An agreement reached between New York City and Equinor and bp in March of 2022 will transform The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a state-of-the-art offshore wind port facility. Billions will be invested. And a historically marginalized community, Sunset Park, is fighting for windfalls from the development plan.
On the 28th of February, Equinor hosted an event to share and discuss the 60% design phase of its Operations and Assembly facility at the SBMT. It included discussion of aesthetics – fencing and lighting – to safety – flood plain protections, traffic and air pollution– and community engagement – port access and jobs.
Unsurprisingly, Equinor back-patted about its community outreach while declining to address audience members’ largest concerns: access to the water and jobs for the community.
Peg: As discussed at their 60% design phase presentation last Tuesday, Equinor and bp plan to complete their offshore wind port at SBMT by 2025.
Angle: What does the community of Sunset Park, where SBMT is located, want from the project, hope to see changed at the port, and plan to do to get it. These are essential questions for an historically marginalized and polluted community. An equitable transition to green energy for New York begins in Sunset Park and will define future fights.
I’ll reach out Alba Pena, one of Equinor’s community engagement managers, Calvin O’Brien, a bp project engineer on the port project, UPROSE, a Sunset Park community organization, and Community Board 7, which represents Sunset Park. These interviews will likely produce a bevy of additional interview candidates.