Op-ed | There is no Plan B without Monitor Point * Brooklyn Paper

"The Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront has been transformed. When I moved to Williamsburg in 2001, the waterfront was a polluted mess of obsolete industrial uses that repelled people rather than drew them in. Now it's an active promenade filled with bikers, pedestrians, parks, open space, shops, and housing. Whatever you think about the 2005 rezoning that catalyzed this change, its greatest benefit was opening the waterfront for public use."

"But there's no doubt our neighborhoods have become increasingly unaffordable over the past 20 years. This correlation has led to understandable skepticism of new waterfront development. Yet in the midst of a housing crisis, we cannot turn our back on development. We must work to maximize public benefit in all new projects - especially when public land and public financing are involved."

"Monitor Point is one of the finest examples of public-private partnership I've encountered in nearly 25 years working in community development. The project extends the greatest benefit of the 2005 rezoning (public waterfront access) while helping to mitigate its worst unintended consequence (declining affordability), all while delivering substantial public benefits in other areas. The concept is straightforward: relocate the MTA facility at 40 Quay St to a more suitable industrial location to free up the site for housing and open space. The value generated by the housing pays for the new MTA facility and the open space improvements."

Brooklyn's Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront transitioned from polluted industrial uses to an active public promenade with parks, shops, and housing following a 2005 rezoning that opened the waterfront for public use. Rising desirability and limited supply reduced neighborhood affordability over two decades, creating skepticism toward new development. New projects must maximize public benefit, particularly when public land and financing are involved. Monitor Point relocates an MTA facility to a new industrial site and uses the value created by housing to fund the replacement facility and open-space improvements, aiming to mitigate affordability impacts while delivering broad public benefits.

Read at Brooklyn Paper