It's been more than a year since a 7-alarm fire ripped through the CitiStorage warehouse on the Williamsburg waterfront, charring a piece of extremely valuable land that former mayor Michael Bloomberg vowed to incorporate into the as-yet-unrealized 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park. And while the City is no closer to purchasing CitiStorage, a new seven-acre parcel acquired this week, for $53 million, nearly doubles the City's waterfront holdings.
The Bayside Fuel Oil Depot, located at 1 North 12 Street, runs along the southern edge of Bushwick Inlet and is currently stacked with three-story warehouses and fuel storage tanks.
"We knew it was in the works, but we didn't know exactly when it was going to happen," said Stephen Chesler, 53, of the local advocacy group Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park. "We're very grateful that all of the land has been acquired but CitiStorage, and we encourage the City to ride the momentum and make the full park like they promised."
"CitiStorage is right smack in the middle of where the park should be," he added.
(Courtesy Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park).
Back in 2005, then-Mayor Bloomberg promised the park as part of a major Williamsburg waterfront rezoning initiative. Then, in 2011, he admitted that he didn't have the money to buy the 11-acre CitiStorage site. At the time, he estimated that the site would cost between $60 and $90 million. By last June, the NY Times reports, the city had spent $225 million buying up just nine acres of the proposed 28.
According to Crain's, CitiStorage owner Norman Brodsky has valued the site at $500 million. And while Brodsky recently shot down rumors of a $250 million deal with residential developers, he recently told Bedford + Bowery that he gets bids on the property "every day," and will have to act "sooner rather than latter."
The Parks Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about next steps for the Bayside site.
Last summer, the Parks Department stated that it was "taking substantive steps" to complete Bushwick Inlet Park. However, asked at a City Council meeting if he was committed to buying CitiStorage, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver replied, "Ah, I did not say that."
UPDATE: The City confirmed that an additional $22 million has already been set aside for the demolition and remediation of the Bayside site, and that remediation at nearby 50 Kent Street, the old Brooklyn Flea site, is already underway.
Mayoral spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas stated that, "With four crucial parcels now acquired, our next step is to focus on remediating and developing these sites."
