Transcript: Mayor Adams, Governor Hochul, NYCEDC, Equinor, SSBMT Announce Start of Construction to Transform South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Into Nation's Largest Offshore Wind Port

June 10, 2024

Molly Morris, President, Equinor Renewables Americas: Good afternoon, and welcome to the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. My name is Molly Morris. I'm head of Equinor's Renewables Activity in the Americas. Thank you so much for joining us here today to celebrate this momentous milestone for Equinor, for Empire Wind, for the State of New York, for Brooklyn, for Sunset Park, and for all New Yorkers.  

It is customary at Equinor to begin with a safety moment. Safety is always our top priority. A reminder that this is an active construction site. We ask that you be mindful of your surroundings and watch your step, given many uneven surfaces.  

It is exciting to see so many familiar faces who have worked tirelessly to make today's groundbreaking a reality. It's also exciting to gather at a site with such rich history as part of New York's working waterfront. More than a century ago, the former Bush Terminal spurred development in this community, an active port teeming with energy and a crown jewel in New York's maritime economy. Over time, the activity here waned, and this site, holding so much potential and with such an iconic view, became a shell of what it once was.  

But the Sunset Park community had a vision and a will. The old proverb goes that it takes a village. The revitalization of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal took a neighborhood, from leaders like Elizabeth Yeampierre, who fought to ensure environmental justice for the families who call Sunset Park home, was not forgotten. To the Sunset Park Task Force, including co-chair Jesse Solomon from the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation. To the visionary leadership of Community Board 7, who made sure that the community was front and center every step of the way. Steve Mei at the Chinese American Planning Council, Evelyn Ortiz at Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, and Maria Ferreira at the Center for Family Life. To Mike Stamatis at Red Hook Terminals and Sustainable South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, who unfortunately is not here with us today, but who fought to give new life to this dormant site.  

A new life that would serve the generations that follow. Glen Siegel at Industry City, elected leaders like Councilmember Alexa Avilés, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes. And to our incredible partners at EDC, at City Hall, and at NYSERDA. To Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Senator Schumer, Congressman Goldman, Congressman Nadler. It wasn't just about finding a project, it was about finding the right project. There are so many people to acknowledge today, because it truly took a neighborhood, a city, a state to come together, to welcome us in, and to make this bold vision happen.  

The dedication and perseverance of this community, and of each of you, have been an inspiration and a model. Now these 73 acres will be home to one of the largest dedicated offshore wind ports in the United States. Imagine with me what SBMT will soon look like, and what the Empire Wind Project represents here in Sunset Park, across New York, and for the nation's broader energy transition. Soon this port will be bustling with local workers as they prepare SBMT for the staging and pre-assembly of Empire Wind One's 54 offshore wind turbines. More than 1,000 construction jobs for union workers, many of whom are with us today, and have been supporting us all the way. These are the same union workers who built the skyline over my shoulder.  

Critical components and cutting-edge technology will arrive in Brooklyn by barge and by train, ready for delivery offshore, where the turbines will stand tall, and send enough renewable energy into the New York City grid to power half a million homes. Best-in-class contractors and suppliers, like our construction manager Skanska, as well as Jacobs, [GE Bond,] and Vestas, all working together with a common purpose.  

Imagine the economic benefits that will flow to local residents and businesses, investments that will focus on education, innovation, workforce development, and environmental benefits for a community that for too long has been ignored. Imagine New York City as a hub that helps open up the offshore wind supply chain across the country, from vessels built in Louisiana and Pennsylvania to export cables built in South Carolina. This is how we will build out a new industry for America.  

This has not been an easy path. From the pandemic to geopolitical and economic challenges, Empire Wind has weathered the ups and downs, and we have only succeeded in navigating here today because of your support. Now let's stop imagining, because today our work officially begins.  

Now it is my pleasure to welcome our first speaker this afternoon. Mayor Eric Adams is a leader who has stood with us here when we announced the SBMT lease in 2022, and he is standing with us again as we move into execution mode. Mayor Adams' support for the industry has never wavered, and he has made sure that New York City is a welcome environment to pursue a project of this magnitude. Mayor Adams. 

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. So much has gone into this moment, when I look at Elizabeth and her fighting for many years to make sure that structures don't go up and the residents of this community future would not go down, and having the right partnership, and we have been in this space for so long.  

I go back and think about Andrew Gounardes, who was my counselor at the time when I was borough president, and how we saw the opportunity and the vision here and what we can do here. As Dan and I joked when I came here, Congressman Goldman, we have been in these spaces and really sharing these announcements for the last few months now, and I want to just really thank him, Congressman Nadler, my state, and my city electeds, because you can't get a project of this magnitude done without collaboration and how we come together. It's okay that there are moments of disagreement. It should be. This is land, and land is precious, and it's so many few spaces, but when we put those disagreements to the side, we're able to land projects of this magnitude.  

This is so exciting. I don't know if you just heard it roughly, what was announced, but this is going to be the largest, the largest in our country, right here in the borough of Brooklyn, and it's something that we should all be proud of. And so, Molly, you and your team should be extremely proud for what we're going to accomplish in a very real way, in an environmentally friendly way here in our city. Today, we're powering New York's clean energy. We've been talking about this over and over again, but not only are we building out a new method of energizing our city, we can't leave people behind. We have to employ everyday New Yorkers who could understand the popularity of our brand must turn into prosperity for all of them. That is why we came in with a very clear vision on how do we look at the green economy, and what our success… When we started in January 1st, 2022, Black unemployment and brown unemployment was four times the rate of whites. We've cut that in half. We have more jobs in the city, in the city's history, more small business services, small business jobs in the history of the city, and we want to continue to move forward.  

To break ground on the largest dedicated offshore wind port facility in the nation, to do it right here in South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, it is going to change the game in this community and it's going to be done right. When we work with Equinor and their partners, along with our City Economic Development Corporation, I don't know if Andrew is here, but Andrew, you just keep hitting it out the park, brother. Thank you so much for what you're doing. From landing the plane, Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, who's here as well. Look at these projects. I call them the finishes. Finished Willets Point. Finish the Governor's Island. Finish our design that's here. Finishing these major projects that have laid on the landscape for years.  

Seventy-three acres right here in Sunset Park will soon serve as an operation and maintenance hub for Empire One, delivering, as was indicated, 810 megawatts of renewable energy and launching a major new industry that will create jobs and be inclusive in the action. What does it mean? Four words. Jobs.  Jobs.  Jobs.  Jobs. Jobs are the precursor to sleep that allows people to experience the American dream. We're going to give people an opportunity to have that dream right here.  

As part of our Spring Job Sprint, as we are employing New Yorkers all over the city, this project will deliver more than 1,000 good-paying union jobs, and to those men and women of the union industry here, this is what you asked for and this is what we're delivering through the construction of the site, to the installation and maintenance of the turbines, to the community businesses that it will support. Not only the turbines and the jobs that come from that, from manufacturing the turbines, but also imagine people stopping at the local bodegas, the local restaurants, how people contribute right back into this community.  

I want to thank everyone involved. She's not here, but a real partner, Governor Hochul, has been clear on this mission and she has really made it clear she won't ignore New York City, and she has lived up to that. Our economic development team, this entire team with Andrew and the crew, Equinor Wind U.S. President Molly Morris, and our union partners who are here with us today, BCTC, IBEW, Local 3, to the District Council of Carpenters, to name a few. I never heard them that quiet before in my life, but it's good to have you guys here.  

In addition to creating jobs and economic growth, this offshore wind capacity will significantly reduce our carbon footprint and ensure our city meets our climate goals of 100 percent clean electricity by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050. We're using this opportunity to invest in our workforce, too. We're working with Equinor to make sure a wide range of New Yorkers get job training and placement in the green collar jobs sector.  

We partnered with CUNY, SUNY Maritime, and the New York City Harbor School to build an offshore wind curriculum to prepare our young people for these jobs. These are huge jobs. By using our state and city colleges, we can have a feeder into these jobs. It's something that has been ignored before. We're not leaving our students behind. The new jobs will include all kinds of construction work, as well as turbine staging, operation and logistics, and the technicians, staff members, the marine vessel crews that will service the turbines once they are operational.  

We're also making sure MWBE, we put almost over $2 billion in MWBE, almost 29 percent since I've been mayor, and this is part of that initiative of reaching out 30 percent of the project's jobs and investment will go towards women, minorities, and environmental justice communities. We are giving local businesses the tools they need to benefit from the green economy. Organizations like UPROSE and the South Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, who we supported through Equinor’s $5 million ecosystem fund to help them get ready to win contracts associated with this project.  

The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Offshore Wind Hub is part of our long-term plan to transform the New York shoreline into the harbor of the future. They will extend from Hunts Point Market in the Bronx and all the way to the north shore of Staten Island together with our recent acquisition of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal in nearby Red Hook. We are well on our way to reimagine Brooklyn's broken waterfront for the 21st century, powered by the green economy through our Green Economy Action Plan that will help create jobs. By 2026, we'll be putting together turbines right here, and we'll start to install them off the coast of Long Island. That means young people who are in high school right now will graduate into a new and better world of green jobs. We're building a better future, and we're doing it together. I cannot thank the team enough? Let's keep doing what's right for our city. As I say over and over again, good-paying union jobs can build New York. Thank you very much. 

Morris: Thank you so much, Mayor Adams, for your kind remarks and for your leadership. Next, I'd like to introduce Representative Dan Goldman. He called us before he was ever elected to Congress just to understand what it was we were trying to accomplish and how he might be able to help. Since he was sworn in, he has backed it up, leaned in to learn more, and fought to make sure this project is an example of what can happen when government works to solve problems. We're so happy and glad to have you here. Congressman Goldman. 

U.S. Representative Dan Goldman: Thanks very much, Molly. Mayor, it's great to be here with so many of you as another announcement, as we were just saying, as you were saying, mayor, about how the local, the city, the state, and federal government can work together to solve problems. That is certainly what my objective has been in my relatively short time in Congress.  

I am standing on the shoulders of those who come before me, who worked incredibly hard at the federal level to get this done. Congressman Nadler is here. Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez was very involved. Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand. One of the things that I always am focused on when we talk about this project in particular and when we talk about offshore wind more broadly is that this would not have happened without President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. I think when you talk to Molly, you talk to the Equinor folks, they will be the first ones to say that this could not have happened without the subsidies for climate development, climate industry that are included in the Inflation Reduction Act. You may not see those tangible results the next day after a bill is passed, but what we're seeing here is the tangible result. We are going to have potentially up to 500,000 homes powered by wind in two to three years' time. That is truly earth-changing, both in terms of the neighborhood and also in terms, of course, of our climate.  

I want to just take a moment to also thank so many of my other partners, State Senator Andrew Gounardes here, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, and Andrew Kimball. You are bringing much of that execution to the mayor's, well, I was going to say something a little off-color, but I'll just say City of Yes. Because I think that from our work together on the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and trying now to begin to reimagine that to this, obviously you are integral to Industry City, it's a pleasure to work alongside you, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer as well, and NYSERDA, a really important role here because this can, and I hope will be, the hub of offshore wind in the United States. But that is going to require some adversity, which we've faced, and it's going to require us to get up and to get back on the horse and to not let the adversity send us permanently wayward.  

Doreen, thank you for all of your efforts with NYSERDA because your commitment to offshore wind is clear, it is obvious from the governor on down, and it is necessary. Because we're in a race right now to see who can really conquer offshore wind, and certainly as the representative of this district, I want it to be here, and I will do everything I can to make it be here. I also want to make sure that I single out and thank Molly and the Equinor team. When we think about the future of the green economy, we think, and I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say this all the time, we need energy independence, we need energy independence. There's no better way to get energy independence than to build our own energy here so that we do not have to rely on Saudi Arabia or Iran or Russia to weigh in and impact what the oil prices are.  

What is so important is that Equinor is, at bottom, an oil company, oil and gas company. But Equinor has seen the future of the green economy and has begun that process of transforming some of their business into wind and other renewable energy. That creates this win-win-win that we have here. Because we not only have a terrific project that's bringing in a tremendous amount of money and energy into this area, but we have a commitment from Equinor to hire locally, to hire here within the Sunset Park community. As the mayor and Molly have said, that's 1,000 jobs. That's not just 1,000 jobs, it's 1,000 union jobs. It is 1,000 people who are going to have to eat lunch every day and who are going to go for a cocktail at happy hour. This is how you revitalize communities, by where the jobs start and everything springs from there.  

We're saving the environment. We are protecting our energy grid from foreign sources. We are hiring locally. It's really, finally, I think, through the great work and championing of Elizabeth Yeampierre with UPROSE, who has been so involved and active in making that case, in making the case for renewable energy and why it is we're not sacrificing anything if we do it. It's really my pleasure to be here. I would just want, before I finish up, to make sure that we really do give all of the partners in this project a tremendous round of applause. It's a great day. Thank you. 

Morris: Thank you, congressman. I said in my welcome remarks that this has not been an easy journey. In many ways, it has been a roller coaster. Sitting in the front car for the entire ride has been NYSERDA's president and CEO, Doreen Harris. She is someone who rolled up her sleeves, traveled back and forth across the state of New York, and made sure that these projects not only happen, but will deliver on the benefits to New Yorkers that she promised. Please join me in welcoming Doreen Harris. 

Doreen Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority: You've got that right, Molly. I have said one thing to my team about this summer, and this summer is the summer of shovels. We are building projects literally from the north, the south, to the east, to the west of our state. I would never miss a groundbreaking, but particularly for this very project.  

I want to thank not only you, Molly, and the entire Equinor team, but those represented here today. Certainly, Mayor Adams, I could not agree with him more in saying that New York State is all in for offshore wind. We are going to weather these storms and come out ahead because of the extraordinary value that we know it will and can and is bringing to our state, and specifically here to Brooklyn. Congressman Goldman, I also agree with in saying that this is going to require an extraordinary amount of collaboration.  

I use the term hyper-collaboration because it necessitates a level of working together that just normally does not happen. When you look at this project, it's reflective of that hyper-collaboration, literally from the federal perspective, the state perspective, the local perspective, and the community perspective. That's really the recipe for success. When I come to a groundbreaking and I get to hear from Elizabeth Yeampierre about the journey that is very much implicit within this facility, that's an indicator of how New York is going to organize around this transition and realize it together as well.  

I do remember where I was when I first looked at this port. I was with Andrew Kimball in I don't know which of the buildings, but it was probably eight, nine years ago when we both said, this is a gem. This port, we saw a vision. I saw the vision. I didn't need Molly's vision. I saw it with my own eyes and said, New York has an extraordinary set of assets that can be used to deliver on this industry. That, my friends, is part of the value proposition of offshore wind. Because yes, it's projects like Empire Wind One and many more that will ensue, but it's also about the value proposition that we in our state and specifically at these ports can bring, can deliver on those jobs. That's what we're here today to celebrate, is that vision coming together and the very real benefits that it will bring.  

It does turn out that doing hard things is hard. Here we are. We're weathering those storms, the rollercoaster ride, the challenges, et cetera, because we are going to deliver on this industry. I want you to know how committed I am personally, how committed Governor Hochul certainly is, and the entire NYSERDA and state team to help us get from here to there. I am here to celebrate, as I said, the summer of shovels. Let's deliver on these goals and let's benefit from it from coast to coast. Thank you so much. 

Morris: Thank you so much, Doreen. I mentioned Elizabeth Yeampierre in my introductory remarks, and it is my honor to introduce her next. Elizabeth is an ally who stood as a true leader in the Sunset Park community. She supported us since our earliest days. She has challenged us to think about what's truly important. It is not lost on Equinor the importance of engaging the local community to build a project that is congruous with environmental justice, and no one has done more to bring these issues to the forefront than Elizabeth Yeampierre. Please join me in welcoming her to the stage. 

Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director, UPROSE: Good afternoon. I am really honored to be here. It is unusual for an activist who fights for a living to be in a space with people that she has been fighting with, and it is very cool. It's very cool because we're talking about climate change, and in our community we've been told that there are four things that are tremendously important. Renewable energy, drinkable water, food sovereignty, and wellness, and UPROSE is here to staff the community and has been in the community since 1966. It is the oldest Latino community-based organization in Brooklyn, and we work at the intersection of racial justice and climate change.  

I want to thank a few people, some of whom are not here, and I want to remind you how old this fight is. In 1998, Congressman Nadler was talking about a green port, an eco port, and he had a vision that we really liked. Nydia, who is not here, our beloved Nydia Velázquez, was leading on environmental and climate justice before the terms were trending, and really fought for all her districts that were disparately impacted by the siting of environmental burdens. The community board, Community Board 7, was talking about a green port, and I have a flier, and if you have been one of the recipients of our fliers, you know that that's true. 1998, it was called The Green Port.  

I want to thank EDC for really embracing the idea of a circular economy and talking about a just transition and incorporating that language into its decision-making and into the recommendations that are coming out of there. It's amazing to be able to work with you at this level to make sure that an industrial sector that has had a long history of harm in our communities of toxic exposure is now looking and taking seriously our vision of a green re-industrialization. I also want to thank NYSERDA. NYSERDA has been doing the same. NYSERDA has been working with all of us, and there are a lot of us. New York Renews is a coalition of over 380 members across the state, and we are demanding that the funds moved to the front lines, to the people most impacted by climate change, and that there are investments in a just transition, that we operationalize a just transition, and Sunset Park can become a model of how that happens. We're here, and we're proud, and I want to also thank our local elected officials, who I see. I see Alexa. I see our assemblymember, Marcela Mitaynes. I want to thank you because you are real people's leaders, like you are in there with the people.  

These fights don't win. We don't win if we are not in community and front community, and this is really a frontline-led struggle. I want to thank all of you, and we're here to celebrate the historic ribbon-cutting of construction of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal. It's a landmark achievement, and it shows that we can become a model of what's possible. We can become a model of a just transition. A lot of you talk about the green economy, but the green economy really is a replica of the old economy, using a green patina, and that is not what we're talking about. We're talking about a just transition, moving away from the extractive economy to a renewable economy that centers community wealth and health, and that is very different from an economy that focuses on developers and supporting their needs and is not using the industrial waterfront as the vehicle for climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience.  

We are talking about green manufacturing, about a supply chain that is going to serve the local community and is going to become a model of how these problems that were created not by us, but foisted on us, can now provide the kinds of resources that our community has long deserved. That is historic. This is an opportunity for New York City to show how it's done, and for people all over the country to take note about how the front line is visionary. 

Oftentimes we are seen as people who are small and not impactful. UPROSE is small, but if you felt us, you know. If you know, you know. I want to say that our vision for a just transition is not just aspirational, it is operational, and it's coming from funding. That funding that was talked about earlier, that comes from a legacy of the environmental justice movement. Even that comes from the people most impacted. Without the environmental justice movement, that funding would not be available. When Kamala Harris tells us that she likes the idea of the GRID, the Green Re-Industrialization of Sunset Park, and when we hear from people at that level talking about our plan and calling us from all over the country because they want to know how we developed a comprehensive plan to move us away from extraction, people are paying attention to Sunset Park because climate justice lives here, leadership lives here.  

The fact that many of you were able to break bread with us despite the fact that we were literally driving you crazy, that shows that you have a commitment to a just transition, that you are engaging in self-transformation, and you know that the biggest impact and the biggest disruption is going to be climate change, and it's going to take all of us to work with each other in a way that is deeply transformational and necessary so that a place like this becomes a model of what we should always do, right? Which is address racial justice, equity, and put climate change in front of us because just one week from last year, the sky was orange, and I don't want anybody to forget that. That's what we're doing here today. We're basically laying the foundation, doing things that we've never done with each other before so that we're ready. De corazón, gracias. 

Mayor Adams: We're going to take a few on topics before we throw some dirt. Throwing the dirt is not your own topics. 

Question: I was wondering on the project what the timeline looks like and then also wondering if you, Mr. Mayor, have been before the federal grand jury or if anyone from your campaign or administration has. 

Mayor Adams: Didn’t I just tell you, don't be throwing dirt? Let's deal with the project. I know it's hard for you to do, but stay focused, no distraction and grind. Okay. 

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Housing, Economic Development and Workforce: Today we're marking the groundbreaking, of course, for this facility and 73 acre site. It will continue and construction should be done by 2026, at which point, as been mentioned, one of the most exciting things about this. It'll be the first substation that will allow us to connect wind power to the electrical grid here in New York City. It'll be bustling with activity from now until 2026. 

Mayor Adams: Craig, what's going on?  

Question: How you doing, Mr. Mayor?  

Mayor Adams: Quite well.  

Question: You said this was going to power, I'm sorry, how many households over the next few years? If you can say who on your team has been subpoenaed for the grand jury? 

Mayor Adams: You see the New York press? You see what it is to be the mayor of the city? Try this. Stay focused, no distractions and grind. You want that first question asked or you were just duping just to get the second one? Let me know. You want the first one answered? I'm sorry? Okay, then we don't have to answer it. Do we have another one? 

Question: I'm curious. I know the focus here, I know from especially the local activists here is on local hiring. Can someone outline how, whether it's Sunset Park residents or just Brooklyn residents in general, will be guaranteed employment? I know when it comes to union hiring, there's a longer process. If you want to walk through how you've ensured that local Sunset Park residents will get jobs here. 

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you, Katie. It's been extraordinarily important to us that the opportunities available here, whether it's on MWBE small business or workforce, are available to New Yorkers, in particular Sunset Park residents. Here's the way we're doing that.  

The team is putting their money where their mouth is. As has been mentioned, there's a $5 million ecosystem fund, for example, that will support different types of organizations, both on workforce, a number of CUNY institutions, for instance, who are part of this endeavor. The second, this is the first time there is a PLA of this kind for a project like this. The more than 1,000 jobs will be union. Through that, there are specific requirements about prioritizing residents of NYCHA, as well as local Sunset Park.  

To just give you an example, that District Carpenters, for instance, in hiring of the first 130 apprentices for a project like this, 75 percent are from environmental justice communities and a full 34 from Sunset Park. That's exactly the type of model that we intend to employ for the rest of the hiring through the rest of this project to ensure that we're meeting not just our clean energy goals, but all of our economic development and hiring goals that we, as the mayor said, are part not just of the job sprint for the next several weeks, but are central to our economic development strategy. 

Question: I had a question for the mayor and Congressman Goldman. This project will result in electricity bills going up on the margin for New York residents. Is the green transition inflationary, and how do you address residents who might be concerned about that? 

Representative Goldman: It will initially go up a few pennies. It is not going to be significant. What is important about this as the first one that will actually bring energy to the New York City grid is like with all new technologies, we learn a lot from it. We learn from the process and invariably the process becomes cheaper. If we are starting out with just a very, very small percentage higher than what it currently is, we know that a true transition is going to lead to lower costs as well as the environmental benefits.