? The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey gave the city Wednesday control of land slated to become Brooklyn Bridge Park amid protest over the site.

The 85-acre park will contain a mix of promenades and recreational areas, including green space, fields and courts. However, 12 planned housing buildings on the property are sparking debate. Protesters gathered at the site Wednesday during the announcement. They worry that placing housing inside a public park for the first time ever would privatize public land. The Empire State Development Corporation counters the buildings are needed to subsidize the estimated $15 million annual upkeep for the park. It claims the other option would be to rely heavily on taxpayer dollars.

Construction will begin next year and will finish in 2012. The Brooklyn Bridge Park would be the first major park built in New York City since Prospect Park more than a century ago.