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#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 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#3896 The city’s Parks and Recreation Department has approved a permit for the food vendors that operate from May to October on the soccer fields in Red Hook for at least six more years. The vendors had been operating on a temporary basis, renewing their permits every four weeks. According to the agreement, the price for a permit will only increase by 5% a year. The permit for all of the vendors is only $10,000 per year currently. Vendors may still have to invest in a Health Department approved food venting truck. 2008-03-10 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#3846 Plans to redevelop four piers on the Red Hook waterfront for various entertainment and cultural uses have been abandoned. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is currently in negotiations with ASI, the current leaseholder on the properties, to renew their lease. It is reported that the plans were abandoned in part because the development of the nearby cruise ship terminal created far fewer full-time jobs than were promised. 2008-02-28 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#3850 The city’s first IKEA is on schedule to open sometime this summer. The store is located in Red Hook on 22 acres of the Erie Basin. New jobs are expected to be in the hundreds for area residents. The Municipal Arts Society, among other groups, is disappointed with the selected site because of its proximity to a repair dock that dates back to the Civil War. Traffic also remains a concern for area residents. 2008-02-28 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=12#3657 The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will not expand the B77 bus line to connect Red Hook directly with Lower Manhattan unless enough revenue is generated from the fare hikes approved late last year. Red Hook, already mired with a lack of mass transit options, will lose one option when the Smith and 9th Subway stop on the F line is closed for repairs in 2010. The MTA is expected to assess its finances in the spring and make a determination on the extended bus routes in Brooklyn. 2008-01-26 00:00:00