Greenpoint, Brooklyn Residents Wonder -- Where's The Rest Of Bushwick Inlet Park?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn park promised a decade ago is only a fraction of what it should be. Residents say the city is not holding up its end of the bargain.
A group of concerned citizens from the Greenpoint section of the borough told CBS2's Vanessa Murdock on Friday that it's time for the city to live up to its commitment and turn a ramshackle waterfront into the Bushwick Inlet Park they were promised.
"I'm going to go down fighting because I just feel this is so fundamentally wrong," Greenpoint resident Kim Fraser said.
"We're fighting for the health of our community," resident Jens Rasmussen added.
For a decade they've been expecting a pristine green space, but little has happened.
"This community identified this property as park decades ago. It was made official in 2005 with rezoning," Rasmussen said. "We were given a token slice."
That "token slice" he's referring to he said consists of only five of the 28 acres promised.
The city told CBS2 that NYC Parks is continuing toward the development of Bushwick Inlet Park's additional parcels. So far, it has acquired three of the six parcels along the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront necessary to complete it, with a fourth expected to be paid for in June.
The city added the CitiStorage lot remains unfunded. It's an 11-acre parcel, but the city said there's no schedule to acquire it.
The owner, Norm Brodsky, told Murdock over the phone he hasn't heard from the city about purchasing since the Bloomberg administration held office. And while he hopes the community gets their park, Brodsky said he's doubtful the city will purchase his land, which he values in the hundreds of millions.
Residents argue money shouldn't be an issue when the health and well-being of a community is at risk.
"Our open space is even more precious than it was before," Rasmussen said. "Just 28 square feet per person -- that's less than a queen size bed. The city averages 158 square feet."
"It's time to give the people some green space," Fraser added.
Which is to turn Bushwick Inlet Park into what was originally planned – a 28-acre waterfront respite, but at what price?
A block party and rally were scheduled for Saturday in the hope of raising more awareness about the park, Murdock reported.
