Report: Pier 6 development needed for maintenance

The Pier 6 development at Brooklyn Bridge Park has for months been a sore spot for residents living by the waterfront, but a new report released on Wednesday says that the nonprofit running the park claims

News 12 Staff

Nov 14, 2015, 5:22 AM

Updated 3,314 days ago

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The Pier 6 development at Brooklyn Bridge Park has for months been a sore spot for residents living by the waterfront, but a new report released on Wednesday says that the nonprofit running the park claims that the development is key to saving the park itself.
Currently, there are about 13,000 wooden piles that hold up the piers at Brooklyn Bridge Park. But those piles are decaying and compromising the structural integrity of the piers.
In the report, the park says there is better way to maintain the decaying structures - an option that would cost $250 million and be funded in part by the apartments being built on Pier 6. Some residents claim that the buildings would ruin views of the East River.
Local residents and community advocates Glenn Kelly and Ren Richmond agree that the park needs to be repaired, but say the park already has enough money to make those repairs.
David Lowin, the vice president of real estate at Brooklyn Bridge Park, disagrees with them. He says the park will go bankrupt without Pier 6.
"Our projections tell us that even in the best-case scenario, without the Pier 6 development, we will go broke in 10 years without the Pier 6 money," Lowin says.
The Pier 6 development still needs to be approved by the park's board of directors and the state. Once approved, Lowin says the apartments could be finished in three years.