Thursday, May 5, 2011

City can't afford Brooklyn Bridge Park maintenance

From Crains:

The slim chance that the 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park might be completed anytime soon is getting slimmer. A committee responsible for identifying ways to cover the estimated $16 million a year needed to maintain the space faces a deadline in a month, and how it will accomplish the goal is unclear.

“If we don't have a financial model, we won't be able to proceed with construction,” said Regina Myer, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp., the nonprofit charged with planning, building and maintaining the park.

The city, which assumed control of the project from the state last year, will contribute about $50 million more toward completing the park only if it can reach an agreement with BBPC on a program for self-sustained funding.

The initial plan calls for building six residential properties with a total of as many as 1,300 units, most of them along the edge of the 1.3-mile waterfront park. Residents would pay for the benefit with what amounts to a surcharge, which would help maintain the park at their doorstep.


Why did we take over this extremely expensive project without first having a way to pay for it? Why is the City denying other neighborhoods park space but prioritizing one that they'll never be able to maintain? Sounds like another High Line boondoggle.

7 comments:

Kevin Walsh said...

Brooklyn Bridge Park and the High Line are where rich people live.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Anonymous said...

The buildings converted or built by the Brooklyn Bridge Park must shoulder the burdens of upkeep for the Park. Otherwise leave it an empty mess or sell it to build new buildings - even public housing in front of the building that don't want to pay for the parks' upkeep.

The highline is an extravagant idea that only benefited run down property adjacent to it. Now these properties were rebuilt and are milking the highline for their own benefit without burdening themselves with the the up-keep. I am livid that I have to pay for this park and literally have no easy access to it.

Anonymous said...

Hold a Parkside event there. Then it will get $65 million like the Queens Musuem.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see EDC and City Planning have plenty of funds.

Joe said...

No money ?

Bloomberg was just on a public access channel with some foreigner talking about this new $80 million "cab of the future" company they are creating with public money.
Nisson will be supplying the drive-trains

JO said...

They should just rename it. or rename the bridge, that should raise some money.

that park suuuuucks. The overpass is much prettier and nicer. This is also where they should have put the brooklyn nets stadium.

Anonymous said...

Oh, its no problem. Just take funding from Flushing Meadows, Farmers Oval, Juniper, etc, etc, to pay for it. After all, the yuppies deserve it more.