Brooklyn Borough President (and congressional candidate) Antonio Reynoso has signaled his approval of the controversial Monitor Point project—with conditions.
Reynoso shared the decision shortly after his office hosted a hearing on March 11, which heard from project supporters and detractors alike.
Though Reynoso acknowledged the community’s natural skepticism toward massive development projects, he also noted Monitor Point’s potential to create more genuinely affordable housing opportunities and to finally build the Greenpoint Monitor Museum.
He directed the developer, Gotham Organization, to make a few adjustments to the plan. Those adjustments include ensuring at least 50% of units are affordable, increasing floor area to accommodate more units, and converting some market-rate units to affordable ones designated for moderate-income households.
The Borough President also encouraged Gotham Organization to take Brooklyn Community Board 1’s recommendations into account; the board recently voted to approve the project, on the condition that they double their annual funding for Bushwick Inlet Park and ensure a 50% local preference in the housing lottery.
Reynoso also cautioned the project’s critics that the site’s circumstances limited its development options. Gotham Organization will construct Monitor Point on land leased from the MTA. In exchange, they must relocate the MTA facility currently housed there. Reynoso claimed that these high upfront costs, plus the annual contribution to the Parks Department, must be offset by some market-rate units.
“The Borough President received testimony from some members of the community suggesting that the proposal should be rejected, with the MTA site instead being developed as an expansion of Bushwick Inlet Park or developed fully as affordable housing,” the report reads.
“These are not viable development alternatives for the site given the site constraints, development costs, and the need to relocate the MTA facility.”
“We are grateful for Borough President Reynoso’s recommendation in support of Monitor Point, following Community Board 1’s vote of support last month,” a Gotham Organization spokesperson told Greenpointers.
“We take seriously the conditions outlined in both recommendations and are committed to working collaboratively to address them as the project moves forward through the City Planning Commission and City Council review.”
The decision is just one step in the longer zoning process, known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). Like the Community Board, the vote is advisory, not binding. Next, the project moves to the City Planning Commission before going to the City Council. The council’s vote is final, unless the mayor vetoes it, but that has historically been rare.
For Greenpointers who are angry with Antonio Reynoso saying “yes” to the giveaway of MTA public land to private developers so that they can ruin adjoining Bushwick Inlet Park with their unaffordable “affordable” monster skyscrapers …there is a way to send Reynoso a very direct message. Reynoso is running to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez (our Congressional Representative). Instead of Reynoso, vote for Claire Valdez (A New York State Assemblymember backed by NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani) or Julie Won (A New York City Council Member ). Greenpoint already has far too many unaffordable skyscrapers straining our infrastructure & further fueling rampant gentrification. If Reynoso does not care about our crucial need for precious green space (which once lost will be lost forever), then he does not deserve to represent Greenpoint & Williamsburg in Congress. The Democratic primary is June 23rd, 2026. Help keep the “green” in Greenpoint. Vote for Bushwick Inlet Park ….NOT for Reynoso.
And you wonder why there are so many problems in NYC, it’s because you keep voting for Democrats. Have you learned anything for the past 2 decades? Democrats don’t care about you !
Are any of these planners taking into account that this area and ones nearby in Greenpoint are going to need day care, grade school. and a high school in the area. All the local schools in Greenpoint are now a lottery due to overcrowding already in the area. Quay Street… do any of these planners know what kind of hike it is to the nearest train station?
It’s a big mistake . Perhaps a school , rather than the ridiculous idea of a Monitor Museum.
Darius… the museum is tribute to the USS Monitor that was built there. It’s a piece of naval history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Monitor
The non-profit behind the Monitor Museum has less than $10k in the bank, has never had an annual budget greater than $16K, and has over $300,000 in debt. It is a barely viable entity, that has literally 0 experience in any museum work or planning of this kind, at all. The Gotham Organization is using this doddering little non-profit as a Trojan Horse into this absolute financial bonanza of a real estate opportunity. This tiny organization was gifted the deed to the adjacent parcel of property decades back by an oil storage company whose property was being taken over by the city, to form Bushwick Inlet Park. This adjacent parcel was intended as a compliment to the park. Not by any stretch of the imagination was the act of deeding this property to the ‘Monitor Museum’ intended to create monstrous towers overhanging this very modest park. The ULURP process, not actually thorough or sophisticated at all, is a costume of due diligence that gives cover to our elected officials so they can fulfill their roles as ambitious pawns in the rubber stamp conveyer belt, playing their roles to a T and serving Big Money their platter of profits. This is capitalism at its very worst, and it is almost laughably ironic.