http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4703 ThorEquities may turn the former site of the Revere Sugar Refinery in Red Hook into a 400,000 square foot six-level shopping mall with a BJ’s Wholesale Club and some residential units. There will likely be local opposition to such a plan and area rezoning will be necessary for such development. Thor is currently battling with New York City officials over redevelopment of Coney Island. 2008-09-25 13:30:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4697 The free shuttle to Red Hook’s IKEA is being cut back, starting October 1st, by the home furnishing store because of decrease in customers. The shuttle services include nice buses that have been used since the stores opening in June by commuters in Red Hook. Weekend services will remain the same and weekday morning routes will be cut. 2008-09-24 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4569 The owner of a former sugar refinery site adjacent to the Red Hook Ikea is said to be in talks with box-store BJ's Wholesale Club as a possible tenant. While nothing is finalized or near finalizing some lament the arrival of another giant retailer on the quiet waterfront. The developer Sitt, would need to go through the ULURP process for a rezoning in order for a large commercial building to be built. 2008-08-27 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4485 Shuttle buses moving shoppers from the new IKEA Red Hook to stops in Brooklyn are causing a concern among community members because of idling on streets and bus backups. Some Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn residents have said that the shuttles buses are doing layovers, which was not part of the deal IKEA worked out with the city. The local Community Board has written a letter to the city’s Department of Transportation citing health and safety concerns and is trying to work with the various interested parties in resolving the problem. 2008-07-24 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4396 Since the opening of the IKEA store in Red Hook, residents have noticed a significant increase in traffic on their streets. The store has hired 17 off-duty police officers to help with traffic and has also acquired an overflow parking lot through the end of the summer. Traffic was a significant concern for those who opposed the building of the large store, which is located on a small street and is not near public transportation. 2008-06-28 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4370 A report by SUNY Maritime College suggests that the City is facing major capacity constraints at its ports. This information comes to light four years after the decision was made to pave over on of New York’s few large graving docks in Red Hook to create more parking space for the Ikea that opened there last week. The SUNY report says that the City will need to build at least seven new docks, three of which should be graving docks like the one in Red Hook, or risk losing up to $150 million in revenues over the next five years to other ports. Some believe that it would be less expensive and time-consuming for the City should try to reclaim the Red Hook dock, rather than looking for a new location altogether. 2008-06-23 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4347 Residents of Red Hook Brooklyn, where a new Ikea store is set to open this week, have varying views of the store's arrival. For some, the store’s opening means a new employment opportunity; Ikea promised to give priority to local job applicants, although management will not release details on how many Red Hook residents have been hired. Some residents are excited for the development prospects the store may bring with it. Meanwhile, opponents of the Red Hook Ikea worry about traffic and excessive development. 2008-06-16 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4341 Real estate executives predict that the opening of the new Ikea in Red Hook will draw more retail development into the area. In fact according to real estate insiders, several large chains, including Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Trader Joe’s, have looked at properties in Red Hook recently. Many residents are opposed to further big box development in their neighborhood, but some say that they would welcome new development that brought new jobs. Chain stores will likely watch how things work with the new Ikea for six months to a year before committing to locating in Red Hook. 2008-06-15 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4329 With Ikea scheduled to open on June 18th in Red Hook, residents of the community are expecting thousands of new visitors on their streets a day. The process of bringing Ikea into Brooklyn was not easy as some community groups were concerned with the increased traffic, decreased air quality and demolition of historic maritime infrastructure. Supporters of the new store have cited the need for more jobs in the area and Ikea has agreed to give preference to Red Hook residents. Combined with the opening of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, traffic is expected to greatly increase on Red Hook’s streets. 2008-06-12 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4282 On June 18th, the new Red Hook IKEA will open along with a 6.5 acre, roughly one mile-long esplanade. The esplanade will have a maritime theme and will include an 18 foot compass, signs detailing the history of the Brooklyn waterfront, a bike path, benches, chairs and tables, landscaping and historic cobblestone from the area. The waterfront park will be separate from the store. 2008-05-28 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4210 Ikea announced that it will provide a free ferry service from Lower Manhattan to its new Red Hook location, in order to help mitigate community concerns over increased traffic. The new ferry will supplement the free shuttle buses Ikea is providing to the nearest subway stations as well as local MTA buses. The dock for the ferry will be located along the public esplanade Ikea also provided in exchange for development rights in the Red Hook community. 2008-05-12 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4201 The Ikea furniture store is set to open in Red Hook in June. According to a representative from Ikea, the company has hired 300 employees from New York City, 60% of whom are from Red Hook. Some are skeptical of these hiring statistics. Co-chairman of the Red Hook Civic Association, John McGettrick, is doubtful in the validity of the hiring number released by the company and is critical of Ikea because their promise of local hiring was a large reason the project gained community support. 2008-05-08 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4108 Ikea is expected to open on Red Hook’s waterfront on June 18, 2008. The furniture outlet will employ roughly 500 workers and cover about 346,000 square feet of space. Public transportation access will include ferry service, two bus lines, and shuttle service to several subway stations and Downtown Brooklyn. Plans for the store also include a 6.5-acre waterfront esplanade that will be open to the public. This will be the company’s first store in New York City. 2008-04-17 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4114 As major retailers such as IKEA open in Red Hook, some are looking to make the area more bicycle-friendly. The Forum for Urban Design is launching a competition to design bike lanes through Red Hook, an area that lacks much access to public transit. The Department of Transportation supports the effort to expand bike lanes in the city. 2008-04-17 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#4002 A New York Appeals Court dismissed an appeal by the Red Hook/Gowanus Chamber of Commerce on a lower court’s decision to dismiss a petition to annul a zoning variance granted to the owner of a warehouse building on Imlay Street because the petition did not name the owner of the property as a respondent. The zoning variance grants the owner the right to develop the building as a residential development. 2008-03-28 00:00:00