City’s Fuzzy Math on Bushwick Inlet Park

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The latest story about the city’s abrogation of duty when it comes to the construction of Bushwick Inlet Park—the public waterfront park in Williamsburg and Greenpoint that was supposed to be built following the rezoning of the area to allow for residential development—is reported by the New York World, which looks into whether the city underestimated how much it would cost to buy the necessary land. As it turns out, it seems like the city really missed the mark when it was calculating how much the properties would cost. The city engaged in a three-year legal battle with the owners of 50 and 86 Kent Avenue that was predicated on the notion that the properties should be valued as industrial, and thus worth $6.4 million and $13.6 million, respectively. The owners of the properties argued that the parcels should be valued much higher since, in a rezoned Williamsburg, they were worth a lot more as residential development sites. The city ended up paying $28.7 million for 50 Kent Avenue and $93.4 million for 86 Kent and is now saying it doesn’t have anymore money to buy the 12 remaining acres of the planned 28-acre park. (Around $200 million has been spent or earmarked so far for acquiring land for the park.) Ryan Kuonen, a member of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, is quoted as saying the following about the way the city’s handled the situation: “Why didn’t the city acquire this land before rezoning? They really rushed this through without thinking it out.”
Did City Miscalculation Sideline North Brooklyn’s New Waterfront Park? [NYW]
Outrage Over City’s Lack of Action on Bushwick Inlet Park [Brownstoner]
Photo by ryanlachica

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