The Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) is a large

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of citie ...

complex in Sunset Park,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The site occupies more than between 58th and 63rd Streets west of Second Avenue, on Brooklyn's western shore. The complex was originally used as a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Supply Terminal called the Brooklyn Army Base or Brooklyn Army Supply Base. It is now used for commercial and light industrial purposes, and also serves a

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

stop. The Brooklyn Army Terminal was designed by

Cass Gilbert Cass Gilbert (November 24, 1859 – May 17, 1934) was an American architect. An early proponent of skyscrapers, his works include the Woolworth Building, the United States Supreme Court building, the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas and ...

. It contains two warehouses, three

pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...

s, several smaller administrative buildings, and

rail siding A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

s for loading

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tra ...

. When built, the warehouses were among the world's largest concrete structures. The Brooklyn Army Terminal adjoins the former Bush Terminal, which was used by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The Brooklyn Army Terminal's construction was originally approved in 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and was completed the following year after the conclusion of the war. The terminal was subsequently leased out and used for various purposes, including as a dock, a military prison, and a storage space for drugs and alcohol during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the terminal was the United States' largest military supply base. The United States Army stopped using the Brooklyn Army Terminal in 1967, and the terminal was briefly used by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

and the Navy. The New York City government purchased the terminal in 1981, and it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1983. Since then, the Brooklyn Army Terminal has undergone a series of renovations to make it suitable for commercial and light industrial use.

Description

The Brooklyn Army Terminal covers about . It includes two 8-story warehouses, three 2-story piers, several ancillary buildings, and a train storage yard with capacity for 2,200 cars. Warehouses A and B are located west of Second Avenue between 59th and 65th Streets, with warehouse A being located to the west of warehouse B. Warehouse A had a footprint of , while warehouse B measured . The 980-foot-long sides of each structure run between 58th Street on the north and 63rd Street on the south. Warehouse B was the world's largest building by floor area when it was completed. Warehouse B contains a central atrium with two railroad tracks, both of which are disused and overgrown, and there are two old train cars permanently parked on the western track of the atrium. The loading balconies in the atrium of warehouse B are staggered diagonally, and a overhead movable crane moved cargo between the balconies. Three railroad tracks ran through the space between the warehouses. An 8-story administration building measuring was located to the north of warehouse A. The warehouses and piers were connected to each other by footbridges on the third floors of each building. A footbridge also separates the former administration building from the two warehouses. There was also a power house, boiler room, and ash room. Each of the piers measured long; one of the piers was wide while the other two piers measured wide. The piers were double-decked. 58th Street, on the Brooklyn Army Terminal's northern side, separates the Army Terminal from Bush Terminal, which contains warehouses formerly used by the

. The railroad tracks connected to four

car float A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a t ...

s and a large rail yard along the western shore of

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

, to the south of Brooklyn Army Terminal. The tracks also link to the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

Bay Ridge Branch The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in New York City. It is the longest freight-only line of the LIRR, connecting the Montauk Branch and CSX Transporta ...

and then to the New York Connecting Railroad, which provides a railroad connection to the rest of the continental United States. The Brooklyn Army Terminal had over of tracks at its peak. Although much of the trackage was abandoned by the 1970s, including the freight yards south of the terminal, a direct track connection from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to the Bay Ridge Branch was established in 1973. Some of the tracks are still used by New York New Jersey Rail (formerly New York Cross Harbor Railroad) to carry freight along the Sunset Park shorefront. To the north, the tracks connected to Bush Terminal. Buildings A and B are operated by the New York City government as a light manufacturing space. The former administration building was remade into a food-manufacturing complex in 2017.

History

Construction

The complex was also known as the U.S. Army Military Ocean Terminal and the Brooklyn Army Base, and was built as part of the

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

. The Brooklyn Army Base was one of six

terminals whose construction was approved by

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

on May 6, 1918, to accommodate Army activity during

. The base was designed by

, though Irving T. Bush, who operated the adjacent Bush Terminal to the north, also helped design the complex. Construction started on May 15, 1918. The city set aside $40 million for the completion of the complex. Six thousand workers, employed by Turner Construction, helped build the Brooklyn Army Base. The scope of construction was so large that an additional train was added to subway timetables to transport workers from

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

to the future Army Base, and prospective workers would line up outside the construction site every morning. Several smaller contractors also helped build the complex. To save money and to reduce the use of steel, the structures were built out of reinforced poured in place concrete using wooden

forms Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data * ...

. The concrete floors were designed to support loads of . The construction process used 7 million linear feet () of wood. The Brooklyn Army Terminal was the world's largest concrete building complex at the time of construction. Ultimately, the government spent $32 million on the terminal's construction.

Military use

The Brooklyn Army Base was completed in September 1919. The base was able to accommodate of outgoing freight per hour as well as of freight storage. As World War I had already ended, this full capacity was not used for some time. However, the Brooklyn Army Base was also designed for light industrial use so that it could be used as a civilian facility after the war ended. As such, in 1920, the federal government began advertising five-year leases for parts of the base. The complex had a combined devoted to storage, which could support loads of up to . The next year, a law passed by Congress gave the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

access to all piers that the Army was not using. In 1923, the federal government paid $2.4 million to the estate of William C. Langley, whose plot between 61st and 63rd Streets had been seized five years earlier to make way for the Brooklyn Army Base. The same year, the Shipping Board started leasing piers 3 and 4 to private commercial tenants. The Atlantic Tidewater Terminal signed two 5-year leases for the upper floors of the warehouses, using them for storage. Under this arrangement,

transatlantic liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

s were able to dock at the Brooklyn Army Base's piers. Starting in 1920, during

, two vaults on warehouse A's third and sixth floors were used to stock illicit alcoholic beverages, as well as narcotics. The Army installed an incinerator in 1926 so it could destroy confiscated drinks. In 1929, after a series of thefts, the U.S. Army constructed a heavily fortified vault on the seventh floor of warehouse A. Described by the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' as the "largest vault built anywhere for the storage of dangerous drugs", the room measured several hundred feet in each direction. The Army also had a lab where it was able to test the chemical makeup of appropriated alcohol. Beverages deemed suitable for future medicinal use were retained, and the rest were dumped into

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in ...

. The lab was closed in 1933 after the end of Prohibition. An experimental barracks for transient service members was opened at Brooklyn Army Terminal in 1928. The barracks could accommodate 500 residents, and was designed for service members who were on leave or were awaiting discharge or transfer. By the next year, civic leaders were suggesting that the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

take over the operations of the piers at Brooklyn Army Base. However, the base commander denied all rumors that the base would be abandoned or sold off. Brooklyn Army Terminal - Warehouse

In March 1930, officials announced that they would construct a military prison with a 125-prisoner capacity at Brooklyn Army Base. The prison, which would be one of three Army prisons in the United States, would house

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

s and servicemembers convicted of high crimes. Community members objected to the prison, stating that there had been no prior consultation with the community. Despite protests, the government decided to proceed with plans for the prison. The Brooklyn Army Terminal was the largest military supply base in the United States through World War II. The complex had its own railroad line as well as dedicated police and fire departments. According to contemporary news articles, the Brooklyn Army Base saw of cargo and was the point of departure for 3.5 million soldiers during World War II, though the Brooklyn Army Terminal's website states that the Brooklyn Army Base handled of cargo and 3.2 million soldiers.New York City Economic Development Corporation (2013)
"Brooklyn Army Terminal: History"
/ref> The terminal employed 20,000 workers and served as the headquarters for the New York Port of Embarkation. In mid-1941, the U.S. Army moved some civilian workers into more than at Bush Terminal, spread across three buildings along First Avenue, because there was no more space at Brooklyn Army Terminal. A rigorous safety program, enacted after the war, resulted in an 85% decrease in industrial accidents at Brooklyn Army Terminal. The base was among the safest ports of embarkation in the United States, with an average of 0.194 accidents in marine transport operations occurring per 1,000,000 man-hours; by 1947, the port had only three incidents in two years. In the aftermath of World War II, the Brooklyn Army Base received the bodies of several thousand soldiers who had died while fighting the war. The first boat carrying American World War II casualties back to the United States arrived in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

in October 1947, whereupon the bodies were transported cross-country to Brooklyn Army Base. A ship carrying 4,212 soldiers' bodies traveled directly to the Brooklyn Army Terminal the next month. By July 1948, the base was receiving 18,500 soldiers' bodies within a span of two weeks. In the years after World War II ended, the Brooklyn Army Base was the port of arrival or departure for 200,000 soldiers per year. As per custom, the 328th

Army Band An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

would play every time troops arrived or departed from the base. During the late 1950s, the base received Hungarian Revolution refugees, as well as victims of a 1956 crash between the SS ''Andrea Doria'' and the MS ''Stockholm''. In 1958, Private

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

sailed from Brooklyn Army Base to Germany alongside 1,170 other soldiers in the 3rd Armored Division. By 1963, the Brooklyn Army Terminal employed 1,800 civilians and over 200 military personnel, and another 1,600 people lived at the terminal. At that point, the terminal received of cargo every day from trucking operations, and another daily from rail operations.

Closure of military base

The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

announced in May 1964 that it was considering closing Brooklyn Army Base, as well as

Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a memb ...

and the

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...

, as part of an effort to downsize unnecessary military installations and to save money. Immediately after the announcement, local officials and labor union leaders started advocating to save the military base from closure. Despite advocacy efforts to save the base from closure, Defense Secretary

Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...

announced in November 1964 that the Brooklyn Army Terminal would be one of nearly a hundred military bases that would be closed. Only the military function would be decommissioned, and 90 percent of civilian workers at Brooklyn Army Terminal would retain their jobs after the base was closed. By 1965, it was confirmed that the Brooklyn Army Terminal would close to military use on January 1, 1967. Port of Embarkation activities would be relocated to the

Military Ocean Terminal Military Ocean Terminals are operated by the U.S. Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) for distribution of surface cargo from storage and repair depots to military forward based units. Current facilities * Military Ocean Termin ...

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...

. Some of the base's remaining activities would be relocated to the nearby Federal Office Building at 29th Street and Third Avenue in

Gowanus, Brooklyn Gowanus ( ) is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 6. Gowanus is bounded by Wyckoff Street on ...

. Officials held a decommissioning ceremony on December 9, 1966. Immediately afterward, the New York City government announced that it would acquire the terminal for maritime redevelopment. The city planned to relocate its foreign-trade zone from Staten Island to the Brooklyn Army Terminal, where there would be more room for the foreign-trade zone's operations. In addition, U.S. Senator

Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician. During his time in politics, he represented the state of New York in both houses of the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, he al ...

and the Brooklyn Army Terminal Development Committee discussed possible uses for the Brooklyn Army Terminal, including for the

United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...

or for the Department of Defense. A dispute arose between local business owners, who wanted a large post office facility in the terminal, and the city. In June 1969, it was announced that the U.S. government would lease a section of the base to the city for two years. Afterward, the city continued to lease part of the base, and in turn, sublet the space to private companies. After a fire destroyed the Morgan General Mail Facility in Manhattan in December 1967, some of the Morgan Facility's operations were temporarily moved to the newly vacated Brooklyn Army Terminal. Soon the Brooklyn Army Terminal facility was handling 18,000 bags of international mail every day. The facility employed four thousand workers, 75% of whom lived in Brooklyn. A permanent facility to replace the Brooklyn Army Terminal operation was originally planned for

Murray Hill, Manhattan Murray Hill is a neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan in New York City. Murray Hill is generally bordered to the east by the East River or Kips Bay and to the west by Midtown Manhattan, though the exact boundaries are disputed. Murray Hi ...

, but in 1970 the planned facility was moved to

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. Shipping operations at the Brooklyn Army Terminal resumed in 1970. That same year, the federal government quietly proposed building a federal detention facility at the terminal to replace an overcrowded facility in Manhattan. The Navy moved into the terminal in 1972, and renamed it the Military Ocean Terminal. The former Brooklyn Army Base now served as the headquarters for the

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US ...

(MSC) Atlantic. Army shipping activities were permanently moved to Bayonne starting in 1974, saving the federal government $2 million per year. The U.S. military had completely vacated the space by October 1975.

Sale of terminal to city

Sunlit balconies of the Brooklyn Army Terminal

The

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

voted in August 1979 to allow the

government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for th ...

to purchase and take over the terminal. A similar vote passed the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

that November. Shortly afterward, the city began tendering proposals from developers who wanted to redevelop the terminal. The city received four proposals: of these, two were for industrial redevelopment, one was for residential development, and one was for mixed-use development. In September 1980, Helmsley-Spear Inc. was selected to develop an industrial site at Brooklyn Army Terminal, in a format similar to at the nearby Bush Terminal. The federal government and the city then began discussing a purchase price for the terminal, but negotiations stalled for two months because of disagreements over sale price. By December, the federal government agreed to sell the terminal for $8.5 million; roughly half of the cost, or $4 million, would be paid by the city, while the remaining balance would be paid by the United States

Economic Development Administration The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides grants and technical assistance to economically distressed communities in order to generate new employment, help retain exist ...

. The federal government withheld aid for another several months, but finally approved the $4.5 million grant in April 1981. The two sides finalized the sale in July 1981. In September of that year, Helmsley-Spear Inc. CEO Harry Helmsley announced that he was withdrawing the company from a tentative deal to sublet the Brooklyn Army Terminal from the city. The withdrawal came after a disagreement over the lease terms; the city had proposed new terms in which it would receive a greater share of the profits from subleasing the terminal to industrial tenants. By 1983, the city had hired Eastdil Realty, which was arranging for $20 million to rehabilitate the first building in the complex. Most of the $20 million would come from private sources, but the city would pledge $2 million and was awaiting another $5.6 million of federal

Urban Development Action Grants The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...

. The city projected that a full renovation of the Brooklyn Army Terminal would take four years and cost $36 million. The site was listed on the

in 1983. The listing includes 11

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

on an area of . an
''Accompanying 22 photos''
an
''Accompanying photo captions''

Use as manufacturing hub

The city government began completely renovating building B's northern half in 1985, adding of new leasable space. As part of the renovations, the city installed electrical, plumbing, and heating infrastructure; replaced the elevators; added restrooms; landscaped and cleaned up the building's exterior; added a parking lot; and improved the loading docks. The first phase consisted of 32 units of industrial space, which each had an average of of space. The renovations cost approximately $33 million. After the renovations were complete, the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "leverage the city’s assets to create beneficial jobs that drive growth. This ensures equitable and sustainable development across al ...

(NYCEDC) started leasing the property as a center for dozens of light manufacturing, warehousing and back-office businesses, with rents averaging $3.75 per square foot. The first industrial tenants signed leases for space in the terminal in May 1987. By August 1988, sixty percent of the available space had been leased, rising to eighty percent by December. All of the available space had been leased by October 1989. The ''Bibby Venture'', one of the two first

prison barge A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

s to be brought to New York City, was purchased and docked on the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

in summer 1988 as a result of overcrowding in the city's jails. However, by August 1988, it was moved to outside Brooklyn Army Terminal. Its location outside the terminal was a temporary measure, necessitated because residents of neighborhoods along the East River objected to the barge's presence. As originally planned, the barge would be moved to Pier 40 on the West Side of Manhattan by early 1989. While docked at Brooklyn Army Terminal, the ''Bibby Venture'' was used to house prisoners awaiting trial. However, residents of Sunset Park and Bay Ridge also objected to the prison barge, saying that they had not been consulted about the decision. The ''Bibby Venture'' was moved to Pier 40 on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

in summer 1989. The ''Bibby Venture'' and its sister barge '' Bibby Resolution'' were retired from use in 1992, to be replaced by the

Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center The Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center (VCBC), also known as the Vernon C. Bain Maritime Facility and under the nickname "The Boat", is an 800-bed jail barge used to hold inmates for the New York City Department of Corrections. The barge is a ...

floating jail in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was orig ...

, and the barges were sold two years later. By late 1988, the city was planning to renovate another million square feet at a cost of $44.5 million. During the renovation, the city would add 40 industrial units with an average of of floor space in each unit, as well as of retail space. The city started signing leases for the space in 1990, just after construction on the second phase started. Renovations also started on parts of Building A, and work on a space in the building was completed in 1994. Upgrades to an additional of space were completed in 1995. A fourth phase of renovations was completed by 2003, adding another . By that time, of space had been renovated. The city began offering public tours of Brooklyn Army Terminal's interior in 2013. The tours, offered two weekends a month, were offered through Turnstile Tours. Two years later, the city started a $100 million rehabilitation of in Building A. This stage's high costs were attributed to

asbestos abatement In construction, asbestos abatement is a set of procedures designed to control the release of asbestos fibers from asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos abatement is utilized during general construction in areas containing asbestos materials, ...

and other cleanup. The NYCEDC also started renovating the Administration Building into a food-manufacturing complex at a cost of $15 million. The renovations also included the restoration of of outdoor space, based on a design by WXY Architecture and Urban Design. By 2016, there were 3,700 people working in Brooklyn Army Terminal, with a thousand more jobs planned over the following ten years. The administration of Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Y ...

set up a job center at Brooklyn Army Terminal to help local residents with limited English proficiency obtain jobs at the terminal.

started operating to Brooklyn Army Terminal in May 2017. The terminal's food manufacturing complex opened that June. The renovation of the 500,000-square-foot space in Building A was completed in June 2018, just after the 100th anniversary of when construction started on the terminal. The refurbished area could accommodate an additional 20 companies. By this time, the renovation of the terminal was 92% complete. The Brooklyn Army Terminal had 100 companies that collectively employed 3,800 workers, but the city projected that an additional 1,000 jobs would be added once leases were granted for all of the newly renovated space. Because of the decline of traditional manufacturing in Brooklyn, most of the new tenants were companies that worked in the technology, media, food, or manufacturing sectors, while the city had stopped renewing leases for tenants that primarily worked in distribution and storage. The total cost of restoring the complex was projected to be $280 million by 2016, a cost that had risen to $300 million in 2018. In January 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

, a "mega-facility" vaccination site for

COVID-19 vaccinations A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an est ...

was opened at Brooklyn Army Terminal, operating

24/7 In commerce and industry, 24/7 or 24-7 service (usually pronounced "twenty-four seven") is service that is available at any time and usually, every day. An alternate orthography for the numerical part includes 24×7 (usually pronounced "twenty ...

Transportation

The piers at Brooklyn Army Terminal are used by NYC Ferry's Rockaway and South Brooklyn routes. MTA Regional Bus Operations' B9 route stops outside Brooklyn Army Terminal, while the B37 route stops along

Third Avenue Third Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, as well as in the center portion of the Bronx. Its southern end is at Astor Place and St. Mark's Place. It transitions into Cooper Squ ...

, close to the terminal. The nearest

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October ...

station is at 59th Street and Fourth Avenue, served by the .

Ferry service

A fast ferry service from Brooklyn Army Terminal to Manhattan was first proposed in 1994 as a way to revitalize Sunset Park. The boat service was expected to start service in 1997 at a cost of $25 million, and would include a new pier at 59th Street as well as a 500-space parking lot at Brooklyn Army Terminal. This ferry service was operating by late 1997, bringing increased economic activity to the Brooklyn Army Terminal area as a result. After subway service in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

was disrupted following the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, the city established a free ferry service from the Brooklyn Army Terminal's 58th Street Pier to Pier 11/Wall Street, using funds provided by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

. New York Water Taxi took over the route in 2003 and instituted a fare. In 2008, New York Water Taxi established a route between Pier 11 and

Breezy Point, Queens Breezy Point is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula, between Rockaway Inlet and Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. The community is run by ...

, with a stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal. This service was indefinitely suspended in 2010 due to lack of funding. In the aftermath of subway disruptions arising from

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

on October 29, 2012, SeaStreak began running a route from

Rockaway Park, Queens Rockaway Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area is on the Rockaway Peninsula, nestled between Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The neighborhood of Rockaway Beach lies on its eastern b ...

, to Pier 11 and the East 34th Street ferry terminal. The ferry route charged a $2 fare for each passenger. A stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal was added to those trips in August 2013, following the closure of the Montague Street subway tunnel, which suspended direct service on the R train between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The ferry service proved to be popular with locals; about 250 passengers per day rode the ferry between Brooklyn Army Terminal and Manhattan, in addition to approximately 730 daily passengers riding the ferry between Rockaway and Manhattan. The ferry route carried nearly 200,000 passengers between its inception and mid-2014. The route was renewed several times through mid-2014, but was discontinued on October 31, 2014 because of a lack of funding. On May 1, 2017, NYC Ferry's Rockaway route started operating between Pier 11/Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District and Beach 108th Street in Rockaway Park, with a stop at Brooklyn Army Terminal.* * * The terminal is also served by NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route, which started running on June 1, 2017.

Notable tenants

Brooklyn Army Terminal is also home to a number of tenants specializing across a varied degree of industries. Notable tenants include: *

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

* chashama, artist studio program *

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Bay Ridge Service Center – occupies the former Federal Laundry Building on the eastern side of the terminal property * Jomashop.com, online watch and fashion retailer * Jacques Torres & Mr Chocolate, chocolatier * New York City Bioscience Initiative center * New York City Police Department Intelligence Division *

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

* Uncommon Goods, internet retailer

References

External links

Brooklyn Army Terminal
(official website)
Atrium from Google Maps Street View
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York Military facilities in Brooklyn Transport infrastructure completed in 1919 Transportation buildings and structures in Brooklyn Cass Gilbert buildings Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Sunset Park, Brooklyn National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn Ferry terminals in New York City