The fix is in! City cuts big developer’s taxes in Brooklyn Bridge Park

The city has let One Brooklyn Bridge Park off the hook for $1 million in Brooklyn Bridge Park maintenance fees. The agency in charge declined to say why.




“This shows yet again that we need to come together to agree on a new, innovative funding stream that allows the park to reach its potential,” said State Sen. Daniel Squadron (D–Brooklyn Heights), a longtime opponent of condos in the park.






Levine’s company did not return a call on Tuesday.

The million-dollar reduction raises doubts on how much future luxury developers will actually contribute to the park maintenance budget — even as the city is moving forward with housing as the primary funding method.

Last week, the city released an analysis of alternative revenue streams for the park’s eventual $16-million maintenance budget. The report was rubber-stamped by the park’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing on Tuesday, though it remains to be seen which revenue proposals will be implemented.

Bay Area Economics, the consultant hired by the city, studied nine revenue streams, including sponsorships, vendor fees and a park improvement district, which, like a business improvement district, would levy a small tax on property owners near the park.


Some locals and elected officials called the study a sham, saying the city refused to consider property tax revenues from existing buildings. Specifically, the properties owned by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society that could soon come on the market.

Squadron and a host of other officials urged the city to consider the so-called “Watchtower properties” — nearly 30 buildings that currently are not on the tax roles under federal laws that exempt religious groups from paying their fair share. He believes that those buildings could generate millions in property tax once they change hands.

The study could only disappoint Squadron and other opponents, given that the consultant was bound by two conditions: a) the 2002 agreement between the city and state that mandated that the $350-million park generate its own revenue for annual upkeep, and b) a requirement that the consultant not consider any revenue, such as property taxes, that otherwise would go into the city’s general fund.

But a contingent of residents and city and state politicians contend that Watchtower properties do actually fit within the study’s guidelines.

Councilman Steve Levin (D–Brooklyn Heights) said that Watchtower proposal isn’t an outrageous idea — it’s what was already done with One Brooklyn Bridge Park, ironically, a former Watchtower warehouse.

Once the building was rezoned and resold, the condo developer paid fees called “payments in lieu of taxes,” which are designated to the park, not the city’s cashbox.

“Just because the report excludes the Watchtower properties doesn’t mean the issue’s out of the way,” Levin said. “We need viable and responsible ways to fund this park, and I don’t quite understand why this suggestion continues to be rejected.”

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