking more maritime ideas. Last week, he joined other officials in urging the city to allow more time to consider these ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cEDC made the right move by extending the comment period for the RFEI,\u201d Reynoso told the Brooklyn Eagle. \u201cIt\u2019s outrageous that the community was only offered a few days to comment on proposals that will permanently change Brooklyn\u2019s waterfront. It\u2019s clear that a port-first plan remains viable, and the BMTDC must meaningfully consider the alternatives the community has requested.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BoroughBorough President Antonio Reynoso at a hearing about the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Project. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle
\nCity approves all three requests<\/p>\n

Simon, Mitaynes, Avil\u00e9s and Hanif sent their letter<\/a> on March 23 to Su and EDC requesting that the city extend the public comment period.<\/p>\n

In their letter<\/a>, the officials, who had all served on the EDC\u2019s original BMT Task Force, also urged the agency to host two in-person public meetings on the RFEI submissions, one in Red Hook and one in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. In addition, they asked the EDC to convene the two mandatory advisory panels: the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation and BMT Advisory Task Force.<\/p>\n

Simon said Tuesday that \u201call three of the requests in our letter were granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rep.Rep. Dan Goldman. Photo: Mariam Zuhaib\/AP<\/p>\n

Rep. Dan Goldman, who acted as chair of the BMT Task Force, sent a separate letter to Su and EDC requesting an extension to the public comment period \u201cuntil the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Development Corporation has had the opportunity to collectively deliberate on the responses \u2026 in light of the Development Corporation\u2019s responsibility to assess responses to the RFEI for feasibility of submission as an alternative scenario.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, state Sen. Gounardes, who had served as co-chair of the Task Force along with Avil\u00e9s, told the Eagle, \u201cFrom the start, my goal has been ensuring a fair, robust process that gives our community a real say and ensures the future of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal is as strong as it can be. This extension gives neighbors more time to review our options, and I\u2019m grateful the city has been responsive to those concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CouncilmemberCouncilmember Alexa Avil\u00e9s, BMT Task Force co-chair. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle
\nEDC: Committed to \u2018inclusive and responsive process\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cMeaningful community input and strong partnership with local elected officials are central to ensuring the success of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal project,\u201d an EDC spokesperson told the Eagle on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTo support continued engagement and thoughtfully address community feedback, the Mayor\u2019s Office of Environmental Coordination is extending the Draft Scope of Work comment period to May 8 to allow additional time for public input. This extension underscores the city\u2019s commitment to an inclusive and responsive process,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"Cargo-handlingCargo-handling cranes at the Container Terminal within the Brooklyn Marine Terminal site. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle
\nColumbia Street Waterfront, Lander and others respond<\/p>\n

The Columbia Street Waterfront Association, which also submitted a letter in support<\/a> of extending the deadline, expressed their appreciation for the extension.<\/p>\n

\u201cColumbia Street Waterfront Association is grateful to Deputy Mayor Su for listening to our electeds and our community and granting this essential extension to the BMT\u00a0 Draft Statement of Work comment period,\u201d CSWA President Randy Gordon said Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEDC\u2019s overview sessions of RFEI responses last week made it crystal clear we needed more time and information to address these in our comments,\u201d he said. \u201cWe think this is an important step towards EDC recognizing the importance of allowing adequate time and real community engagement to this massive, truly once-in-a-generation project.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RandyRandy Gordon, President of the Columbia Street Waterfront Association. Photo: Mary Frost, Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to the Mamdani Administration for heeding the call of community stakeholders to extend the comment period, in hopes of building a broader community consensus than was achieved by the BMT Task Force,\u201d said former Comptroller Brad Lander. \u201cAs I advocated in my comments<\/a> on the Draft Scope of Work, in this time I urge them also to assess a broader range of alternatives for inclusion in the Environmental Impact Statement \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Brooklyn Marine Terminal is not merely a redevelopment site. It is critical public infrastructure and one of the last working waterfronts in Brooklyn,\u201d John Leyva, CSWA\u2019s vice president, said in a separate community letter. \u201cPorts are not real estate assets \u2014 they are transportation infrastructure. Once a working waterfront is lost, it is almost impossible to recreate. Decisions made here represent an irreversible and irretrievable commitment of public resources.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLUMBIA STREET WATERFRONT DISTRICT \u2014 Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su has approved a request by Brooklyn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[584,2898,128,5317,5322,851,5324,9,24,9354,5325,63,5328,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-182962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-alexa-aviles","9":"tag-antonio-reynoso","10":"tag-bronx","11":"tag-brooklyn-marine-terminal-bmt","12":"tag-jo-anne-simon","13":"tag-marcela-mitaynes","14":"tag-mary-frost","15":"tag-new-york","16":"tag-new-york-city","17":"tag-new-york-city-economic-development-corporation-nycedc","18":"tag-no-paywall","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-shahana-hanif","21":"tag-the-bronx","22":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","23":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}