UPROSE and NYCEDC see different way forward

In a dense city with limited land available, the underutilized land and buildings of the industrial waterfront of Sunset Park hold great possibilities. How they should be developed and for whom is an ongoing question. Two nonprofits with long-term interests and roots in Sunset Park are now openly clashing on their vision for the industrial waterfront’s future.

On one side of the argument is the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), which manages the Brooklyn Army Terminal and is spearheading BATWorks, an initiative to transform 200,000 square feet of the space into “a cutting-edge climate innovation hub.” As they put it, the plan will attract, “Technologists, entrepreneurs, and talent working to develop, pilot, and deploy new solutions to combat the effects of climate change.”

Elizabeth Yeampierre, the executive director of UPROSE, a Sunset Park-based nonprofit with a focus on climate justice, disagrees.

“If you’re supporting AI and you’re inviting AI companies to our industrial waterfront ... you’re inviting an industry that has already been documented to take up an enormous amount of land and energy resources and hurt frontline communities; that’s not climate innovation, that is capitalism using a green patina to confuse our community.”

Both nonprofits have a long history of working together. UPROSE spearheaded Sunset Park Solar, which consists of an array of solar panels already installed on the roof of one BAT building. This initiative will provide discounted electricity to local residents and businesses in Sunset Park. New York City Economic Development Corporation has worked with UPROSE to engage community members over the years.

But the debate over BAT’s future has driven the nonprofits apart.

NYCEDC, also a nonprofit, manages BAT as well as other large tracts of Sunset Park’s industrial waterfront. The City of New York acquired Brooklyn Army Terminal in 1981 from the federal government and in 1986 NYCEDC was given the task to manage the massive property.

The Brooklyn Army Terminal, first opened in 1918, consists of 59 acres of land with multiple buildings. It’s located south of 58th Street between Second Avenue and the East River.

NYCEDC describes BATWorks as a place where, “Climate technologies can develop and scale their products ... serve as the first semi-permanent test bed, or innovation sandbox ... providing startups with a space to pilot their technologies in a live, urban environment.” The space will include a wet chemistry lab, an environmental simulation lab, and an electronics lab, among other facilities.

To help envision the plan, NYCEDC brought in two organizations with extensive national experience designing and managing this kind of innovation hub, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and Cambridge Innovation Center. Also included in this consortium are two NYC-based universities, CUNY and NYU.

UPROSE, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, points to its own extensive waterfront plan called Grid 2.0 as a preferable alternative to BATWorks. “We have a plan that comes from close to 12 years of community-based planning ... based on what the community has stated to be a priority,” Yeampierre says.

UPROSE’s plan is more focused on retaining the industrial character of the waterfront, creating new light and heavy manufacturing, building the things that are needed to face the existing and future climate crisis, and doing this with clean industry.

Describing NYCEDC’s approach, Yeampierre says, “We’re coming to your community with our plan and we will figure out how you will become part of it. That is so condescending and disrespectful to a community that has a plan that is operational and is sophisticated.”

NYCEDC has defended its approach, noting, “Over the last two years, NYCEDC has conducted outreach to over 500 stakeholders in Sunset Park including elected officials, citywide partners, environmental justice organizations, community groups, and more, regarding the BATWorks project.”

NYCEDC points out that ninety percent of BAT is already occupied with 100 tenants. The 200,000 square feet they intend to develop for the BATWorks campus will be only a small fraction of the 4.1 million square feet total of space in BAT. The space planned for BATWorks will be newly renovated and just coming online, so no existing tenants will be displaced, according to NYCEDC.

Other nonprofit organizations in Sunset Park are collaborating with NYCEDC to connect local residents with employment opportunities in BATWorks. These include Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation, Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, and Brooklyn Workforce Innovations.