Broadway Junction Transformation Begins With Giant Office Building

BROOKLYN, NY — A massive office and retail building across the street from Broadway Junction will be the start of a major transformation that could put more "pressure" on strained nearby residents, according to local officials.

The Fulton Street building — which city officials broke ground on Wednesday — will bring 1,100 employees from the city's Department of Social Services and 80,000 square feet of new commercial tenants to the Fulton Street, Herkimer Street and Van Sinderen Avenue block.

Touted as a major boost to the East New York economy, the project would be the start of a major transformation at the transit hub, where a proposal for four high-rises from private developers are also in the works, according to reports.

Local officials warned the projects could strain longtime residents.

"This is a giant building — it's a drastic change — and there are a lot of other developments coming this way in this area," Council Member Sandy Nurse said Wednesday. "We need to make sure we protect those who have been here."

Speculation about the development boom has already led many homeowners worried about the changes to sell properties in East New York, where 23 percent of residents live in poverty, Nurse said. Broadway Junction sits at the center of East New York, Bed-Stuy and Brownsville.

The council member urged city officials Wednesday to commit public dollars to local infrastructure around Broadway Junction and protections for homeowners, small businesses and tenants, who might be forced out. Mayor Eric Adams responded to Nurse's concerns with a simple, "I agree."

Adams and other city officials promised Wednesday to monitor tenant harassment and other problems that might stem from the influx of new people to the neighborhood.

"This is a field of dreams — as we build it, they will come — but [them] coming cannot be displacement," Adams said.

The Fulton Street office and retail hub comes after years of local officials, like The Development Corporation of East New York, urging the city to invest in the under-utilized area surrounding Broadway Junction, Adams said.

"It’s not just an office building, it's so much more than that," he said. "People who come to the location, all of the employees — they’re going into the local restaurants, the local bodegas the local stores and they’re helping boost the economy."

Pre-pandemic Broadway Junction saw 100,000 riders each day on its A, C, J, Z, and L lines, according to the MTA. The station itself is earmarked for a $15-million accessibility upgrade, which as announced last year.

Adams said the Fulton Street office building is the first of several that will be rolled out as part of a plan to boost the economy with new city agency hubs. Projects in Queens and the Bronx are next on the docket, officials said.