NY Plans to Transform Brooklyn Marine Terminal

Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced an agreement in principle between the City of New York, New York State, the Port Authority, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation that will enable the city to transform the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern maritime port and vibrant mixed-use community hub. This agreement will allow the Port Authority to drive long-term expansion of Howland Hook Marine Terminal, which the Port Authority currently operates on Staten Island. The project to build the 122-acre site stands to potentially help create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers, while generating significant economic impact for New York City. This plan builds on Governor Hochul’s commitment to unlocking economic potential on New York State land, building strong community anchors, and creating good-paying jobs of the future and is a part of Mayor Adams’ efforts to develop a Harbor of the Future — a multifaceted initiative to reimagine New York City’s waterfront to fuel 21st-century growth and innovation.

“Today’s announcement marks the next great chapter for Brooklyn’s storied waterfront and is a win for the people of New York City,” Governor Hochul said. “The transfer will allow the City, working in close partnership with the community and my administration, to begin the long-anticipated process of reimagining the Red Hook piers as a modern maritime facility that also serves community needs. Our partners at the Port Authority will ensure that the marine terminal at Howland Hook remains a thriving shipping hub, building upon the recent landmark announcement of $200 million in private investment to ensure that facility’s strong future.”

New York City Mayor Adams said, “For 20 years, skeptics thought this deal couldn’t get done, but our administration prioritized the ‘Harbor of the Future’ and now we have the potential to create thousands of new jobs, generate billions in economic impact, and create a neighborhood on our shoreline that truly displays the promise of New York City. By assuming control of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Red Hook in our city government’s largest real estate transaction in recent memory, our administration is demonstrating that we will continue to deliver big wins for New Yorkers, day after day. The potential for this area is limitless, and we’re excited to work with the local community, our fellow elected officials, and key stakeholders to come up with a plan for these over 100 acres that works for Red Hook, for Brooklyn, and for our entire city.”

As part of the effort, the city will assume control of the entire marine terminal in Brooklyn, encompassing 122 acres of waterfront in Red Hook and the Columbia Street Waterfront District, including the existing Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Mayor Adams also today announced an initial $80 million investment in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal to stabilize and repair Piers 7, 8, and 10, and to fund planning for the 122-acre waterfront’s future, including an up to $15 million investment to fund a new modern, electrified container crane for operations at the terminal. By mid-June, NYCEDC will assume responsibility for management and operations of Brooklyn Marine Terminal, while supporting existing tenants, including assuming the recent five-year extension of Red Hook Container Terminal’s operating agreement. Through this effort, NYCEDC and the city aim to embrace the future of modern maritime, grow the existing specialized container business, enable the development of a citywide micro-mobility strategy to reduce truck traffic, and work with the community and key stakeholders on a master plan to ensure the long-term viability of the port while incorporating important community amenities.

Governor Hochul also announced a $15 million commitment for a future cold storage facility on-site. The lack of cold storage in Red Hook has contributed to traffic, pollution, and other quality-of-life concerns as perishable merchandise is transported in and out of Brooklyn. By committing this funding, Governor Hochul is building on her long-term agenda to improving the quality of life in Brooklyn and in New York City.

The city will assemble a Brooklyn Marine Terminal Taskforce — chaired by U.S. Representative Dan Goldman with New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes and New York City Councilmember Alexa Aviles serving as vice chairs — to co-lead an extensive engagement process. The process will kick off later this spring and will engage a wide range of stakeholders — including local elected officials, unions, waterfront stakeholders, Brooklyn businesses, workforce development, the adjacent community, and the maritime industry — to develop a shared vision for the future of this vital facility and district. NYCEDC has engaged renowned community engagement and urban design firm WXY to support this work.

Additionally, Mayor Adams announced that the city has submitted grant applications for over $350 million in federal funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to help transform Brooklyn Marine Terminal into the world’s first model for a modern maritime facility optimized for international cargo handling, as well as low-carbon, last-mile freight movement. The funding requests — supported by the elected officials representing the site — prioritize replacing the defunct Piers 9a and 9b with a new marginal pier for greater capacity to handle international containers and micro-freight, and traffic improvements to improve traffic flow around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and in the Red Hook community. Over the past decades, as part of the city’s lease and operation of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, NYCEDC has invested over $162 million into Piers 11 and 12.

The transfer of control in Brooklyn will provide an opportunity to drive economic growth; explore a multitude of mixed-use development options, including housing and community amenities; prioritize workforce development; potential to help create thousands of jobs; and build a modernized 21st-century maritime port in the 122-acre waterfront with a focus on micro-distribution strategies that can remove trucks from New York City roadways.

Howland Hook Marine Terminal

The city will amend its lease of a 225-acre portion of Staten Island’s Howland Hook Marine Terminal to the Port Authority, which currently leases Howland Hook from the city, to give Port Authority operational control of the site. This will bring the entirety of Howland Hook under Port Authority control, supporting its ability to drive future expansions.

Howland Hook is one of the key container terminals in New York Harbor, and it recently attracted its largest-ever private investment. As part of an amended lease agreement announced in September 2023, Howland Hook’s new operator — global shipping and logistics company CMA CGM — committed more than $200 million to transform the site with modern facilities, expanded capacity, and sustainability upgrades — creating hundreds of new jobs and small business partnerships, particularly for minority and women owned businesses. This agreement between the city and the state will help to build on recent investments at Howland Hook and help to drive even more long-term investment in the terminal. Additionally, CMA CGM has committed to boosting the facility’s capacity by 50 percent over the next seven years, allowing it to handle up to 750,000 container lifts each year.

The capacity enhancements will enable Howland Hook to remain competitive with cargo demand forecasted to surge in the coming decades, keeping goods flowing. CMA CGM has also committed to contracting goals for minority-owned, women-owned, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, and to maximizing the use of locally-owned businesses. In the coming decades, the Port Authority and its private partners will strategically invest in upgrades to the site to optimize supply chain integration, create good-paying jobs, and maximize economic growth.

In the coming weeks, NYCEDC and Port Authority will execute a lease and associated agreements for both sites, allowing each to assume immediate control of onsite operations, subject to the approval of each agency’s board.