NYC Reactivates South Brooklyn Marine Terminal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City is reactivating the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park as a working maritime port facility.
The move allows barges carrying ship containers to be ferried from New Jersey to Brooklyn rather than being driven through bridges and tunnels, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"Our ports going forward over the next five years will eliminate 275,000 truck trips, many through low-income neighborhoods in this city," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. "Ten thousand fewer tons of CO2 emissions."
Accompanied by Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez and Councilman Carlos Menchaca, the mayor called it the first step for New York City to have a deepwater container port.
"It will contribute to good jobs, reducing emissions and also cutting congestion on our bridges and our tunnels," said Paul "Chip" Jaenichen of the U.S. Maritime Administration.
The announcement comes after Menchaca and the administration reached a compromise for the facility's oversight.
The Maritime Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday designated the 88-acre site and nearby Red Hook Container Terminal as part of "America's Marine Highway System," which will make cargo operations in southwest Brooklyn eligible for future federal funding.
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