Wall Street Journal: Brooklyn Park Extends Money Hunt

By Joseph De Avila

A fight over proposed housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park and how to pay for park operations reached a new stage on Tuesday.

The partially built 85-acre park was originally to be funded by adding around 700 units of housing in the park. But locals balked, saying that housing would detract from the park.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp., the nonprofit overseeing the park, appointed a committee to find alternatives to pay for the park's estimated $16 million in yearly operating costs.

On Tuesday, that committee voted in favor of recommending several revenue options that would fall short of the money needed to pay for the park's annual costs.

Another obstacle for Brooklyn Bridge Park: The city has committed an additional $44 million to continue building the park, but on the condition that the park's board agrees on ways to pay for its yearly operations budget. The park is expected to cost a total of about $350 million.

"The completion of the report on potential revenue sources is a step forward, and now we must focus on finalizing a sound plan," Robert Steel, deputy mayor for economic development and chairman of the Brooklyn Bridge Park board, said in a statement.

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