Federal Grant, Along With Initial $95 Million Investment, Will Help Transform Brooklyn Marine Terminal Into Modern 21st Century Maritime Port, Vibrant Mixed-Use Community Hub
Inwood Greenway Will Add 1.35 Miles of Grade-Separated Bikeway and Improvements South of 10th Avenue, Closing Major Gap in Manhattan Waterfront Greenway Network
Administration’s Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force Has Secured Total of $2.37 Billion in Funding, Including Nearly $1.3 Billion in Competitive Grants
New York City Mayor Eric Adams today kicked off Climate Week by announcing his administration has won another $260 million in grants from the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, continuing the Adams administration’s unprecedented success in securing federal infrastructure funding. The grants — issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation — will support key infrastructure projects in New York City, including transforming the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern, 21st-century maritime port and vibrant mixed-use community hub, as well as constructing a segment of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway along 10th Avenue in Inwood. The administration’s Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force — chaired by Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi — has now secured a total of $2.37 billion in funding, including nearly $1.3 billion in competitive grants.
“Building a safer, more affordable New York City means investing in our city’s future — in 21st-century jobs, in state-of-the-art infrastructure, and in our public spaces. And thanks to the Biden-Harris administration, we’re able to take major steps forward towards doing just that,” said Mayor Adams. “We’re bringing thousands of jobs and billions in economic impact to our city by transforming the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern, 21st-century maritime port and mixed-use community hub, and we’re bringing new public space and safety improvements to Inwood with our greenway along 10th Avenue. This helps get us that much closer to having New Yorkers be able to bike and walk all the way around Manhattan on greenways. And as we kick off Climate Week, these investments will help us build a cleaner, greener city for all New Yorkers.”
“The cornerstone of building a better New York City is smart infrastructure. Today, that is made possible through an historic level of funding from the Biden-Harris administration and the tireless work of our congressional delegation,” said Deputy Mayor Joshi. “This is the largest single day of competitive infrastructure grants in New York City history. These two projects represent the breadth of urgent infrastructure investment in our city, from updating our roads for modern, safe mobility to revitalizing our waterfront for greener freight movement. Huge credit to our Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force, which, since January 2022, has collaborated to earn us more than $1 billion in competitive grants, with more to come to build a stronger future for New York City.”
“I cannot think of a better way to start New York City’s Climate Week than with this announcement, a generational investment by the federal government that will catalyze the reinvention of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a resilient, modern maritime facility with sensible, future-proof transportation infrastructure and mixed-use development,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres-Springer. “I want to thank the U.S. Department of Transportation and the entire New York delegation for their advocacy on behalf of all 8.3 million New Yorkers to secure this transformational funding for the future of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal.”
“This is a historic investment for a generational project that will truly transform Brooklyn’s waterfront and deliver positive economic and environmental impacts across the region,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “An enormous amount of thanks to the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation for recognizing the importance of the future of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the role it can play in bolstering our Blue Highways network throughout the five boroughs. I also want to thank our federal elected officials, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Congressman Dan Goldman who is leading our Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force, for their efforts in advocating for this project.”
“Every neighborhood deserves safe streets and public spaces to share with their families and neighbors. Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to equity, we’ll be able to fill a critical gap in Manhattan’s waterfront greenway while delivering important traffic safety upgrades in Inwood,” said New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We thank President Biden, local elected officials, and our sister agencies for their support of this life-saving work.”
“The greatest city in the world deserves high-quality public spaces, and these two projects will expand New Yorkers' public space access for generations to come,” said New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “We look forward to working with our partners at DOT on the greenway along 10th Avenue, creating a safer and more direct path from the Bronx to the greenway along the Harlem River, connecting with historic Manhattan parks like Highbridge Park and Inwood Hill Park as well as to a new waterfront park in development along Academy Street. At Brooklyn Marine Terminal, our coastline will continue its inspiring transformation, helping New Yorkers connect with each other and with our city’s waterfront.”
Recent federal legislation, including the Biden-Harris administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, have made unprecedented amounts of federal funding available for key projects across the country. Recognizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Mayor Adams formed the Federal Infrastructure Funding Task Force. Under Deputy Mayor Joshi’s guidance, that task force evaluates the competitive grant opportunities available, with a focus on new opportunities made possible through both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, and works to break down silos and foster creativity across city agencies. The city has aligned its priorities for high-quality, sustainable, and equitable infrastructure with aggressive and creative grant applications from a wide range of infrastructure agencies. These two announcements represent the single largest day of competitive grant awards in New York City history.
Brooklyn Marine Terminal
The $164 million federal grant for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal comes after Mayor Adams, along with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, NYCEDC, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced an historic agreement that will enable the city to transform the 122-acre Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern, 21st-century maritime port and mixed-use community. This federal grant builds on an initial $95 million investment from New York City and New York state that would stabilize and repair Piers 7, 8, and 10; and fund planning for the site’s future, new modern, electrified container crane for operations at the terminal, as well as a future cold storage facility on-site. This new funding will help rehabilitate and extend the life of Pier 10 — home of the Red Hook Container Terminal — demolish the structurally-deficient Piers 9A and 9B and replace them with a new marginal Pier 9 that is better able to handle modern ships; and improve traffic and circulation for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. In the next 10 years, the project is expected to generate $9 billion of economic value while potentially creating thousands of jobs.
Last week, NYCEDC announced the full membership of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force. The task force is chaired by U.S. Representative Dan Goldman, and co-chaired by New York state Senator Andrew Gounardes and New York City Councilmember Alexa Aviles. It is comprised of a wide range of experts, including federal, state, and local elected officials; the local community board; local resident organizations; maritime and industrial stakeholders; unions; planning and environmental justice organizations; and representatives of the local business community. Through this ongoing process, the task force aims to build a shared vision across stakeholders, community members, and elected officials. The task force is charged with approving the illustrative vision plan, which will include reinvestment and development for a modernized maritime port and a vibrant mixed-use community, for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal in early 2025.
NYCEDC kicked off a series of community engagement events in August, starting with a public information webinar on August 12th, and will hold the first public workshop on September 28th at the Miccio Center in Brooklyn. Community input will be a vital part of the master planning process as it provides NYCEDC with critical feedback at each phase of the project. An initial public survey is now available online. Additionally, NYCEDC has selected renowned consulting firm Buro Happold to spearhead the master plan. WXY is leading the engagement process.
Today’s announcement builds on the Adams administration’s broader strategy to develop the “Harbor of the Future” — a multifaceted initiative announced by Mayor Adams in his State of the City this year to reimagine New York City’s waterfront to fuel 21st-century growth and innovation. The Harbor of the Future includes emerging innovation centers at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the “Climate Innovation Hub” at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, Governors Island, the Science Park and Research Campus in Kips Bay in Manhattan, and the North Shore of Staten Island.
Inwood Greenway
The $96 million federal grant for a greenway along 10th Avenue in Inwood, Manhattan will help the city fill one of the last major gaps in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway to create a continuous cycling route around the island. The project will also address traffic safety equity in Inwood, delivering a host of safety upgrades in an underserved area to make the neighborhood’s streets safer for all. Those upgrades include a new plaza, sidewalk extensions, pedestrian islands, bus boarding extensions, raised crosswalks, and improved lighting under the elevated subway line.
The new greenway segment will stretch 1.35 miles along 10th Avenue, from West 201st Street to West 218th Street, with new, direct connections to Inwood Hill Park at West 218th Street and the Bronx via the Broadway and University Heights bridges. The project will complement the city’s planning for a historic greenway expansion across the five boroughs, including the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx, which is currently in the planning stage. The project also helps advance the administration’s vision to “close the loop” for cyclists and pedestrians around the island of Manhattan.
The construction of the greenway will come with a wide variety of proven safety upgrades along the 10th Avenue corridor, which ranks in the top 10 percent of Manhattan’s most dangerous streets. It will also include various pedestrian and cyclist improvements along Harlem River Drive, south of 10th Avenue. Improvements will focus on reducing the time it takes pedestrians to cross the street, slowing turning vehicles, and improving boarding for bus riders along the corridor. The city will also install a full pedestrian plaza on Post Avenue between 10th Avenue and West 207th Street, adding vital public space to Inwood. Department of Design and Construction will build the project, which will enter the preliminary design phase in spring 2025, followed by additional public engagement.
“I’m proud to deliver the largest federal grant funding for New York City’s bike infrastructure in the history of our city and look forward to the new, 1.35-mile corridor along 10th Avenue in Inwood in my district,” said U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat. “Thank you to my colleagues, Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand, New York City Mayor Adams and DOT Commissioner Rodriguez for the local-federal collaboration to ensure this project has the necessary funding for completion.”
“Today we launch unprecedented investments to bring world class infrastructure to the greatest city in the world,” said New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. “We have secured $2.37 billion in federal funding for modern, vibrant epicenters of activity to accelerate growth in our bustling metropolis. We will transform the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a state-of-the-art maritime and community hub, and we will revitalize Inwood with the new 10th Avenue Greenway pedestrian infrastructure and greenspace. I am proud of my work in Albany to implement much-needed infrastructure, including the 2nd Avenue Subway expansion, the Interborough Express, the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project, new Metro North stations in the Bronx, and the South Shore Staten Island Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. Together, we will build a New York City for the 21st century and beyond.”
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