NYCEDC Breaks Ground on Pier 6, Creating 5 Acres of Waterfront Community Space, Releases Inaugural Sunset Park Report

Pier Renovation Includes Plans to Protect Pier from Further Waterfront Breakdown, Incorporate Public Green Spaces, Celebrate Industrial History, and Improve Waterfront Access

Inaugural Sunset Park District Update Celebrates Brooklyn’s Working Waterfront, Local Job Creation and Community Partnerships, Impact of Inclusive Investment, and Growth as Innovation Hub

Sunset Park District Offers over 550,000 Square Feet of Leasable Space Across All Assets, Inviting Unique Opportunities for Collaboration and Shared Interest

NYCEDC to Create Opportunities for Water-Activities Operator Along the MADE Bush Terminal Waterfront, Encouraging Community Building and Youth Engagement

BROOKLYN, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today broke ground at Pier 6, a 5-acre pier, located at MADE Bush Terminal in Sunset Park. In coordination with the transformative groundbreaking, NYCEDC released its first-ever Sunset Park Update Report, a comprehensive overview of the organization’s investments, milestones, and community partnerships across the 200-acre Sunset Park District. MADE Bush Terminal, unveiled in November 2024, stands for Manufacturers, Artisans, Designers, and Entrepreneurs, and exists as a dynamic hub for fabricators and innovators to shape the future of innovation.

Pier 6 will transform into an engaging new open space for community residents and tenants of the MADE Bush Terminal Campus. The project stabilizes the deteriorated pier to ensure safe waterfront access, honors its industrial and ecological history, and creates a sustainable, resilient park. The design integrates managed erosion, reused historic industrial elements, and preserved habitat with new resilient public space. The MADE Bush Terminal and Pier 6 projects open this area of the waterfront to the surrounding community for the first time in decades. NYCEDC anticipates construction on Pier 6 to be complete in 2027.

“With today’s exciting groundbreaking, the Harbor of the Future marches forward, with Sunset Park serving as a center of community investment, innovation, and jobs of the future,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrión Jr. “The vision for Pier 6, which starts being built today, will deliver transformative, public, open green space, connect more New Yorkers to the water, and strengthen the overall district as a center for jobs and opportunity.”

“The Pier 6 renovation is a prime example of how investing in building green spaces and creating opportunities for public waterfront access are integral steps in serving our communities, tenants, and their needs,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball. “We’re excited to continue delivering these programs to the community of Sunset Park, creating opportunities for residents, workers, and visitors to incorporate this multi-use site in their day-to-day lives.”

Development plans for Pier 6 have been discussed with local community members through an online survey, public workshops and public tabling events, and NYCEDC has incorporated that input into the design of the site. Through this $25 million investment, NYCEDC will protect and expand the pier’s ecology of diverse plants and wildlife, including self-seeded vegetation, and celebrate the area’s rich industrial history through preservation and use of repurposed materials and increase direct waterfront access for the community. Additionally, NYCEDC will be announcing opportunities to introduce and facilitate water-based recreational and educational activities along the MADE Bush Terminal waterfront in the coming months.

To complete the project, NYCEDC will work with Arcadis, Matrix New World, SCAPE Landscape Architecture DPC, Sam Schwartz Engineering for engineering and design, Johnson & Asberry for community outreach and engagement, and JK Muir for sustainability.

Pier 6 is adjacent to Bush Terminal Piers Park and located on the MADE Bush Terminal Campus. MADE Building A is the newest addition to the Sunset Park District, opened in 2024, and home to over 170,000 square feet of space, including 140,000 square feet of industrial space, five acres of open space, and another 155,000 square feet in development.

The Sunset Park District showcases a range of technology, community, and workforce spaces across four major industrial campuses: Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT), MADE Bush Terminal, and the Brooklyn Wholesale Meat Market.

The first Sunset Park District Update highlights major milestones in 2024 across each campus:

• BATWorks Developer Selected: A consortium led by the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) will design and operate “BATWorks,” a cutting-edge climate innovation hub at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.
• Historic Groundbreaking at SBMT: In June 2024, NYCEDC and Equinor broke ground on one of the nation’s largest offshore wind port facilities, a 73-acre site set to power 500,000 homes and create over 1,000 jobs.
• MADE Bush Terminal Unveiled: The newly branded campus opened Building A, offering 170,000 square feet of leasable and community space, with an additional 155,000 square feet planned at Building C.
• Community-Centered Development: NYCEDC hosted 60 public programs with over 76,000 attendees, launched the Sunset Park Economic Mobility Network, and invested in local workforce training through partnerships like Makerspace NYC.
• Diversity and Inclusion: 41 percent of businesses are diverse-owned, and $117 million in contracts were awarded to M/WBE firms in FY2025.

The Sunset Park District Update compiled a variety of metrics across the district, including number of employees, programs and program types, amount of developed space available for lease, occupancy rate, and more. It demonstrates the dynamic growth of the district and NYCEDC’s continued commitment to a working waterfront that creates and maintains jobs, advances innovation industries, and further connects the surrounding community to these campuses.

“I am excited to join NYC EDC for the groundbreaking of Pier 6,” said Council Member Alexa Avilés. “While there is still much to be done to make our working waterfront accessible and usable, the work scheduled for Pier 6 is most welcomed. Once completed, Pier 6 will increase community and green spaces and will bring to fruition a resilient waterfront area. I look forward to working with the EDC to advance shared goals of expanding community hiring and programming, supporting local businesses, investing in shared infrastructure, and more.”

“This project is special because it offers so many different things to our Sunset Park community: new public space, new connections to the waterfront, protections for local plants and wildlife, and an ever-more vibrant hub where New Yorkers can access good jobs and build a new generation of homegrown businesses,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “I'm excited for all Pier 6 and the MADE Bush Terminal has to offer to our neighbors and to the entire city, and am grateful to NYCEDC for their work to ensure our waterfront offers lasting benefits to all Brooklynites.”

“Sunset Park has long needed more accessible, high-quality open space, and the revitalization of Pier 6 is a necessary step toward meeting that need,” said New Yorkers for Parks Executive Director Adam Ganser. “As the MADE Campus grows, it is critical that surrounding communities benefit from investments that protect the waterfront, honor the area’s industrial legacy, and deliver meaningful public access. We look forward to seeing Pier 6 become a space that serves workers and residents alike.”

“Sunset Park’s waterfront has long been a hidden gem, and the rehabilitation and transformation of Pier 6 continues EDC’s commitment to ensuring thoughtful access for residents and workers alike,” said Randy Peers, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “The new Pier 6 beautifully integrates community-informed design elements, while honoring the historic industrial past of the area as whole.”

“The MADE Campus has become more than just a physical space—it’s a vibrant hub where community, culture, and care come together. As one of the first nonprofits to call MADE home for our programming, RaisingHealth is proud to partner with NYCEDC in advancing a shared vision rooted in innovation, collaboration, and equity. We’re a grassroots public health organization based in Sunset Park, serving over 10,000 immigrant New Yorkers each year through culturally responsive health, education, and community-building programs,” said Hewett Chiu, President & CEO, RaisingHealth Partners. “After hosting our English literacy, workforce development, health screening, and fresh food distribution programs at MADE, we’ve seen firsthand how this space can uplift immigrant families and strengthen neighborhood bonds. Today’s groundbreaking marks an exciting new chapter for the waterfront, our neighborhood, and the future of inclusive, community-led development across our city.”

BAT is home to over 100 tenants that collectively employ approximately 4,000 New Yorkers. NYCEDC has invested nearly $450 million in the site to date—with more than $300 million of that investment currently in the pipeline—to bring new leasable space online and modernize this historic campus, as well as improve open space, common areas, and additional campus infrastructure. Last December, NYCEDC, UPROSE, and Working Power announced the development of Sunset Park Solar to bring clean, reliable, and affordable solar energy to Sunset Park residents and businesses. In 2024, NYCEDC donated $2.8 million worth of space was donated to nonprofits, community groups, and other organizations to host events at BAT and Pier 4.

In December 2024, NYCEDC unveiled the historic 36-acre Bush Terminal Campus and renamed the northern campus MADE Bush Terminal—MADE stands for Manufacturers, Artisans, Designers, and Entrepreneurs. This project delivered 140,000 square feet of state-of-the-art leasable space for light industrial, and manufacturing uses and 30,000 square feet of public gathering and event space. Additionally, the campus has funding approval from the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget to redevelop Building C to activate another 155,000 square feet for manufacturing and light industrial uses and public amenity space.

The Sunset Park District Update, NYCEDC is proud to share how these sites have developed over the course of 2024. The report highlights a landmark year of transformation, with over $2.3 billion in public and private investment driving innovation, job creation, and community development.

NYCEDC’s work across Sunset Park builds on the Adams administration’s broader strategy to develop the Harbor of the Future—a reimagined network of innovation and growth across New York City’s waterways. The Harbor of the Future includes emerging innovation centers at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, the country’s largest offshore wind port at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, a modern maritime port and vibrant mixed-use community hub at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Red Hook, the Science Park and Research Campus in Kips Bay in Manhattan, new sustainable housing and public space on the North Shore of Staten Island, and an anchor research and educational partner with the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island.

About NYCEDC
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization that works for a vibrant, inclusive, and globally competitive economy for all New Yorkers. We take a comprehensive approach, through four main strategies: strengthen confidence in NYC as a great place to do business; grow innovative sectors with a focus on equity; build neighborhoods as places to live, learn, work, and play; and deliver sustainable infrastructure for communities and the city's future economy. To learn more about what we do, visit us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram.