NYC Offers $100 Million for Bushwick Inlet Park Land (Updated)

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

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — New York City has offered to pay $100 million to developer Norman Brodsky in exchange for 11 acres of Williamsburg land he owns needed to complete the long-promised Bushwick Inlet Park.

"As part of our longstanding efforts and continued commitment to making Bushwick Inlet Park a reality, I am pleased to offer you $100,000,000 for the purchase of the blocks and lots," Alicia K. Glenn, the city's Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, wrote in a Thursday letter tweeted out by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"The city believes that this is a fair and reasonable offer based on the property's current M3-1 zoning and is very generous given the known and unknown costs associated with the multiple sources of environmental contamination on the properties," Glenn wrote.

M3 land is for manufacturing uses.

Brodsky could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday, and de Blasio's office did not immediately respond to a question asking if they'd heard back from the property owner.

In a statement, Councilman Stephen Levin, whose district includes the park, applauded the move, saying that Williamsburg and Greenpoint "are beyond overjoyed" at the offer.

"This decision will have an impact for generations to come, not only through expanding much needed public space, but also by setting a precedent for future administrations and their commitments made to the public," Levin wrote.

Last month, Levin said he would "absolutely" back state legislation permitting the city to seize Brodsky's property using eminent domain.

Meanwhile, the leading community group pushing for the park's completion, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, circulated a letter Thursday claiming that Brodsky is working with realtors at Cushman & Wakefield to market his property for $300 million, claiming (falsely, according to the organization) that it can be rezoned.

As evidence, the author of the letter, Adam Perlmutter, shared a recent article from trade publication Real Estate Alert noting that the property "could fetch bids north of $300 million."

Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park estimates the land to be worth between $73 million and $88 million under its current zoning.

"Whether or not people think that Brodsky is greedy, the value of his property is something that does not require a degree in rocket science," the letter stated. "The law and the facts dictate that the City has made him a very fair offer that he should take."

In 2005, former city mayor Michael Bloomberg promised to create a 28-acre park on the Williamsburg waterfront, in exchange for permitting the area to be rezoned.

The park is currently 17 acres. Brodsky's parcels are the site of a former CitiStorage facility (a company he founded) that burned down in February, 2015.

Thus far, however, Brodsky has refused to sell. Sen. Daniel Sqadron and Assemblyman Joseph Lentol are pushing legislation in Albany giving the state the right to use eminent domain to take the land, though it remains stalled.

(Editor's note: a previous version of this article was published before the Real Estate Alert document linked to was received by Patch.)