City Axes $11 Million from Park Funding

By on June 14, 2011 11:48 am in brooklyn bridge park, Development, Government, Real Estate

The City has reduced its funding commitment for Brooklyn Bridge Park from $55 million to $44 million, as reported by Curbed. This is likely, the article says, to increase the need for housing on park land to generate the revenues needed for the park. However, our understanding is that the City’s $55 million commitment was for capital, i.e. construction, purposes, not for operation and maintenance, which was to be funded independently, at least in part through housing.

Update: At this afternoon’s meeting of the board of directors of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, board member and city Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe said that the it was his hope that the funds would be restored before they affected the timing or nature of the park build-out.

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  • http://www.movoto.com/property/ny/brooklyn.html brooklyn properties

    wow a 20% cut and almost no public response… i am surprised this hasn’t blown up in their face yet!

  • nabeguy

    For the life of me, I’ll never understand how this park is allocated $16 million in annual maintenance and Central Park gets $32 million, given the discrepancies in their comparative size, which has to be more like 4 to 1 and not twice as the numbers would suggest.

  • Jeffrey j Smith

    This is what always results from private groups assuming the roles
    traditionally performed by government. The planning and mount-
    ing of public works is the traditional role of government.This allows
    The most direct electoral accountability for what is done.The mo-
    ment you have a non governmental organization (NGO) involved, you have the immediate classic irresponsible power syndrome in place. This is exactly why the most knowledgeable and thoughful of our citizens assail “organizations” like the Council on foreign relations, club of Rome or the Bilderberg.

    The shallow of thought will always make the argument that various private groups are an answer to governmental corruption and mismanagement. This was the argument for the formation of the private “federal” reserve.

    But as this emerging multi million dollar park fiasco clearly demonstrates. Allowing a private corporation or trust to assume any kind of governmental role is always a worse alternative. Now, you have a private organization with its own, often very occult, interests perusing policies which fit its often VERY questionable objectives.

    There is really NO substitute for an intelligent, VIGILANT electorate which monitors its government on a close basis.
    This is the ONLY real safeguard of proper government…or liberty. YOU are the Sole safeguard. The time and effort it takes to keep public servants straight and efficient are the real taxes you have to pay to live in a free society.

    As this park affair increasingly shows, private NGO’s be they called “boards”, “councils” or “committees” always erect the classic structures which allow themselves to operate and exercise
    Power with the least possible accountability and no political or legal liabilities, no matter What actions they take or the long
    (or short) term consequences for their actions.

    JeffreyJSmith.NewYork@usa.com

  • Publius

    To make matters much worse, the Brooklyn Paper reveals this morning how the City is allowing the developers of 1BBP to pay $1,000,000 less than its annual share of $3 million. They are only paying $2 million now!

    So on the one hand, we hear there’s no other viable financing option besides housing in the park, yet now we see that housing in the park is highly questionable in its ability to pay PILOTS. The developers must be subsided and forgiven their obligations. This is shocking and a clear wake up call that hosing in the park won’t be the silver bullet.

    http://bit.ly/jI0VgS

    The fix is in!

  • Jeffrey j Smith

    But “the fix was in” at the start….this is what you ALWAYS get
    with an NGO running any major project or fomulating policy

    power without responsibility.

    In other words..license

  • TMS

    New housing = more children for overcrowded PS8, busting at the seams from all the new DUMBO complexes and soon even more with more families from 20 Henry, the recently sold Poplar street building etc. Any new buildings should be required to build a school to accommodate all of the new children.

  • resident

    I think that one or two of the Watchtower properties would make for a good conversion to a school. I know it’s most often cheaper to build new rather than try to convert a building into a school, but there has to be an ideal property or two in that mix of buildings, right? There must be large meeting rooms, auditoriums, etc. and “education” is part of what goes on there, correct?

  • Jeffrey j Smith

    I received a report on Wednesday that a push-in or a kick-in of an elderly couple occurred Wed AM
    At 245 Henry Street on the first floor. Does anyone know about this? Does anyone have confirmation?

    There are a number of reports over the last two weeks of
    Perps slipping into homes when people briefly step out to visit
    A neighbor or friend and they don’t lock their door.

    (ALWAYS lock your door even for a brief visit with a near neighbor.
    ALWAYS see if the fire escape window is secured. If you have an alarm
    System TURN IT ON whenever you leave the premises however briefly.

    (and if you don’t have a good alarm system in this town…you’re certifiable)

  • Owen

    Nabeguy, if Central Park were built largely on piers, their annual maintenance costs would skyrocket…comparing a waterfront park anchored to piers to Central Park or Prospect Park doesn’t work.

  • http://bivforbrooklyn.com Doug Biviano

    @Owen. From what I’ve seen there are lots of bloated items like $2 million per year to rent park police from NYC Parks. Yet, with all the “park police” my children and I stumbled upon a young couple up against the vent house near Pier 6 nearly going all the way. It was an NYPD (not parks) car circling that got them moving along.

    @ $11 million cut. There’s $4.9 million for the “bridge to the hotel” from where you’re almost there. Politicians should not think their work is done, revisit and reallocate the $4.9 million as a stopgap so we get more park built, not more bridge to private development.