Gowanus Sponge Park: The Plan, Close Up

This is the plan for Sponge Park. We pulled out the image above to allow a better view because it contains some interesting elements. Of note, is the part of the park envisioned to surround the old power plant near the canal. This is property that was proposed as Gowanus Village by developer Shaya Boymelgreen that is now back on the market for $20 million. The plan includes creation of new water features around the plant. The area above the plant (photo of the building, below) was once a turning basin for the canal that was filled in with unknown material.

Meet Gowanus Sponge Park in Detail

Here are renderings of Sponge Park, which was presented by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy this week. The design comes from dlandstudio and is of a park that "would be aesthetically beautiful while working to reduce the problem of contaminated water flowing into the Gowanus Canal. The plan proposes a continuous esplanade running the length of the canal (and extending into the neighborhood at certain points) and designs for the publicly-owned street ends and bridge crossings that would connect to this walkway." While the Gowanus plan will like mandate an esplanade along the canal, it will likely leave creation of the amenity up to individual developers as their properties are developed, as is the case in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Much of the property that Sponge Park would traverse is privately-held and some aspects of the plan--like the restored power plant--run counter to developers plans for property. (The land on which the power plant sits is on the market right now for $20 million.) All that aside, the renderings show a Gowanus future that is pretty darned nice.

The park at the end of Sackett Street.

Sponge Park from Third Street. Whole Foods would be on the left; property owned by Verizon is on the right.

A view of Sponge Park from the Third Street Bridge.

Upcoming: Open Space Alliance Wants Burg/Greenpoint Waterfront Pics

We got an email from the Open Space Alliance of North Brooklyn, which is looking for photos for its website. They write: "OSA would like to showcase your work on our website (which is being substantially improved). We will consider photos relating to any aspect of any park/greenspace/waterfront in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. We welcome recent photos, as well as vintage family photos. Please send submissions to info@OpenSpaceAllianceNB.org as soon as possible."

New Gowanus Canal Vision: Sponge Park

This is an "environmentally-conscious public park space around the Gowanus Canal" called Sponge Park that comes from the Gowanus Canal Conservancy and is designed by dlandstudio. There will be a presentation about it on Monday, April 21 at 6:30PM at PS 58, which is in Carroll Gardens at 330 Smith Street at the corner of Carroll. Meanwhile, this is the view of the esplanade from 3rd Street looking North. A release from the Conservancy says "this 'smart park' is being designed to be beautiful while it also will reduce the CSO problem." The current approximate view of the same area is below. (The big Toll Brothers development would be on the opposite bank of the canal.) The land involved is currently a Verizon parking lot and the "Gowanus Village" property owned by developer Shaya Boymelgreen that has been put back on the market for $20 million.

Upcoming: "Push for Parks" in Burg & Greenpoint

There will be a Push for Parks status meeting in Greenpoint tomorrow (4/17). It is sponsored by the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning (GWAPP). It will include updates on Million Tree Project, Barge Park, Cooper Park, India Street End, Greenpoint Ave/Transmitter Park, UFMP (United Friends of McCarren Park), Bushwick Inlet Park, Brooklyn Greenway, East River State Park and more. It takes place at 7PM at Warsaw (aka the Polish National Home) at 261 Driggs Avenue. If you want to know about parks in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, this is your meeting.

GL Guest Analysis: Will Ends Justify Means at Slope's Boymelpark?

What is up at the Terrapin Playground, the section of J.J. Byrne Park behind the Novo Park Slope that developer Shaya Boymelgreen is renovating? The developer promised to spend millions of dollars renovating the playground in exchange for the Parks Dept. letting him use the large playground as a staging area while workers constructed his condo. Work on the playground was supposed to be complete in early May. Judging from the lack of progress on the site, that now seems unlikely in the extreme. The playground, in fact, was originally supposed to be finished last summer, then last fall, then this spring. Around this time last year, Community Board 6 recommended that the Department of Buildings deny the developer a certificate of occupancy for the Novo until work on Terrapin was complete. Work on the playground did eventually start, but after about three years of construction, no one has yet moved into the Novo, and sales for the building are not doing extraordinarily well. In fact, there was recently a round of price chops on the property.

The price chops bring an obvious question to mind: What pressing motivation--aside from outcry c/o some angry contract-holders--do Boymelgreen and his partners have to get a C of O for a building that still has a lot of unsold units? And, if there's no great motivation to get a C of O, what's the rush to complete Terrapin? Putting aside the current delays, however, it's probably reasonable to assume that Boymelgreen will keep his word, and that the new Terrapin--with eight new handball courts, two new basketball courts, a skate area, and a dog run area--will eventually see the light of day in a month or six months or two years. At that point, and for years to come, it just might happen that a private developer's very, very slow progress on city land will be mostly forgotten. The playground will be a playground, and the public will use it. Does public-private development become justifiable at that point in the future? In theory, public-private partnerships can have great benefits for all involved. But, the sticking point right now is not public-private development in theory. The issue is the reality of developers that many people in the community believe have shown a lax sense of scruples. Would we ever expect Mr. Boymelgreen and his partners to build a visionary playground, like the one planned at Burling Slip? Unlikely. Would we expect him to borrow a public space for several years and see a lack of returns on that loan for far too long? Sadly, yes.
--Max Casey

(Max Casey lives near J.J. Byrne Park and is looking forward to using the new Terrapin Playground, particularly the dog run.)

Upcoming: Fence Painting at Carroll Park

We saw fliers for this a couple of weeks ago and didn't get a photo. Here's an email that's gone out about the fence painting at Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens this weekend:

Tom Sawyer Fence Painting Day At Carroll Park: This Saturday, April 12th, come out to show one of Brooklyn's oldest parks some love! Give a little back to your community. Come out to help paint the fence at Carroll Park.

It takes place on Saturday (4/12) from 9:30AM to 3 PM and is sponsored by the Committee to Improve Carroll Park, NYC Parks And Recreation and New York Cares.

TransGas Victory Party This Weekend

Those who follow news of the Williamsburg waterfront will know that the big proposed TransGas power plant on the Bushwick Inlet was dealt a fairly decisive blow in Albany a couple of weeks ago. (TransGas will likely appeal, but has little chance of success, even though delays could interfere with plans to use the property for the 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park.) In any case, there's a "Victory Over TransGas Party" or VTP happening at the Brooklyn Brewery on Sunday. Specifically:

Join us in celebrating our astounding victory over TransGas’ bid to build an 1100 mw power plant on the Bushwich Inlet...it’s TIME TO CELEBRATE and say THANK YOU to the community who helped make this long 7 year struggle a success. Beer, food, music, and a sneak peek at the future of the Bushwick Inlet.

It all happens on Sunday (4/13) from 2PM-6PM at the Brooklyn Brewery, which is located at 79 N. 11 Street in Williamsburg. More info over at the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks & Planning (GWAPP) website.

Fall Start for Work on First Part of Bushwick Inlet Park

This is a rendering of what the Parks Department calls Phase I of the 28-acre Bushwick Inlet Park that will (at some point) create a vast new area of open and recreational space on the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts. Work on the soccer field will start this fall. Phase 1 involves the southernmost portion of the park, which is currently an Enterprise car rental storage lot. Phase I will go ahead in two parts. Phase 1A will be the multipurpose athletic field and the Parks Deparment is "hopeful that construction will start this fall and that the field will be open next summer." Phase 1B is a maintenance building / Comfort Station / Community Space, with a Playground and Waters Edge / wetlands. The plan is to start work on it in the summer of 2009 and complete it by summer 2010. The building has been planned so that its roof can be used. Per the Parks Department:

This will be a contemporary park featuring a playground, a multipurpose field, a site for a future seasonal café, a naturalized waterfront edge and a multiuse bicycle path. The construction of a combination Community space, District Headquarters and Comfort station will service the needs of the newly created Bushwick Inlet Park. This facility will house Parks Department offices and maintenance trucks, in addition to public restrooms and community spaces and multi-purpose rooms.

The full site plan is below.

Bklink: J.J. Byrne Washington Park

The move to rename J.J. Byrne Park as Washington Park is continuing to make progress. Mr. Byrne was a Brooklyn borough president elected in 1926 who died in office four years later. The park would be given the name it had in the 1880s "when it was home to the baseball team that would become the Dodgers. That name is a nod to the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn, in which British and American forces fought for control of the farmhouse. As a consolation prize, a playground within the park would be named after Mr. Byrne." The legislation is expected to pass the City Council.--NYT

Brookbit: Park Crime

According to a new survey of crime in city parks the largest number of crimes over the last 18 months occurred in Central Park, Flushing Meadows Park, Prospect Park and Riverside Park. Flushing Meadows Corona Park had 99 incidents, including robberies, grand larcenies and two rapes. Prospect Park had 57 crimes, Riverside Park 31 and Bronx Park had 30. No crimes were reported in two Staten Island Parks. Central Park had 162 crimes.--New Yorkers for Parks

Breaking: Big Williamsburg Power Plant is Finally Dead

The big TransGas power plant proposed for a waterfront site between N. 12 & N. 14 Street in Williamsburg/Greenpoint is finally dead. The state Siting Board on Major Electric Generation Siting and the Environment rejected a proposal today to locate an 1,100 megawatt underground plant on the site. The plant had actually been killed in 2004, but came back as a revamped proposal for an underground facility. The city wants the site as part of a big 28-acre park around the Bushwick Inlet. Council Member David Yassky issued a statement calling it a rejection of an "inappropriate proposal" that clears the way "for the open space North Brooklyn so badly needs." Assem. Joe Lentol, meanwhile, who has proposed taking the eight acres of land via eminent domain for the park said, "I could not be more thrilled at this decision" and called the proposal "a travesty and a betrayal." While some of the land for the park has been assembled, signficant hurdles remain. More details and reaction to follow.

Bklink: Park Troubles

Does Brooklyn Bridge Park have more trouble on its hands? Yes, it does. The latest issue, revealed in today's Post, is objections from the Department of Environmental Conservation to many of the park's water features. DEC says they could harm aquatic life. Negotiations are underway.--Curbed

Bklink: Greenpoint Wall

What sort of park is built with a twelve-foot wall on the East River that could block views of Manhattan? Well, it's a possibility at the weird temporary park that is going in at the foot of India Street in Greenpoint. "They are going to pave over with colored concrete, remove the chain link fence and replace it with concrete barriers (similar to what is along highways). This might be topped with steel fence. It could be up to 12 feet high."--New York Shitty

Upcoming: Workshop on Brooklyn Bridge Park

We don't know a lot about the session that's being planned to talk about Brooklyn Bridge Park, but we do know that it sounds like it's going to be interesting. Groups that are working to develop the park in a manner that is different from the official Empire State Development Corp. model are holding it. Here's the info:

You're urged to attend the Brooklyn Bridge Park workshop on plans for Pier 6 and the Atlantic Avenue gateway, which will be held at Long Island college Hospital on Thursday, February 28, 2008, between 7 and 9 PM. in the main floor conference rooms B & C. The meeting, sponsored by the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association in collaboration with the Cobble Hill Association, the Sierra Club, the Willowtown Association, Brooklyn Vision and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, will be moderated by Ethan and Fred Kent of the Project for Public Places, internationally known architects and urban planners. This will be an opportunity for you to hear a variety of views and to present your opinions in a representative and unfiltered forum. Come at 6:30 PM for refreshments and sign-in.

For those that have only casually followed the long running saga of the big real estate development and open space project, there have been bitter disagreements about how to develop the park and the amenities that it should include. (The image here is a rendering showing the bulk of the luxe condo towers that would be built at the foot of Atlantic Avenue as part of the development.)

Upcoming: Another J.J. Byrne Park Discussion Session

Another session to discuss possible renovations to J.J. Byrne Park on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope is taking place tomorrow (Tuesday, January 22) from 7PM-9PM. Two sessions were held last week. Kim Maier, who is director of the Old Stone House sent an email via the Park Slope Parents group:

Play space, open space, green space - what do you imagine?!? Join us for a group discussion hosted by the Old Stone House and Brooklyn Parks to get your input on potential renovations to the 5th Avenue side of the park between 3rd and 4th streets. Please RSVP and let us know if you are planning to attend --oldstonehouse@oldstonehouse.org or call 718-768-3195. This is a wonderful opportunity for community input, and we look forward to hearing from you.

It will take place at the Old Stone House in JJ Byrne Park, on Fifth Avenue between Third Street and Fourth Street. Hopefully, the organizers will widely distribute a summary of the meetings and of the conclusions to share with the broader community.

GL Cold Weather TV: The Floating Pool

In the summer, when it gets blazing hot, we will occasionally post a photo or video of Brooklyn in winter. So, during this little cold snap, we bring you the Floating Pool. Ah, summer.

Greenpoint's Transmitter Park Coming Soon

This is a conceptual plan for "Transmitter Park," which is one of the parks that was discussed at the Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning meeting the other night at Warsaw. The rendering has been around for a while, but New York Shitty reports that work on the park, which would be on the former site of WNYC's transmitter at the end of Greenpoint Avenue, would begin soon and that the park will be ready at the end of 2009 or in early 2010. The plan shows that it would include a cafe in the building that was once WNYC's transmitter building. The 1.8 acre park is budgeted at $10 million. Miss Heather writes: "Of all the plans presented last night this one was by and far my favorite. Not only is the location fantastic, but I suspect I speak for many when I say quality park space in north Greenpoint is long, LONG overdue." A final plan is due in June. To see the full conceptual planning document, which is a PDF, you can click here. (WARNING: Clicking will OPEN A PDF.)

A significant amount of open space and parks were promised as part of the 2005 Williamsburg/Greenpoint rezoning that allowed development of buildings up to 30-40 stories tall on the East River waterfront. Residents have been frustrated by the slow progress on the city's parks commitment versus the relatively quick pace of development that has followed. The rezone, which was not embraced by everyone locally, and was on one of the most significant neighborhood makeover attempts by the Bloomberg Administration. The open space component and "inland" downzone that was part of the bigger package were intended to create neighborhood support for the highrise part of the plan.

Upcoming: Williamsburg Parks & Open Space Meeting Today

We've posted before about the "Town Hall" meeting sponsored by the Greenpoint Waterfront Assocation for Parks & Planning at Warsaw on January 17 at 7PM (261 Driggs Ave.). But, it's important enough to note again. (There's a small article in Metro today about it as well.) Here's a bit from the original email announcing it:

The neighborhoods of Greenpoint/ Williamsburg are at a point of crisis and opportunity. Crisis because rampant development threatens what little open space and parks we have. Promises of additional open space made in the 2005 rezoning have never materialized. However, opportunities abound. We have promises made for terrific park facilities all over the neighborhood. We just have to make it happen....Here’s a sneak peak at the agenda:

* What is GWAPP? * TGE power plant fight *Sludge tank status * India Street End Park Project * Transmitter Park (end of Greenpoint Ave) *Bushwick Inlet park plans * McCarren Park Pool renovation* State Park at N7th * Tree Planting

All important topics.

Bklink: More About JJ Byrne Park Upgrade

"The Old Stone House will open its doors to the community tomorrow and Saturday to discuss conceptual plans for renovating the Fifth Avenue side of the park. Plans for the Fourth Avenue side are underway." A $2 million phase will include a large synthetic turf field by 2009.--Metro