In the News: Ortiz Seeks Higher Office and Threat to Sunset Park Post

Assemblymember Felix W. Ortiz, image from http://felixwortiz.com/

*Assemblyman Ortiz Looks Up

For Felix W. Ortiz (D), time has come for the Latino community to make its presence known in New York politics–and Ortiz thinks he can make that happen.

“The Democrats and Republican parties need to have a clear understanding of the major role that Hispanics are playing in politics today,” he told City Hall News.

Picturing Sunset Park: Winter Afternoon

Looking at Bush Terminal from Sunset Park, Brooklyn. January 18, 2010 at about 4:30 pm.

Letter from the Blogger: Brownfields

Plan for the Bush Terminal Pier Park, image from the New York City Economic Development Corporation

I’ve noticed a lot of interest recently in a rather old post on the $10 million dollars allotted for brownfield development along the Sunset Park waterfront. I’m guessing it may have been sparked by the recent announcement that the city may take control of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, as the state does not have the funds to meet the challenge. If you’re curious what this means for the unfinished Bush Terminal Pier Park on Sunset Park’s shore (one piece of a larger Waterfront Vision Plan for the area), so am I.

Wang Bing’s Projection Sheds Light on Bush Terminal’s Industrial History

Chinese documentarian Wang Bing made a name for himself with Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, the nine hour chronicle of the demise of an industrial district in northeast China. Crude Oil, which follows a 14-hour workday of crude-oil extraction the Gobi desert of Inner Mongolia, runs 14.

From November 4-8, Light Industry, an alternative art space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, is screening Crude Oil in its entirety each day from 9am until 11pm.

$10 million allotted for Bush Terminal development

Historic Bush Terminal

Governor David Patterson announced on September 2 that the state will offer up $10 million in Restore NY funds towards the rehabilitation of Sunset Park’s Bush Terminal. The funds will go to demolition, asbestos removal, utility upgrades and new construction, according to the Governor’s press release.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has put out an open call for proposals to redevelop Pier 6 in Bush Terminal, located at the foot of 42nd street. Priority will do to developers whose plans make use of the “waterfront location and industrial character” of the area.

The development of Bush Terminal will benefit the area by generating private investment, jobs and taxes, according to the Governor’s office. The monies slated for the Brooklyn waterfront is a portion of the $153.6 million that the state will distribute communities across the State as part of the third round of the Restore NY grant program.

This announcement follows on the heels of Mayor Bloomberg’s July announcement of a $270 million “Sunset Park Waterfront Vision Plan,” as reported in the Brooklyn Eagle.