Bushwick Inlet Park: State May Seize Land After Mayor's Inaction

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

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Legislation to finally complete the partially completed Bushwick Inlet Park — by force, more or less — is moving forward in Albany.

A bill introduced by State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, whose districts include parts of Williamsburg, would permit the state-run Empire State Development Corporation to use eminent domain to seize an 11-acre lot at N. 11th Street.

The land is currently owned by CitiStorage founder Norm Brodsky.

If the government seizes his land, it would at last be in control of the full 28 acres of park space pledged to the Williamsburg community by former mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2005. Bloomberg made the deal in exchange for allowing much of the area's waterfront to be rezoned and redeveloped.

Under state law, Brodsky — who couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Monday — would be compensated for his property at fair market value.

An estimate performed by Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, the leading citizens group pushing for the completion of the project, estimates his land to be worth between $78 and $92 million, according to Friends co-chair Steve Chesler.

City officials have said that $300 million in municipal funds have been spent on the park project over the last decade, according to The Real Deal.

But the de Blasio administration said last year that it can't afford to pay for the 11-acre parcel at current real estate rates, a stalemate Squadron and Lentol's bill seeks to break.

The legislation was passed by the State Senate's judiciary committee on May 10, and is scheduled to be voted on by the Assembly's judiciary committee on Tuesday, May 17, according to Lentol spokesman Edward Baker.

Once the state took possession of the land, it would transfer it to the city. The legislation does not stipulate whether the city would need to reimburse the state.

At that point, for every year that the city didn't turn the space into a park, it would be required to "deposit a sum of one million dollars into an account" for new city parks or municipal park maintenance.

Asked where the state would find the funds for the land's purchase, Baker, the Lentol spokesman, said the Empire State Development Corporation "would have to come up with the money," and "would make the determination of where the money would come from."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office did not respond to a request for comment Monday on the bill.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't take a position on the bill, either, saying only that "the city is reviewing the legislation."

In a weekend Daily News op-ed, Squadron suggested that the city could take a slice of future property taxes to pay for the purchase, the same mechanism that has been proposed to fund the Brooklyn Queens Connector.

That could happen whether or not the eminent domain legislation passed, Squadron spokesman Zeeshan Ott confirmed Monday.

Chesler, the Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park leader, said his group "wholeheartedly" backs the eminent domain proposal, noting that the longer the CitiStorage parcel remains on the market, the more expensive it will get.

He also said that using future tax revenue to pay for the land instead was "very creative."

Williamsburg property prices, already rising rapidly, will only increase further once the park is complete, Chesler explained, adding that it makes "perfect sense for some of that tax revenue to be poured back into the community."