Transcript: Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, NYCEDC, and Port Authority Announce Plan to Transform Brooklyn Marine Terminal With Investment in 122-Acre Brooklyn Waterfront, Support Future Growth of Howland Hook Marine Terminal

May 14, 2024

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce: Good morning, everyone. My name is Maria Torres-Springer, I'm the deputy mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce, and I am so thrilled to be here with all of you today to celebrate an historic moment, not just for the future of the Red Hook Piers, not just for the future of our working waterfront, but for the future of our city. 

Now this effort has been decades in the making, and I want to thank all of the many partners from the state, the Port Authority, and local leaders for working together to finally pull this off, and of course the incredible team at EDC. 

We will be joined by a number of elected officials, but so many took part who couldn't be here today, and I just wanted to acknowledge them. Albany is in session, and so State Senator Gounardes, Assemblymembers Fall, Martinez, and Simon, also Borough

President Reynoso, Councilmembers Hanks and Councilmember Alexa Avilés, all incredible partners. Of course, we're also joined by local community and business representatives like Mike Stamatis, the International Longshoremen's Association is also here, and many others who have helped shape the future of these piers and will continue to be extraordinary partners. Now, to tell you more about this awesome achievement, I'm honored to introduce to you the 110th mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. It just has been an amazing journey with a governor that clearly gets it and has not ignored the five boroughs of New York City. We have stood side by side on so many of these amazing announcements that we have had, and we like to consider ourselves as the finisher. 

When I was on my briefing call this morning, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer just started listing many of these projects that there was an attempt to move forward for so many years, and New York City has almost became the graveyard where good ideas are buried and died. We said no to that. We looked back over many of these projects, and we were very clear that we can coordinate with the state and have a partnership with the state, bringing right teams together of local elected to state elected and communities. 

We can move these projects forward and we've done it over and over again and just kudos to the DM Maria Torres-Springer and kudos to the amazing anchor team player Andrew Kimball just job well done Andrew for bringing it home over and over again.  
We knew when we drafted him, we were going to give him the right contract, and he was going to be part of the team. You and your team over at EDC, we're just so proud of what you have done over and over again, landing these projects with the negotiation that is needed, and the personalities. There are many personalities in New York. You have to be able to bring everyone in the room and come to a final conclusion like we're doing here. 

We saw that with Willets Point. No one thought we can do Willets Point. In over 40 years, the largest 100 percent affordable housing initiative with the school and also a soccer field to boot to just put the cherry on the cake as we have won the World Cup finals here in the city just showing over and over again how we're just getting it done over and over.  
 

I just really want to thank the team, those who are standing behind me as well. Thank you for a job well done. Again, we won't be able to do all of these projects if we didn't have a partner in Albany. She is wearing her red suit because we are in Red Hook.  
This time, we're in Red Hook for a big vision and big plans here in New York City. Just recently, we announced our major, amazing projects in Willets Point, but today, we're proud to announce that the City of New York will assume control of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal here in Red Hook. 

This is the largest city real estate transaction in recent history, bigger than the Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2002. For 20 years—20 years, skeptics thought this deal wasn't going to happen. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the people I mentioned and the team behind us and team who are also here behind the cameras, we were able to bring it forward. 

Our administration did what we knew we could do. We got it done. We landed the plane, just like we've done other big deals. This deal would allow New York City to build a modernized, marine-time port on over 120 prime acres of Brooklyn coastline. Just look at this space and just see the reimagination that's possible in this space that has led—lied or was dormant for so many years. Now we're seeing the energy and the life that's going to come in. It's going to create a neighborhood on our shoreline that truly displays the promise of New York City. 

When we came into office, when our mission was clear, revitalize our economy, ensure public safety, and make the city more livable for hardworking New Yorkers, every day we continue to move into that direction. This means thinking big and delivering results for neighborhoods all across the five boroughs. This doesn't come cheap, and we're willing to put the money where it is needed. That is why we are investing an initial $80 million in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to stabilize and repair Piers 7, Piers 8, and Pier 10, and a new electrified container crane. I want to, again, thank the governor for an additional $15 million in the project to bring the total initial investment up to $95 million to make this happen. We can do much more, and we know that. We know we can build a community here with amenities to open space to housing and more of the potential of what we can do is unlimited of what we can accomplish. 

Starting this spring, we're going to work with the local community, our fellow elected officials and other stakeholders to chart a new course for Red Hook. For far too long, Red Hook has been isolated, not receiving the support that they deserve and treated as though it was a separate entity to the Brooklyn community. That changes, and we're going to make sure it does. Today's announcement reminds New Yorkers that big things happen day after day in this city and in this administration, and it's especially important in our waterfront communities and redeveloping and reimagining our waterfront. 

At one point, the Brooklyn Waterfront was the busiest port in the nation. Think about that. We were the busiest port in the nation. Something happened that we failed to see what these ports have to offer. Now under the leadership of DM Maria Torres-Springer, we need to revitalize and rebuild our infrastructure to meet the needs of the 21st century, including the rise of e-commerce.  
 

Everything is purchased online just about, and we need to expand the use of that so we don't clog our streets. The demand for green-collar jobs are crucial, and the need for more affordable housing is a must. That's where our New York City vision comes in. The modernization of Brooklyn Marine Terminal is part of our long-term plan to transform the New York shoreline into a harbor of the future. That will extend from Hunts Point Market to the Bronx and all the way to North Shore of Staten Island. No forgotten boroughs in this administration. 

We are one city with five boroughs, and they all will receive the love, the care, the nurturance, and the investment that they deserve. It's going to create jobs and opportunities for generations to come. New Yorkers have always used innovation and ingenuity to respond to whatever challenges come our way. 

Our city didn't recover the nearly 1 million jobs we lost during the pandemics by looking backwards. We have more jobs in this city and the history of this city. We have improved Black unemployment, decreasing unemployment by 24 percent. First time since 2019, those numbers have gone under 8 percent, we're just getting it done every day. Today, the future is here in Red Hook. As we enjoy a new total jobs high and post-pandemic low of Black unemployment, we are pushing our economy even further by kicking off our jobs sprint this spring. 

Over the coming weeks, we will announce new projects that will create the opportunity for thousands of new jobs for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Working together, we'll build a resilient and prosperous city for all who call our city home and continue to deliver big wins for New Yorkers every day. Job well done, team. We have only one more mission to accomplish. Let's bring home that ring, New York Knicks. Let's make it happen. I'm going to bring up our chief executive of the State of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul.

Governor Kathy Hochul: I say Knicks and Rangers can do it, so I'm not leaving anybody out, mayor. It is an exciting time. The world is watching New York City for many reasons, trials, our sports teams, and a lot going on. This is what really matters. You look out at this site. This is spectacular. 

This reminds me, this gathering here, that New York City is a city of true believers, people who never give up, those who had an idea to convert this land into something more useful for the neighborhood and for the entire city.  
 

Decades ago, they stuck with it. What has changed is the fact that there are new two leaders in office who are the most impatient people you'll ever meet. We've been on the job two years. We're like, why did we do this yesterday? Right, mayor? That's how we operate. People are starting to see the benefits of this. We want to get it done together. So I'm really proud that we're ready to set sail on a whole new chapter for New York's maritime future. 

Once and for all, unlocking the full potential, not just here, but also on Staten Island. I want to thank our mayor for being that partner in everything we touch. There's so much synergy now and realizing that all those decades when governors and mayors were combative, fighting each other, those were lost opportunities because we have so much shared property and shared ideas. We all care about the same places. Now we're just working together in a way that was unprecedented, but comes very natural to the two of us. I thank you again for your vision and your team that brought us here today. 

I also recognize Andrew Kimball, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, great people. We love working with them. My team at Empire State Development, James Katz is here representing us. Hope Knight, we have a great team. Also, Rick Cotton, thank you for bringing me some of the most outrageous ideas, but you're so persuasive, you always get me to yes. We are transforming all the possible properties and the properties we have because of your leadership. Rick Cotton, thank you for your stellar leadership as the executive director of the Port Authority. 

Also, Congressman Dan Goldman, this is his district. He cares deeply about what we do here and has been very engaged in making sure this happened. All the advocates and everybody, this is a team effort. It truly is. As you heard from the mayor, And we struggled for decades to have a vision that we could actually implement here. We finally realized that working together, we can take the key and unlock the full potential. 

We could help the role of the State of New York, could help unstuck, would have been jammed up for a long time because there was no interest in helping this city out, doing something spectacular here. This reflects the collaboration that we've always had. with a $65 million initial investment, and as you mentioned, $90 million collectively, we'll build on that model of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Who is not proud of what happened with piers one through six? 

That's something people talk about, not just across this state and this nation, but across the world. People want to come see this. What about the rest? Why can we, how we can't leave any properties behind? We're going to breathe new waterfront and make it more accessible to the community. People living here have no access to this. That's unconscionable to me. These barriers, the ghosts of yesteryear, and yes, this was once a thriving port, but reality settled in. It is no longer the port that it once was. For all of us to sit here and think that it's going to be and let more and more decades pass, that's just irresponsible with this incredible asset. 

We want to explore mixed-use development opportunities, including housing, a 21st century port deserving of this great city. It will be driven by a robust, community-driven process, because the community members who love this area, who love this community, they have a voice that needs to be heard, and that is the process that will be launched almost immediately. We want it to be a place where families can flourish and businesses can come. It's also about infrastructure. We're building for the future by taking into account the realities of our world today. I have staff members who live here. They complain all about the deliveries constantly. Their streets are clogged. Narrow streets are clogged with delivery trucks that are here all day long. Amazon and other online retailers. 

It has an effect on the neighborhood, safety for children to take walks, push a stroller. It has an effect on the environment and the livability of our neighborhoods. We want to find ways for these deliveries to occur without clogging the streets and the roadways. This is particularly important here in this community. We're focusing on this. A modernized freight facility will prioritize sustainability, and we can move more packages by barge and bike, reducing our resilience on trucks.  
 

I'm proud to announce here today the state will commit $15 million for a future cold storage facility on this site. Because of the lack of a cold storage facility, there has been an enormous amount of pollution and traffic because perishable merchandise is constantly moved in and out of here. A simple solution, $15 million, can solve for something that has been a barrier all these years. We're committed to improving the quality of life for residents. 

But this vision extends beyond Brooklyn. Staten Island, the Howland Hook Marine Terminal, we're going to be charting a course for absolutely unprecedented growth there. By transferring from the city, this terminal, to the Port Authority, we're empowering them to drive even more investment there. Now, it's already started. We already announced $200 million commitment from company CMA CGM, which is the largest investment in the history of this facility, supporting what I love to hear, hundreds and hundreds of new jobs for residents. Howland Hook is now poised to become even more vital in our supply chain, boosting New York City's economic growth. 

So, here's the deal. This is a good day. Brooklyn gets a revitalized waterfront. Staten Island gets a stronger, more competitive Howland Hook. New York gets a more efficient port system, good-paying jobs, and reconnection to the waterfront. That's a good day at the office, right mayor? That's a good day at the office. 

As I mentioned, in closing, the voices of the residents and stakeholders are so critical to moving forward and shaping this transition. Let's get started. Together we'll make sure that it becomes a thriving place that benefits it all. When you look back, all those decades of wasted time, today we're not just building a new harbor, we're building a legacy. A legacy of accomplishment that those of you who are here today who had a role in this can be proud of when your children and grandchildren look back and say, we got it done. Because we decided it's long overdue. Thank you very much. Unfortunately, I have another commitment I have to run to, but appreciate everybody's effort here today.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you. Thank you so much, Governor Hochul, for your leadership and for the extraordinary collaboration with your team. Before we go to our next speaker, I have to just make one point. That is for you, mayor, that your visit with Pope Francis must have heightened your apparent powers to raise projects from the dead, like Jesus rose Lazarus, because here's the reality. 

The idea of redeveloping these piers has been tried many times over the course of the last four decades. First, there was the dream to include them as part of Brooklyn Bridge Park in the 80s and 90s. Then, in the later aughts, the Bloomberg administration tried to put together a new deal. Then the Cuomo administration tried to do it in the late teens. All of those previous attempts, unfortunately, failed. 

But today, the stars have aligned between all of the parties. We have put the past politics aside. We have let go of thwarted plans and have decided to put the people of Red Hook and the people of the city first. When you look at what we've done, not just here, but as the mayor mentioned, at Willets Point, once an ash heap, and today poised to house the largest affordable housing project in 40 years in a soccer stadium, or SPARC Kips Bay, a site long stalled because of local objections, today poised to be a major hub of life sciences, education and workforce training, or Kingsbridge Armory, another site that has long been a source of disappointment in the community, today poised for complete transformation and community-driven benefit. 

If you look at all those projects, then that it's because we have a mayor who does not dwell on what's hard, but has insisted that we find solutions, find partners, and find the way forward, so thank you, Mayor Adams. Now we cannot do this alone, of course. This deal represents a swap of incredible properties, but really it's a right sizing of ownership, of vision, and we're just thrilled to have been able to come to this deal with incredible partners at the Port Authority, led of course by our next speaker, the executive director of the Port Authority, Rick Cotton.

Rick Cotton, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Good morning. Today's announcement that with the joint efforts of the state, the city, and the Port Authority, new energy and new development is coming both here to Brooklyn and to our Howland Hook Marine Terminal in Staten Island, which is a key element of the supply lines which drives so much of our economic activity. 

I have to start out thanking people in terms of this partnership. I want to begin by thanking Governor Hochul, and thanking her Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia, for their consistent support. Mayor Adams, thank you, and Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. 

We spent hours together on this deal. Thank you for your efforts, and Andrew Kimball, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, will be an enormously positive driving force. I have to acknowledge, in terms of the Port Authority, our Chief Development Officer, Derek Utter, our Port Director Beth Ann Rooney, our deputy chief of Government Relations Hersh Parekh, and our General Counsel Amy Fisher, who were instrumental in terms of our effort. 

I want to thank Congressman Dan Goldman for his support and his advice and his guidance, and also thank you to Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and his elected colleagues, who were instrumental to moving forward. Of course, we have to thank the ILA, not only for their support, their advice, their guidance, but the efforts that their members make every day of the year. 

The Port Authority, from its inception almost 103 years ago, has executed a mission dedicated to keeping the region moving. The only way to do that successfully is to forge partnerships, and that's what we have tried to do. Partnerships between the states of New York and New Jersey, partnerships with municipalities, including in particular the City of New York, across both states, partnerships with the private sector, and partnerships with the communities we serve. 

Today's agreement is a win-win-win for the region of New York and New Jersey, and specifically for the economic development of the region, for the Port Authority, and for the City and State of New York. It is the right time to restructure the old 1970, 50-year-old legal arrangements that have hobbled the Brooklyn Waterfront's development in the past, a move that will enable the City to energize new plans for the Brooklyn Waterfront, as Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul have just laid out and is the right time to restructure these legal relationships to enable that progress to move forward. 

For the Port Authority, this transaction paves the way for the agency to take full ownership of 225 acres currently owned by the City at Howland Hook. That will enable us to plan and to execute long-term expansion of the facility in the future. That will energize our supply line capabilities here in the New York region, and as the governor mentioned, drive new jobs. We have seen how investments by the Port Authority and our private partners at the seaport prepared the Port of New York and New Jersey to handle record-breaking cargo volumes here at our port and become the busiest port for handling loaded cargo containers in the United States. 

That is a development of the last five years. We're proud of it, and we're committed to continue that expansion. This agreement will drive forward the foundational maritime mission for our agency, ensuring the vitality of our ocean-going cargo container supply lines through investment and expansion. Our private partner, it's important to stress, CMA CGM, has committed to boosting the Howland Hook capacity by 50 percent over the next seven years, allowing it to handle over 750,000 container lifts each year, and that will enable Howland Hook and our port to remain competitive for decades to come. 

Here in Red Hook, this agreement, as you've heard from the mayor and Deputy Mayor Springer, this agreement enables the city to engage the community as they reimagine the possibilities for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and transform it into a vibrant mixed-use community asset. I want to specifically note that all 32 Port Authority employees currently working here at Red Hook will be deployed to other facilities in consultation with our union partners. We thank them for their understanding. We are committed to a smooth transition and no one will lose their job. 

To close, I want to emphasize again that this agreement is truly a win-win-win proposition across the board, allowing both the city and the state and the Port Authority to advance economic development initiatives that will benefit the region as a whole. The city in Brooklyn and the Port Authority on Staten Island. We are grateful to Governor Hochul, to Mayor Adams, and to all of the people who have worked across a multitude of state and city agencies to make this agreement possible.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you. Thank you, Rick. Now, it took a Herculean effort to get to this day, but of course, in so many ways, our work has just started. The community engagement process, the master planning process, will kick off imminently, and that is going to be a crucial opportunity for us to make sure that we get it right. The person who will be helping us lead that engagement is the Congress Member representing this district, who I now have the honor of introducing, Congressman Dan Goldman.

U.S. Representative Dan Goldman: Thank you very much, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer. For a long time, this Marine Terminal was the epitome of what government does wrong. It was deteriorating. There was a complicated agreement between three entities that made every single move very difficult, and it allowed what was once such a burgeoning port to deteriorate to such a point where it was not making enough revenue to even… to make it even worth the upkeep. 

Now this is an example of how government should work with the cooperation of the city, of the state, of federal representatives to reimagine and to redevelop this massive 120-acre area into a thriving, modernized container terminal, along with a futuristic micro-mobility marine highway hub that will not only benefit those in this community with jobs, but will also address the climate and environmental injustice that really is centered so much in Red Hook with so much last mile traffic and so much pollution.  
The opportunity to do this is complicated, and I'm truly grateful for all of our partners in the city, led by Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer, who has been an inspirational visionary for this area and has put in a tremendous amount of work. The mayor, with his mantra of let's figure out a way to get to yes, has really pushed this forward, and it is through that determination that we are here today. The governor and the state, Kathryn Garcia, James Katz, making sure that the state is at the table and recognizing that there is a role for the state to play in redeveloping this area. Rick Cotton, of course, the Port Authority, having the understanding that their resources are better used at a larger port in Staten Island, so that New York, more broadly, can be much more competitive in the largest container market, while Red Hook can focus on the medium-sized container terminal.  
 

Just to put a fine point on how important the state's $15 million investment is, cold storage is, without cold storage, fruit, other goods, other food items come in. They have to be barged across to New Jersey. They have to then take a truck out of the port in New Jersey into a warehouse where they are then divided and broken down, and then they are trucked back in. It completely eliminates the primary purpose and benefit of having marine traffic if you're just doubling the use of trucks.  
 

With cold storage, this port will be allowed and will thrive in being able to bring in that produce, bring in that food that it's made for right here, and not have to truck it out. That will have a tremendous benefit for the Red Hook community and with a disproportionate amount of asthma from all of the climate change.  
 

There are additional partners that I want to thank very much. Mike Stamatis, who is the Red Hook Container Terminal Operator right now. Mike has been a terrific partner in imagining what this can be, in helping to guide those of us elected officials with the expertise that he possesses so that we can understand how to make this area centered on a container terminal, a marine highway, while also providing an opportunity to create more jobs, to develop this area, to provide access, public access to this incredible waterfront with the view of the Statue of Liberty, and make sure that we are centering this process on the community. 

That's something that I am very proud to be taking the lead on as we begin the process from this day forward to engage the community, to make sure with alongside my partners, State Senator Andrew Granados and City Councilwoman Alexa Avilés, make sure that we are incorporating, including the community in making all of the decisions. Just to be very clear, this is not just a gesture. We will have and the community will have a say in what happens here. That was very important to all of us on the city, state, and federal elected level because this has to be centered on the community, has to make sure that we are focusing on the community's benefit. 

Last, I want to just emphasize the tremendous leadership of Andrew Kimball, the head of EDC. Andrew has experience with projects of this type, and I have been very impressed with his commitment to a community-engaged process and the commitment of a significant amount of resources to maintain this port while we go through the process of redeveloping it. The $80 million that EDC has agreed to put in right away to make sure that Pier 7, 8, and 10 are sufficiently kept up so that they can operate to replace one of the cranes to make this much more operational is going to be absolutely essential. 

What this commitment does is it makes sure that our good friends at the ILA and Frank Agosta have not only keep their workforce here, but build their workforce here. It is truly in great partnership with Frank and the ILA that we are also here today. Finally, I just want to wrap up by emphasizing that this is what we can do in this city. When I took office a year and a half ago, I identified this area as a massively underused area with incredible potential. We've now embarked on a very collaborative, cooperative process. I want to especially acknowledge Congressman Jerry Nadler, who had previously had this district and has had a vision for the future of this area that I feel very confident we are implementing together. We are carrying on that vision that Congressman Nadler has pushed for so many years. I'm grateful for him passing on his wisdom and expertise as we now start to embark on a truly community-centered process to rebuild and redevelop this incredible land. Thank you all. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you so much, Congressmember Goldman. Finally, I'd like to bring up to the podium, who [was] mentioned a few times, our lead on so many incredible path-breaking economic development projects, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Andrew Kimball.

Andrew Kimball, President, New York City Economic Development Corporation: Thank you so much, deputy mayor. It is really exciting to be here this morning to launch this new chapter of Brooklyn's Dynamic Working Waterfront. I've been so lucky not only to work for a visionary deputy mayor, but a mayor who I've had the opportunity to work with for really 20 years, from the Navy Yard to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the Climate Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, now to Red Hook. 

The partnership that he has with the governor cannot be overstated. I've been lucky enough to be in economic development for 30 years. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen the collaboration at the staff level, and I just want to call out James Katz again for his extraordinary leadership in the governor's office and our incredible team at EDC and in Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer's office that have been making these projects happen. 

As a lifelong New Yorker, I also want to thank Rick Cotton. I couldn't have imagined a rebuilt LaGuardia and JFK in my lifetime, and now he's going to do the bus terminal. Thank you so much for your partnership in getting this job done. As the mayor mentioned, this is just one project in his broader vision for the harbor of the future, bringing back innovation and jobs from the North Shore of Staten Island to Hunts Point in the Bronx and everything in between. 

EDC is lucky enough to manage projects touching over 100 miles of the city's 520-mile-long waterfront and will be a key implementer of the mayor's vision. Just a few months ago, we announced the Climate Innovation Hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. This will be a critical step in both fighting climate change and creating the kinds of jobs in environmental justice communities like Sunset Park that this city needs so much. 

In the coming days, the mayor and the governor will break ground on the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, another extraordinary step forward in our working waterfront, and another big shout out to Mike Stamatis, who is a key player on delivering on that project as well as this one. 

The transformation of this 122-acre site, the equivalent of roughly 100 football fields – those of you who know football, that's a lot of football fields – will spur economic development growth and jobs in Red Hook, while developing a modernized 21st century maritime port to help us bolster blue highway and micro distribution, getting trucks off our roadways while increasing union jobs.  
 

You look behind me at the barge, there's 250 containers on that barge being unloaded. That's 250 trucks off of our roads, 30,000 every year off of our roads because of what Red Hook does now. There are tens of thousands of more trucks crossing the Verrazano, crossing the GWB every day. This is not just an economic development issue, it's an environmental issue, it's an environmental justice issue. We've got to get it right. This site can do so much more, and I want to give a big shout out to Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi and her team at the Department of Transportation, our key partners on this Blue Highway initiative. 

I also want to again acknowledge the leadership and hard work of the Red Hook Container Terminal, Mike Stamatis, really a visionary leader on the waterfront, and his workforce, represented by Frank Agosta, president of the local ILA, and all of his workers, so many of whom are here today. They don't have a choice about whether to show up, whether it's COVID or any other crisis. They're here every day serving New Yorkers, and I want to thank them for that. We are, yes, let's give a round of applause. 

These projects don't happen with just leadership from the mayor and the governor, which we've heard. It has taken extraordinary leadership just to get us to this announcement at the local level and huge shout out to Representative Dan Goldman. Just a superstar and we are so delighted to be partnering with you and to have as two fantastic vice chairs of our task force, which will be re-envisioning this 122 acres, Council Member Alexa Avilés and Senator Andrew Gounardes. As the mayor highlighted, we are putting our money where our mouth is. We are moving immediately to make sure that there is no further infrastructure degradation here, that Pier 7, Pier 8, Pier 10, a new $15 million crane, and importantly, a master planning process we will invest in right away. I can't thank the governor enough for also stepping up with resources today. 

You should also know that just in the last two weeks, we have submitted over $350 million in applications to the federal government. Again, thanks to Representative Goldman and his colleagues in Congress, we have our fingers crossed that some of that will reach Red Hook in the months ahead. Thank you again to all our partners in the Adams administration, the state, and the Port Authority for making this amazing day happen. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Before we wrap up, I just want to give a shout out to a couple of people. we get to speak and talk about the projects, but really behind the scenes at the negotiating table and the Zoom calls are the folks who really do all of the work. I want to acknowledge my chief of staff, Nate Bliss, and Andrew's chief of staff, Jenn Montalvo, incredible work to get us to today. Thank you, and I'll turn it back over to the mayor.

Mayor Adams: Let's do a few on topics. 

Question: Hi, Mr. Mayor, it's Aneeta from the New York Post. The city's been struggling to fully fund its existing programs. The state hasn't been able to fill the gap, so where's the money for this venture coming from? 

Mayor Adams: I'm sorry, you said—I didn't hear you clearly. 

Question: The city's struggling to fund—like, to fully fund its existing programs, And the state is struggling to fill that gap, so where is the money for this venture coming from?

Mayor Adams: Every decision we make is a holistic approach of how do you move this city forward. Initiatives like this, which is going to use from capital dollars and other sources and having the state assist us in moving this forward. 

We realize the economic challenges we have, but those challenges will become larger if we don't make these smart economic decisions. That's what Jacques Jiha has been doing over at OMB, of everything from being able to raise our debt ceiling in Albany so that we can look at the demand of building four more new jails, to our class size issues, to making sure that we continue to invest in housing. We know that these things cost dollars and we have to make the smart, right decision. The city cannot be stagnant. We cannot stand still. This is a project that was needed, as are so many other projects that we're putting on the table. 

We're going to continue to move forward and balance the budget, make the smart decisions. That's really why the major bond raters have looked at how we have handled these crises and raised our bonds. They know we're making the tough choices so that our city will continue to move forward. 

Question: Hi, Mayor. I've got a couple for you on this. First, do you have a timeline for when we might see a bond for this project? First, do you have a timeline for when we might see a plan for this project, and when we might see it implemented? Second, as far as I understand it correctly, you're completely phasing out container shipping here, or just partially? I might have misunderstood that one. Then, I see on the picture here, maritime freight. I was wondering if you could talk about what you would like to see in terms of maritime freight for this facility.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: I'll take the first couple of questions and then I'll invite Andrew for the third question. Here's the timeline. We're immediately going to launch a community engagement process. That will start late spring, early summer, which also represents the start of a master planning process. The community task force chaired by the congressman will be working with us closely throughout that process, about six to nine months worth of a master plan, then the relevant public approvals in order to effectuate the transfer of the land from the Port Authority to the city. 

After that, we will be issuing RFPs for a master operator for the container and maritime work and other relevant RFPs as needed. This will take a few years, but if you think about what we have seen here for the past few decades, those are going to be a short few years that we were going to spend well in order to revitalize this site as the people of Red Hook and the people of the city deserve. 

I'm sorry, can you mention your second question? It sounds like there's still, well, yes, so okay, yes, so the master planning process of course will be the opportunity to hear from all stakeholders about what they want to see on the site, but we know for sure that at the core, at the core of this project and of these 120 acres will be a working waterfront. That will include a modern container port. It will also, and Andrew will talk about it in a second, be a hub for the type of micro-mobility activity that is surely needed. Really think about this as the type of site, 120 acres, that is centered on growing jobs, reducing emissions, making sure that we're more sustainable. Then all of the other community uses, from open space to housing, will be considered because it's a large site and we want to make sure we keep everything on the table as we move forward. Andrew?

Kimball: Thank you. As the deputy mayor said, maritime will stay at the core of this site and it is more important than ever. As I said, the site already gets about 30,000 trucks off the roads annually. We need to increase that exponentially. 

We need to focus on goods that are coming to the five boroughs or to the north, to the northeast. We need to focus on goods like cold storage and or cold containers that can be stored here and then barged up to places like Hunts Point that delivers 25 percent of everything we eat every day, comes out of Hunts Point. We need to be able to get that from [the] barge and Red Hook up to Hunts Point instead of it going back to New Jersey, as the congressman said, and back on the bridges. We need to focus on micro-mobility strategies that look at e-cargo bikes, not just at this site, but on 20 other sites that the city controls through EDC around the five boroughs. We recently received $5 million of federal MARAD funding to deploy on those smaller micro-mobility sites. The first of those will start to build out at the lower Manhattan heliport later this year. So we are excited about the strategy. It is critical that the city and EDC be at the lead of this charge, but also that we have, an incredible operator here and workforce to deliver on the vision. 

Question: Amazon, UPS, [inaudible]. 

Kimball: Some of those goods we hope to redirect, mostly from warehouses in New Jersey that are already on the waterfront wanting to bring goods in. In addition to the crisis around traffic and environment, the other major thing that has changed in recent years is that the private sector is starting to respond. 

These major companies, the Prologis of the world, the UPSes of the world, the FedExes of the world, they can't afford to continue to put thousands of trucks on the road every day and have them get stuck in traffic. They are going to be part of this collaborative process. We know that Red Hook and Sunset Park in particular have suffered disproportionately in terms of the number of last mile facilities. Part of our master planning process for this site, we'll look at all of those locations in Red Hook and how we better rationalize truck traffic and movement of goods and get as much of that on the water as possible. 
 

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