When you learn something new, you start to notice it all around you.
I never paid attention to rain gutters until I bought new ones. Then I found myself looking at what other homes had. Trapezoidal or half-round? Five-inch or six-inch?
Now, having recently read “Why Nothing Works” and “Abundance,” I constantly see examples of the government slowing down projects. The latest was another delay in the Brooklyn Marine Terminal megadevelopment.
It was portrayed not as a setback, but as something to celebrate. And it was caused not by opponents of the plan, but by its alleged supporters.
“We are proud to share that the Environmental Review scoping comment period has been extended to March 31, 2026!” Council member Shahana Hanif wrote in her newsletter. “This comes after sustained advocacy from community members and elected officials. Our office first emphasized this demand in our October 10 letter to EDC, which resulted in an initial extension to December 11.”
She is proud of this?
I acknowledge that comment periods let people voice opinions, which is necessary in a democracy and can yield improvements to a project.
But a five-month extension on top of a six-week extension? Really?
The extensions also mean more time will be needed to review all the comments. (I’ll make my comment short: There’s a housing emergency. Build the damn project!)
Most of this year was already wasted waiting for a 28-member task force to reach a consensus on what to build. That was like herding cats.
The way things are going, everyone who files comments will have died or retired to Florida by the time the Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment is finished. If it ever is.
Comment periods that last six or nine months are one of many efficiency-killers. Hanif’s Oct. 10 letter reveals more of the convoluted process that such projects must endure.
Below, note the dizzying array of acronyms and time-consuming reviews casually mentioned in her letter, which also requests another community meeting. Hanif describes this gauntlet as if it is normal — which, for politicians, it is. They have never done private-sector development, where time is money and delays can kill a project.
“Before any scoping meetings take place, NYCEDC and MOEC should host a public presentation of the full plan, including a Q&A, so community members can understand what will be evaluated in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Holding these hearings before residents have had the opportunity to review and ask questions about the final vision plan prevents substantive input and undermines the CEQR process.”
EDC, MOEC, EIS, CEQR … But wait, there’s more!
“Additionally, the proposed dates for the Draft Scope of Work (DSOW) hearings, both October 28 (in-person) and October 30 (virtual) fall during a particularly difficult and symbolic time. Residents are still recovering from the recent Red Hook fire, and the dates coincide with the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy (October 29), a day of remembrance and reflection across our waterfront communities.”
Superstorm Sandy remembrance? What in holy hell is she talking about?
Sandy caused tremendous damage, to be sure, and a few Brooklynites lost their lives. But the storm was 13 years ago. The idea that we should extend a comment period in 2025 to pause for “remembrance and reflection” of Sandy is preposterous.
Hanif’s staff must have had a brainstorming session to think of the most absurd reasons to stall the Marine Terminal project.
“Hey, everyone, there’s a comet passing by Earth. We need to extend the comment period!”
Her letter went on to complain that the project’s October community meetings were too close to the election, making the schedule “inequitable and exclusionary.”
Who’s being excluded? People who couldn’t spare an hour because they were door-knocking for Zohran Mamdani?
Liberal thought leaders are begging their elected officials to speed up the government before every last American loses faith in its ability to do anything. When “Abundance” reached No. 1 on the bestseller list, it gave me hope.
But everywhere I look, I see the same things happening. It’s nothing to be proud of.
Read more
The Daily Dirt: Red Hook Terminal vote kept at bay
City once again kicks can on Brooklyn Marine Terminal vote
City nabs control of Red Hook waterfront, plans redevelopment
