GREENPOINT — The 27-acre waterfront park, promised to North Brooklyn residents by the city in 2005, is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The city finalized the purchase of a portion of the future park located at 1 N. 12th St. Wednesday, forking over $53 million to the to Bayside Oil Fuel Depot Corp., according to property records.
The newly acquired piece of land will go towards the completion of Bushwick Inlet Park, which was promised to Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents in exchange for a rezoning of the waterfront to allow for residential development. The Real Deal first reported the sale.
The city had been in talks with Bayside Oil for some time about buying the land, but tenants had to leave the site before it could be completed, a Parks Department spokeswoman previously said.
Following news of the sale, the Parks Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Neighborhood activist Steve Chesler, who's been pushing for the completion of Bushwick Inlet Park since a massive fire destroyed the CitiStorage building on one piece of land that falls within the area where the park was promised, met Wednesday's news with "cautious excitement."
"We're very happy [and] grateful that another parcel of the park is under city ownership," Chesler said. "But there's still 11-acres to go."
Chesler is referring to the property in the middle of the promised parkland (and about half the total area) that is still owned by Norman Brodsky who reportedly wants $250 million for it.
The city's Parks Department previously said that it had no specific budget or plans for that parcel of land, though they have already set aside $225 million to complete the park's southernmost section, purchase the remaining land not including the CitiStorage lot and demolish buildings on some of that property.
"It's still very much in play," Chesler said.
