Study Says Brooklyn Bridge Park Towers Will Have Insignificant Environmental Impact
Rendering of the Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront via Brooklyn Bridge Park
Critics of the two new residential towers planned for Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park have made complaints that the structures’ environmental impact needed further analysis, but a new study, completed by environmental engineering firm AKRF and set to be released today by the city-controlled Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation asserts that the towers’ environmental impact will be insignificant.
In a statement, Brooklyn Bridge Park said: “After evaluating the potential impacts on 19 distinct environmental categories—including schools, flood resiliency, traffic and open space—and incorporating any relevant updated changes to the project, the environmental regulations and background conditions, the technical memorandum concludes that the Pier 6 uplands project would not have any additional significant impacts.”
One Brooklyn Bridge Park was originally the only residential building in the park, created to supplement the self-sustaining park’s revenue stream. But now residents of the building, along with Brooklyn Heights community members, are outraged that the city has decided to move ahead with the Pier 6 towers and include 30% of affordable housing in them. The critics, who formed a group called People for Green Space, argue that they are not being elitist about losing their waterfront views, but rather oppose the construction of unnecessary private residences in park space.
Brooklyn Bridge Park
People for Green Space sued the park over the summer, citing that “not only was the park building more apartments than the financial viability of the greensward technically required, but because conditions in the borough had changed since the last environmental review, a new one was needed,” according to Capital New York.
The new study finds that even with Pier 6’s 430 units of housing, the amount of park space per 1,000 residents in a half-mile radius would still increase from 1.41 to 1.86 acres, while the citywide average is just 1.5. By comparison, if Pier 6’s 3.6 acres were developed solely as park land with no housing towers, the average would be just a hair higher at 1.9 acres per 1,000 residents. The park is now reviewing 14 different proposals from developers interested in the project.
[Related: 14 New Designs Proposed for Brooklyn Bridge Park Project – BIG, Asymptote and FXFOWLE on the Roster]
[Via Capital New York]
