'People just don't like it' Greenpoint rallies against proposed cafe and marina at WNYC Transmitter Park
The project is the latest idea in a decade-plus effort to get a permanent public bathroom built at the park
Greenpoint residents are banding together against a proposal that would bring a cafe, bar and marina with up to 40 slips to WNYC Transmitter Park.
"It's one of the only parks we got, and to turn it into more of a commercial enterprise than a community space, feels off," said City Council Member Lincoln Restler, who represents the area.
"People are really nervous about it," added Elissa Iberti, the chair of the volunteer group Friends of WNYC Transmitter Park, "this is their quiet space."
The idea is the latest attempt in a decade-plus effort to get a permanent public restroom built at the park.
Restler says it would cost the city around $5 million to do that on its own, so they have been looking for a partner to renovate the historic WNYC building inside the park and make a bathroom in it.
"If they sold coffee or something modest, that could be fine - beer, wine," said Restler.
After at least three other attempts to find someone failed, the New York City Parks Department recently released a draft of an agreement to instead demolish the building, and do a bigger project, which would take at least three years.
"The draft was pretty alarming," said Iberti. "This is not Brooklyn Bridge Park, this is not a big space, the scale of this is just way too big."
The rest of the neighborhood started pushing back almost immediately, and already, the City has hosted both a virtual community meeting, and a public forum on the project.
Restler, along with other elected officials from the state level, also wrote a letter, asking the Parks Department to reconsider.
"99.3% of the people who have reached out to our office has expressed opposition," said Restler. "This is not a project that there's two sides to. People just don't like it."
Iberti says she hopes everyone can come to the table and find a smaller option, but as things stand, the tradeoff would not be worth it.
"If the cost of this bathroom is this (project) that changes this park, maybe we do nothing," she said.
The Parks Department tells News 12 "at parks across the city, we've seen how concessions like cafes can make our public spaces more vibrant and welcoming, and we're looking forward to bringing that to WNYC Transmitter Park."
A source also says that Parks does not even plan to start looking at specific designs until 2027, and would not go forward with the project without what was described as "extensive community outreach."
News 12 also attempted to contact the licensees on the draft agreement, but has not heard back.
