WILLIAMSBURG — The U.S. Army Corps of engineers has agreed to host a public hearing on a power company's controversial plan to build a floating, natural-gas-burning power generator in the Brooklyn Navy Yard after receiving hundreds of concerned letters from community members worried about the proposal, according to a spokesman.
Last month, community members got wind that the company NYC Energy LLC had started the application process to build a permanently moored, natural-gas-burning generator in the Wallabout Channel, adjacent to the Williamsburg waterfront.
During the public comment period for the proposal that expired at the end of April, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was flooded with hundreds of letters from residents and elected officials who calling for an extended public comment period and a public hearing, according agency spokesman Hector Mosley.
Soon after the public comment period closed, the federal agency wrote to NYC Energy LLC, a sister company SEF Industries, explaining that they'd have to partake in a public hearing before plans can go any further.
The agency's letter included concerns about an earlier lawsuit more than a decade ago, that had managed to prevent the same company from building a power barge.
Brooklyn Paper first reported that a public hearing would be held to further discuss plans for the generator.
NYC Energy LLC and SEF Industries didn't return an immediate request for comment.
