City Officials Broke Ground on Box Street Park

Construction has begun on a new 2.5-acre waterfront park located in Greenpoint.

Updated on Oct. 1, 2026 in Commercial

City Officials Broke Ground on Box Street Park

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New York City officials have officially broken ground on the new Box Street Park, a $40 million waterfront project. The site, formerly used by the MTA, is expected to provide 2.5 acres of public space when completed in summer 2028.

Why it matters

The park development fulfills a long-standing commitment to public space made during the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning. It marks a significant repurposing of industrial land along the edge of Newtown Creek.

The park project occupies a 2.5-acre site at 65 Commercial Street with a total cost of $40 million. City officials approved an additional $2 million in September 2026 specifically for soil remediation along the Newtown Creek waterfront.

The players

MTA

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area.

Newtown Creek

This body of water is a 3.8-mile-long tidal estuary that forms part of the border between Brooklyn and Queens.

The details

The development requires the relocation of existing MTA facilities, including those used for Access-A-Ride vehicles and the Emergency Response Unit, which were moved to the Bronx. The project involves extensive soil remediation to transform the former industrial site into public parkland.

2005: The Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning was approved.
July 2026: Monitor Point rezoning was approved.
September 30, 2026: The MTA authorized the site redevelopment.
October 1, 2026: The official groundbreaking occurred.
Summer 2028: Project completion is expected.

Roadmap

This project represents the latest milestone in the multi-decade transformation of the Greenpoint waterfront. It follows the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning policy that sought to transition formerly industrial zones into mixed-use and public areas.

Residents in Greenpoint will gain 2.5 acres of new waterfront park space upon completion in 2028. This development replaces former industrial MTA facilities, contributing to the broader shift toward public utility of the Newtown Creek shoreline.

The takeaway

This park construction illustrates the slow pace of fulfilling rezoning commitments in densely populated urban environments. Residents should monitor the 2028 timeline as major remediation efforts at the water's edge often face unforeseen scheduling delays.