Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Commissioner Anthony Shorris today announced the start of construction on Box Street Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn - delivering on a decades-old promise to transform a former parking lot into new public green space for North Brooklyn.
"Today, we are finally making good on a promise that Greenpoint families have been waiting decades to see fulfilled: turning a parking lot into a park," said Mayor Mamdani. "Box Street Park will give New Yorkers a place to walk, play, rest and gather along the water, with lush gardens, open green space and pathways connecting neighbors to the waterfront. And it is proof of what becomes possible when communities organize and government delivers."
"Our waterfront is one of our city's great natural resources, and this new park will give New Yorkers an accessible and welcoming place to connect with their natural environment and with their neighbors," said Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. "This community never gave up on this park - and neither did we. This project is an important step toward delivering the greenspace and waterfront access that all New Yorkers deserve, and it builds on the work we're doing up and down the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront."
"More than 20 years ago, Greenpointers were promised a new park on Commercial Street as part of the Williamsburg-Greenpoint waterfront upzoning. I've been fighting alongside neighbors ever since then to secure our desperately needed green space," said Council Member Lincoln Restler. "While we've built tens of thousands of new homes in our community in the intervening years, Box Street Park remained a broken promise. After years of relentless advocacy, I'm thrilled that we're finally breaking ground on this beautiful new multipurpose public park complete with lush greenery, waterfront seating, dog runs, a basketball court and a public bathroom. I'm thankful to all the neighbors who refused to give up on our promised park and to Mayor Mamdani for helping us get this done and showing that City Hall has Greenpoint's back."
The $40 million capital project will transform the former site of a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) facility into a 2.5-acre public park along Newtown Creek. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2028.
The park will feature an elevated esplanade, ADA-accessible pathways, terraced granite seating, lush gardens, a green lawn, a basketball court, a picnic area, separate dog runs for small and large dogs and a public restroom.
Native plants will cool and clean the air while strengthening the site's resilience to extreme weather and creating habitat for local wildlife. Visitors will enjoy blackgum and Eastern redbud trees, colorful purple love grass and little bluestem grasses, and Virginia rose and seaside goldenrod shrubs and perennials.
