Past Events
Brooklyn Marine Terminal:
How Do We Build the Port of the Future?
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
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Plans for this 122-acre site are proceeding with little discussion of the maritime functions that this site should serve for the neighborhood, city, and region. Come learn what planning experts have to say about how the Brooklyn Marine Terminal might realize its potential as a pivotal maritime resource.
About the event:
The Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT) is a 122-acre, public site in Red Hook along one of the last remaining waterfronts in the borough. The City's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has proposed a mixed-use development and state-of-the-art port facility for this site. It has provided the public, however, with little information of what that might entail. Thus far, it has instead directed its energies primarily toward finding ways to finance this critical piece of regional infrastructure through on-site development, specifically through luxury housing projects. This cart-before-the-horse approach has impoverished an already enfeebled public discussion about this project and left outstanding questions about the present and future maritime needs that development on this site should address.
This panel will do what EDC has not—examine compelling reasons to develop the BMT as a maritime resource. Experts will explain the importance of maritime activity to the city, the commercial and recreational potential of this waterfront site, and the policy context for its redevelopment. They will take into account existing programs not currently addressed by the City’s BMT plan, such as the Blue Highway proposal and the regional ferry network, as well as the role the site might play in the transportation of freight throughout the region. And they will bring to bear examples of successful port developments elsewhere in the country and the world.
How we might build the port of the future?
Our featured panelists offer their expert insights.
Carlos Menchaca
A former NYC Council Member who led major waterfront development initiatives, including the revival of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, with a focus on community-centered economic growth. He is a civic engagement leader and 99.5FM WBAI radio host, committed to advancing inclusive, sustainable development and public participation in urban planning.
Jim
Tampakis
Jim is the founder and owner of Marine Spares International, an industrial supply company located in Red Hook; and he is a member of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal Task Force.
Simon
Betsalel
Simon manages capital projects for the Port of San Francisco, formerly for NYCEDC. Throughout his waterfront career he has built industrial infrastructure, ferry stations, and parks.
Tom
Fox
Tom has been a commercial maritime operator and a long standing leader in New York City urban park and waterfront development. He is co-chair of the City Club of New York’s Waterfront Committee and the author of Creating the Hudson River Park: Environment and Community Activism, Politics, and Greed.
Can We Pull Off a Climate Resilient Brooklyn Marine Terminal?
We're About to Find Out!
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30pm
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The Brooklyn Marine Terminal is a 122-acre, public site in Red Hook along one of the last remaining waterfronts in the borough. The City has proposed an ambitious vision for its redevelopment as a mixed-use development and state-of-the-art port facility. The site, however, is located in a coastal flood zone. And thus far, the city's planning efforts have thus far failed to address the current climate vulnerabilities of Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront neighborhoods and disregarded existing and overlapping waterfront and industrial land use regulations currently in place. This panel will discuss the risks of coastline development in New York City and how development plans might account for sea level rise, storm tides, and flash floods. It will also assess the need to address the impact of land use changes on the overburdened infrastructure of the site's surrounding area, including Red Hook's energy grid and the sewage system of the Gowanus watershed. The Brooklyn Marine Terminal offers a generational opportunity to use this public land to meet infrastructure needs and, at once, serve the local community and the region. But this opportunity is inextricable from the challenges posed by climate change. Can we overcome those challenges? Join our discussion and learn how we might!
Featured Panelists
​Carter Craft
Carter is Senior Economic Officer at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and a planner with decades of experience in water, transportation, and land use.
Gita Nandan
Gita is an architect, designer and leader in community resilience planning and design, as well as founder of the Resilient Red Hook Committee.
Klaus Jacob
Klaus is a geophysicist, rebuildier, and world renowned earthquake, disaster, and climate expert. He has worked at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for over 50 years.
Walter Meyer
Walter urban designer and adjunct professor at Stanford University with vast experience in the formulation of resiliency plans.
Brooklyn Marine Terminal: Planning for the Waterfront Future of NYC, or Missing the Boat?
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
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​The development of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT), a 122-acre, city-owned, waterfront parcel in Red Hook, has momentous implications for the future of New York City and has been debated for decades by city agencies, waterfront advocates, and community groups. Last May, the Mayor and Governor announced the creation of a community task force led by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and charged with formulating a vision for the development of the site, which runs along the Columbia Street Waterfront down to the Red Hook Cruise Ship Terminal. Despite this ostensible commitment to community engagement, the process has been marred by a lack of transparency, a compressed time-frame, the absence of a formal public review process, and a failure to entertain development scenarios that diverge from a seemingly predetermined outcome. Nonetheless, the City expects the taskforce to vote on a plan by April 1.
The magnitude and significance of the BMT calls attention to the deficiencies of what has become the typical planning approach in EDC-spearheaded projects. This panel will address how this process falls short of meaningful community participation and consider how development projects and the role of the community might be reconceived so as to better subject planning goals and scenarios to public deliberation.
Featured Panelists
David Burney
Co-founder & Director of the Urban Placemaking and Management Program at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture
Carly Baker-Rice
Project Manager and Executive Director for the Red Hook Business Alliance and a local resident
James DeFilippis
Professor at the Edward J Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and a local resident
Deborah Gans
​Professor at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture and a local resident
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Through-Running: How the Rest of the World Does Commuter Rail
Jan 15​, 2025
Our panel of experts will share insights on international rail strategies as we consider options for transforming Penn Station into thru-running hub. Featuring: Moderator Michael Aronson (NY Daily News), Paul Lewis (DB E.C.O. N. America), Philippe Crist (OECD) Deborah Wathen Finn (Wathen Group)
Economic Growth and Urban Development Through Regional Mobility
Dec 3, 2024 ​
Join us for an insightful evening as we continue to explore the impact of upgrading Penn Station. Among the vexing questions: how does one fund this mega-project? and once upgraded, who should reap the economic benefits of this massive investment?
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Penn Station 3.0: A Bold Vision for the Future of New York City
November 13, 2024
Reimagine the design of Penn Station as a world-class transportation hub, as we face momentous decisions about the station and the future of our city. Don't miss this rare opportunity to witness the transformative potential of design, engage with visionary plans that could shape connectivity throughout the region, and be part of a critical conversation about the most significant infrastructure project of our time
City of Yes: Opportunity or Oversight? Information and discussion session with Council Member Chris Marte
Oct 21, 2024
Before the council chamber fills with debate on COYHO, the City Club offers you a chance to arm yourself wi20th understanding. On October 21, the evening before the hearing, we invite you to a special webinar featuring Council Member Chris Marte—a voice of clarity amidst the noise
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Wellbeing Through Climate Adaptation
September 24, 2024
Join us as we cultivate innovative, practical approaches to climate adaptation that promote wellbeing.
What to expect:
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Nature-based solutions and wellbeing
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A positivist approach to climate change adaptation
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The importance of a resilience mindset
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Democratic options for financing
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Putting wellbeing, equity, and justice at the forefront of climate discourse
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Prioritizing participatory adaptation and stakeholder voices ​
City of Yes? Or Planning Mess?
April 11, 2024 ​
​What does Mayor Adams' "City of Yes for Economic Opportunity" mean for our Neighborhoods?
Is Office-to-Residential Conversion the Cure for What Ails NYC?
March 11, 2024
A panel discussion of this much-discussed solution to NYC's housing shortage. Featuring:
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Alan Mallach Panelist
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John Shapiro Panelist
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Howard Slatkin Panelist
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Margaret Tobin Moderator
Where is the Hotel Pennsylvania Now?​
Oct 23, 2023
Demolition: What are we losing? Is it good for New York City? What to do about it?" A panel of distinguished experts delved into the profound consequences of building demolitions on New York City. This thought-provoking event provided concrete recommendations to address the challenges associated with the rapid pace of demolitions in the city.
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ASK US ANYTHING...
About Penn Station
July 26, 2023
Layla Law-Gisiko, President of The City Club and Liam Blank, Chair of The City Club's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee answered viewers questions about Penn Station, Madison Square Garden and the Northeast Corridor's rail transportation challenges.​
Special Conversation with MTA's Jamie Torres-Springer
July 10, 2023 ​​
The City Club of New York hosted a special conversation with MTA President of Construction & Development Jamie Torres-Springer and MTA Senior Vice-President and CEO of Penn Reconstruction Peter Matusewitch to talk about Penn Station Reconstruction.
