EDC details 60‑acre electric port and industrial space; maritime groups warn plan dilutes working waterfront

EDC told the council its vision for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal centers a modern, electrified 60‑acre port as part of a mixed‑use redevelopment that would include new light industrial space, workforce training and a project labor agreement to secure union jobs.

"The BMT vision plan charts a new future for this site with a modern all electric port at its core, surrounded by a mixed use community with housing, open space, resiliency, and light industrial space," Andrew Kimball said in his testimony. He described earlier asset governance issues and said the agency had assembled experts — including international port consultants — to size a niche port that EDC expects to serve perishable cargo, short sea shipping and "Blue Highway" barge activity.

EDC told the committee the project would include roughly 275,000 square feet of light industrial space at discounted rents, an industrial development fund to support local industrial businesses, and a world class experiential learning center and maritime career readiness programs for local NYCHA residents. The agency estimated a multi‑billion dollar economic impact, including approximately 39,000 construction jobs and about 2,400 permanent jobs across maritime, industrial, commercial and residential activities.

Labor and some construction industry groups testified in support. Frank Clark of the New York Building Congress said the plan would "create more than 39,000 construction jobs and 2,400 permanent jobs" and praised the PLA and workforce investments. The New York City District Council of Carpenters also voiced support, saying the project would create career pathways for entry to apprenticeship programs.

But multiple maritime and industrial advocates said EDC's plan reduces the amount of publicly controlled maritime and industrial land and erases existing tenants and working‑waterfront uses. Portside New York and the Red Hook Business Alliance told the committee that EDC's materials omit or downplay current maritime tenants, and that the plan does not present a credible, tenant‑centered maritime operational plan. "EDC has never presented a serious industrial plan for the BMT," said Susan Povich, chair of the Red Hook Business Alliance, adding that the agency had "not gone after existing grants" and is not treating the industrial strategy as a priority.

Advocates urged the council to secure enforceable protections for industrial jobs and space, to require port tenant retention analyses as part of any approval, and to ensure that public benefits (including workforce training) are written into binding legal instruments rather than presented as aspirational commitments.

Ending: EDC emphasized that a long‑term port operator would be selected through an RFP after GPP approval and that development proceeds and a development corporation would implement contractual commitments; maritime advocates said those mechanisms are insufficient without clearer, enforceable protection of industrial land and existing operators.