Brooklyn waterfront in N.Y.-N.J. port authority’s hands

Brooklyn waterfront in N.Y.-N.J. port authorityÆs hands The Red Hook portion of the Brooklyn waterfront will remain in the hands of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
   Richard Larrabee, head of the authority's Port Department, said a plan to transfer Piers 7-12 in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn to New York City will not take place. The port authority's board first approved the transfer in December 2005.
   The city told the port authority one month ago it did not want all the property. It will continue to lease Pier 12 for a cruise terminal, Larrabee said.
   “We are back to square one,” he said. “We need to look for a viable use of the property,” noting that the port authority would continue to work closely with the city.
   Robert Lieber, president of the New York City Economic Development Corp., said the city would still like to cargo operations on the Brooklyn waterfront, noting the large population of Long Island of which Brooklyn and Queens are part.
   Even though the Brooklyn terminals have limited upland area for stacking containers, Lieber noted that as technology improves it has become possible to handle larger volumes of containers in smaller areas.
   The major cargo operator at Red Hook is American Steverdoring Inc., which has been in a tenant-landlord tenant dispute with the port authority, which said last week it was owed $1 million in back rent.
   But also last week 21 New York politicians, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, urged the port authority to award American Stevedoring a 10-year lease renewal.