Hello, Columbia Street Waterfront! And Go Knicks!
In this issue:
- Join Red Hook Business Association and CSWA Greening Committee for a Working Waterfront "Placemaking" Community Chat Sunday, June 14!
- A look back at our community forums with Brad Lander and Dan Goldman.
- CSWA's Press Release Praising State Budget Decision to Leave Brooklyn Marine Terminal PILOT Financing Out of the Final Budget
- CSWA Book Swap on Open Garden Day at Urban Meadow Garden a Literary Success!
- Petition opposing plan to change the traffic direction on Woodhull Street between Columbia and Hicks.
Join us for a Working Waterfront "Placemaking" Community Chat this Sunday, June 14, 6:30-8:00 PM
Our CSWA Greening Committee is thrilled to co-present with our friends at Red Hook Business Alliance this opportunity for our community members to learn what working and accessible waterfronts can look like. Thomas (TJ) Maguire, Waterfront Placemaking Leader, Halifax, Canada, and Cobble Hill resident Ethan Kent, from PlacemakingX, will share their experiences and knowledge of placemaking, and engage attendees in discussions of how we can reimagine our waterfront.
But what is Placemaking, you ask? We can't think of two people better able to explain than TJ and Ethan, so don't miss this event! But, in the meantime, the Project for Public Spaces defines it this way:
"As both an overarching idea and a hands-on approach for improving a neighborhood, city, or region, placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution."
As Maguire wrote in his article Love This Town: Waterfront Lessons from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, "On the waterfront, we established a shared-vision policy, committing to engage the general public, targeted stakeholders, and internal staff on key projects. Successful public space projects seek value from those conversations and unique perspectives, as well as opportunities for all people to think of the space as theirs. They may have their own great ideas about how to transform or program it."
If this sounds intriguing to you, please RSVP here - space is limited.
Our Greening Committee has explored some similar concepts in Guiding Principles for Open Space and the BMT.
A look back at our Community Forums with Brad Lander and Dan Goldman
Thank you to all who attended the Community Forums with Brad Lander and Dan Goldman hosted by CSWA and Carroll Gardens Association (CGA). You can watch a video of the forum with Lander here and with Goldman here. You can also read Ward 6's coverage of the Lander forum here and the Goldman forum here.
Be sure to vote on Tuesday, June 23! Or vote early, between June 13 and June 21! Here's all the information about the primary election: Upcoming Elections 2026 | NYC Board of Elections.
CSWA's Press Release Praising State Budget Decision to Leave Brooklyn Marine Terminal PILOT Financing Out of the Final Budget
The Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) project made news as part of the extended New York State budget negotiations. In our press release issued last week, CSWA praised the decision not to include proposed Brooklyn Marine Terminal PILOT financing language in the recently adopted New York State budget, calling it the right decision for public accountability, environmental review, and responsible waterfront planning.
The proposed financing mechanism would have advanced a project-specific payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) structure connected to the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) redevelopment. CSWA said such a mechanism would be premature while the project is still undergoing environmental review and while critical questions remain unanswered about cost, scale, impacts, alternatives, and the future of Brooklyn’s working waterfront.
“This was the right decision,” said Randy Gordon, President, Columbia Street Waterfront Association. “The Brooklyn Marine Terminal is a 122-acre public waterfront asset of citywide and regional importance. A project of this magnitude should not be financially locked in before the public has seen a fully developed plan, before environmental review is complete, and before all serious alternatives have been studied.”
“If PILOTs can be considered later through the proper public, contractual, and fiscal processes, then there was no need to insert special project-specific PILOT language into the state budget before environmental review, public disclosure, and alternatives analysis are complete,” CSWA Vice President John Leyva said. “The issue is not whether the Brooklyn Marine Terminal should receive investment. It should. The issue is whether the State should prematurely create a special financing mechanism for a project whose final form, impacts, costs, and alternatives remain unresolved.”
“We support serious public investment in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal,” Leyva continued. “We support modernizing the port, strengthening maritime infrastructure, creating good union jobs, improving climate resilience, and planning for a waterfront that serves Brooklyn and the entire city. But financing structures should follow environmental review, public disclosure, independent analysis, and a clear explanation of costs and benefits. They should not precede them.”
Read the full release here.
CSWA Book Swap on Open Garden Day at Urban Meadow Garden a Literary Success!
Thank you to all who joined CSWA in our first ever Book Swap last Saturday. Many of you donated books, and many others found just the books you were looking for! All remaining books were donated to charity! Thanks to the Urban Meadow Garden team for hosting us and making it all easy!
Proposed Change in Traffic Direction on Woodhull Street between Columbia and Hicks
Read more about this proposed change and how it would negatively impact the neighborhood and sign the petition.
Questions? Email us at admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org. Also, please share our mailing list sign-up page with your friends and neighbors: Columbia Street Waterfront Association Email List.
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Media Contact:
Randy Gordon, President
Columbia Street Waterfront Association, Inc.
Phone: 917-593-2674
Email: admin@columbiastreetwaterfront.org