City To Proceed With Plans To Transform Port

By ELIOT BROWN, Special to the Sun
February 15, 2007

After a Port Authority hurdle was cleared yesterday, the city will move forward with its plans to close the last working container port in Brooklyn.

The Port Authority's new executive director, Anthony Shorris, gave his approval to transfer to the city piers 7 to 12 in Red Hook, which will allow the administration to proceed with its plan to replace and redevelop the existing facility. The port brings in tens of thousands of containers a year containing consumer goods such as coffee and cocoa.

The nod by the Port Authority executive director, an appointee of Governor Spitzer, came as a blow to opponents of the plan that wanted the new state administration to halt the deal, though supporters praised the decision.

"These piers are really in some ways the final piece in our puzzle of putting together a truly great harbor district," Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Doctoroff said the city will try this year to start the public land review process on its plans for the site, which include a cruise ship terminal, possibly a brewery, maritime-related industry, and retail. The project would bring in 10 to 15 times as many jobs as are currently there, he said, and the city ideally would be able to expand a port in Brooklyn's Sunset Park and preserve the lost container jobs.