Bushwick Inlet Park Suffers Yet Another Setback

• Pictured: A portion of Bushwick Inlet Park. Photo courtesy of the NYC Parks Department

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A bill that would permit the state to seize 11 acres of land for the partially completed Bushwick Inlet Park was removed from the Tuesday agenda of the State Assembly's Judiciary Committee.

Cathy Peake, chief of staff to Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, the bill's prime sponsor in the Assembly, confirmed Tuesday that the lawmaker asked for the legislation to be pulled. Lentol's district includes much of Williamsburg.

Peake said that because the proposal impacts a specific part of a municipality, and municipal parkland in particular, state law requires it to be approved by the New York City Council before being approved in Albany.

Peake said Tuesday's development wasn't a surprise. Lentol has been requesting the Council to take the bill up since January, she said, but that has yet to happen.

A Council spokesperson said Tuesday that he would look into whether the legislation is on the local agenda.

Lentol's bill, also being pushed by New York City State Senator Daniel Squadron, was passed by the State Senate's judiciary committee on May 10.

As written, it would permit the state-run Empire State Development Corporation to take ownership of an 11-acre lot at N. 11th Street owned by CitiStorage founder Norm Brodsky.

The land was previously used by the storage company, before much of its facility, along with an apartment built by Brodsky, was burned down in January, 2015 fire.

Under the bill, once seized, the land would be transferred to the city to be included as part of Bushwick Inlet Park.

That space is still 11 acres shy of the 28-acre area former mayor Michael Bloomberg promised Williamsburg in 2005, in exchange for permitting the area to be rezoned.

Under eminent domain law, Brodsky would have to be compensated for his property. Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, the leading citizens group advocating for the park's completion, said commercial real estate specialists it consulted valued the 11 acres at between $78 and $92 million.

The legislation does not stipulate if the city would need to reimburse the state for the purchase.