Bushwick Inlet Park: Mayor de Blasio to Attend Celebration

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Mayor Bill de Blasio will be attending a rally to celebrate the sale of Bushwick Inlet Park to the city and now the ability of residents to use the land in whichever way they see fit. Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, a community organization that has been fighting tooth and nail for over a decade to get the 27-acre park, will organize the rally.

The purpose of the rally is to thank the mayor and other local elected officials for going through with the promise Mayor Michael Bloomberg made in 2005 that the park would be public land for the people of Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

De Blasio's administration finally reached an agreement in November for $160 million with CitiStorage, which owned the last remaining chunk of Bushwick Inlet Park that had yet to be transferred to the city.

Bloomberg promised the parkland as a mitigation for massive zoning changes that in the past 11 years have brought tens of thousands of new residents to the neighborhood. Lack of park space has been a constant complaint from many residents — and the problem has only gotten worse as the population has increased.

"Our administration keeps its promises," de Blasio said in November. "When we commit to build a new park or a new school in a growing community, we deliver. We look forward to working with local officials, activists and residents as we design and build a Bushwick Inlet Park we can all be proud of."

Some local elected officials, many supporting local organizations, Brooklyn's community board, and many other residents will attend.

Don't worry, you won't freeze your fingers off — the rally will be held this Saturday, Dec. 17 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m., inside the Bushwick Inlet Park Community Building, at Kent Avenue and N. 9th Street in Williamsburg. Hot chocolate will also be served! Find more information here.

Photo credit: Kings County Politics