Rendering of 399 Sands Street. Image credit: Steiner NYC.

Addition of manufacturing and creative space supports City goals to provide more middle-class jobs. On June 13, 2018, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Alicia Glen, together with the Brooklyn Navy Yards and Steiner NYC, announced the beginning of construction at 399 Sands Street. The project will add manufacturing and creative office space at the 300-acre Brooklyn Navy Yard, an urban manufacturing center, and is expected to bring manufacturing jobs to the area. The project is also part of Steiner’s Admirals Row Development, a six-acre site at the southwest corner of the Navy Yard being developed for commercial and industrial use. (more…)

Press Conference at the Central Park Mall. Image credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.

Central Park has not been car-free for over a century, but things will change come summer. On April 20, 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Central Park will become completely car-free. The announcement came right before Earth Day 2018. Starting this June, the iconic greenspace’s Center Drive, Terrace Drive, East Drive, and West Drive will be permanently closed to cars. These closings follow the closure of Prospect Park’s entire loop drive in January. CityLand previously covered Prospect Park’s closings here. (more…)

Photographer/Mayoral Photography Officer

The building is expected to expand the City’s manufacturing industry and create more middle class jobs. On November 9, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio opened Building 77, one of the central buildings within the Brooklyn Navy Yard Industrial Park. The building and its $185 million renovation is a part of a billion dollar investment financed by Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, the Mayoral City Capital, the City Council, and the Brooklyn Borough President to develop Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 300-acre industrial campus in order to meet the demand and growth of manufacturing and industry in New York. The Yard’s renovation is also a part of the Mayor’s New York Works plan to build 100,000 jobs for the City.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

The de Blasio administration furthers efforts to create more public park space for the North Brooklyn community. On October 31, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will allocate $17.5 million for the development and remediation of two parcels of parkland at Bushwick Inlet Park. $7.7 million of the allocated funds will go towards developing the 50 Kent site into a new park while the remaining $9.8 million will go toward the remediation and development of two parcels of parkland at the Motiva site.

Last year, the City purchased the final parcel of land needed for the total acquisition of the park site. Since then, 3.5 acres have been completed and the park has been opened to the public. Currently, the park has a multi-purpose field and an environmentally-friendly building for community activities and incorporates both natural and urban elements of the surrounding community. (more…)

Prospect Park. Image Credit: Joe Buglewicz courtesy of nycgo.com.

Prospect Park’s entire loop drive will be permanently car-free as of January 2, 2018. On October 23, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans for the closure of Prospect Park’s East Drive to vehicles. The announcement follows the success of the Park’s car-free summer when East Drive was closed from July 17 to September 11. After Labor Day weekend, a petition with over 1,100 signatures to continue the car-free program was received. The Park’s West Drive has been permanently car-free since 2015. The Park’s East Drive will be closed to vehicles on January 2, 2018.

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