There was much progress in Williamsburg last night on two major waterfront plans, that for the big Bushwick Inlet Park and for the Greenpoint-Williamsburg portion of the Brooklyn Greenway. Community Board 1 voted in favor of the Greenway in a room that was packed to capacity. Meanwhile, the rendering shows "Phase 1" of the big new city park immediately to the north of East River State Park, which is now a huge parking lot. The surprise is that work on the the athletic field will start in the fall and that the field will be open next summer. Work on "Phase IB," which will be a maintenance building / Comfort Station / Community Space with a playground will start next summer and finish in Summer 2010. There will also be "wetlands" later on.
The Parks Department describes the park, the overall plan for which is above, as "a contemporary park featuring a playground, a multipurpose field, a site for a future seasonal café, a naturalized waterfront edge and a multi-use bicycle path." Work on lots to the north would occur later. A special correspondent at the Community Board meeting reported the Greenway might a temporary bike lane on Kent Avenue:
Ultimately there will be two parallel greenways - one on the street, for high-speed biking, commuting, etc, and one that incorporates the waterside "promenade" that developers have to opt into to get the maximum build density under the rezone, and the future parks...there's lots of new parking coming via commercial properties that are going residential - the current load zones and such will revert to good old alternate side parking rules. Also the new high rises with garages will likely have 30% available to the general public (though not mandated).Land for the new park includes that would have been used for the big TransGas Power Plant that was recently shot down in Albany.
· Will End of Gas Pains Clear Way for Big Burg Park? [Curbed]
· Burg's Gas Pains Finally Cured: Power Plant is Really Dead [Curbed]
· Check Out the Future Brooklyn Greenway [Curbed]
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