Brooklyn block 2974, lot 162

This lot is part of the Newtown Creek Significant Maritime and Industrial Area (SMIA). SMIAs are intended to protect and encourage concentrated working waterfront uses, and are regulated by the NYC Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP): http://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/applicants/wrp/wrp-2.page?tab=3#collapse3

Most SMIAs are located in environmental justice communities and in storm surge zones, making places that are already overburdened by contamination especially vulnerable to more pollution due to climate change. The New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA), through its Waterfront Justice Project, has successfully campaigned to update local regulations to address community resiliency and climate adaptation in SMIAs, and continues to research ways to build climate resilient working waterfronts. Read more about the Waterfront Justice Project: http://www.nyc-eja.org/campaigns/waterfront-justice-project/

This lot is part of the North Brooklyn Industrial Business Zone (IBZ): https://www.nycedc.com/industry/industrial/nyc-industrial-business-zones. The IBZ program is intended to protect manufacturing businesses and jobs from the pressures of the residential and commercial real estate markets by creating zones in the outer boroughs where manufacturing is incentivized, commercial uses are limited, and residential rezoning is not allowed. These protections are not enshrined in law, however, and depend on the priorities of politicians for enforcement.

According to an organizer who spoke with John Coyne at the MTA, NYC DEP is currently using this property for an project possibly related to the Newtown Creek cleanup. After they are done the MTA intends to use it to park paratransit vehicles.