Gateway to Greenpoint

Project Lead:	Newtown Creek Alliance
Project Partners:	Evergreen; Interval Projects; McGolrick Park Neighborhood Alliance; Newtown Creek Monitoring Committee; Offices of NYC Council Member Stephen Levin and New York State Assembly Member Joseph Lentol; and NYC Department of Environmental Protection
Project Location:	Northwest corner of Greenpoint and Kingsland Avenues
Total GCEF Funding:	$34,683

2018 GCEF Grant:	$30,428	2019 Budget Addition:	$4,255
Total Matching Contribution:	$1,250
2018 Matching Contribution:	$1,250
TOTAL INVESTMENT:	$35,933
2018 Project Completed:	July 2019

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In 2018, though a competitive process, the Newtown Creek Alliance (NCA) was awarded a $30,428 GCEF grant (and provided $1,250 in matching funds) to generate a community-driven, conceptual site plan and associated materials to support the potential future development of a city-owned parcel into a community green space – referred to as “Gateway to Greenpoint.” The 12,000-square-foot parcel is an industrial area located at the northwest corner of Greenpoint and Kingsland Avenues, owned by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). It was designated as community space in conjunction with the renovation of the DEP’s Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The development of the parcel into community green space would create a public access point to other adjacent green spaces, including the Newton Creek Nature Walk, and two GCEF-funded projects: “North Henry Street End Restoration Planning” and the “Kingsland Wildflowers” rooftop. Gateway to Greenpoint would also serve as a model for incorporating open space and ecological value into active industrial areas.

With GCEF funding, preliminary conceptual design plans (produced by architectural design firm Interval Projects) for Gateway to Greenpoint were shared at public workshops to solicit community input on the design plan. NCA and its project partners also conducted outreach to local businesses to engage their input in the design process. After these collaborations, a final conceptual design plan for the project was developed, and a brochure and booklet on the design and design process were created to share with the Greenpoint community.

NCA shared the final conceptual design plan with local elected officials and the DEP in order to identify next steps for moving Gateway to Greenpoint forward, including establishing funding sources for construction, developing a plan for operation and maintenance of the site, and working with City agencies and engineers to develop technical aspects of the design as required for construction.

For more information, visit Newtown Creek Alliance’s Gateway to Greenpoint page: NewtownCreekAlliance.org/Gateway-to-Greenpoint/

Photo 2 by Mitch Waxman.

PROJECT ACCOMPLISMENTS

Hosted 3 public workshops, attended by approximately 100 community members, to engage them and seek their input on the design of Gateway to Greenpoint
Solicited additional feedback on the design via an online community survey and that yielded 13 responses
Created 3 preliminary designs based on feedback received from participants at workshops
Produced a booklet and brochure (available online and distributed to the public at NCA events) to share resulting final conceptual design plan and explain the process used to create it
Created a to-scale model of the final Gateway to Greenpoint conceptual site plan for public display at Kingsland Wildflowers