A push to finally build public restrooms at a beloved Greenpoint waterfront park has morphed into a fight over a proposed restaurant and 40-slip marina, and neighbors are not happy about it. The New York City Parks Department published notice in July of a proposed 25-year license agreement with Busters Marine Bronx Marina to build the restaurant and marina at WNYC Transmitter Park, and the backlash has been swift and loud.
As reported by CBS News New York, the plan started as an effort to bring a restroom to the historic Brooklyn park but has since snowballed into a community-wide debate in Greenpoint, with reporter John Dias noting that developers could change the character of the park entirely. Under the draft agreement, the licensee would pay the city a minimum annual fee starting at $60,000 for the first five years and rising to $168,000 in later years, or 2% of gross receipts over $3 million, whichever is higher, according to The City Record.
A Public Hearing and a Flood of Opposition
The New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee and the Parks Department held a joint public hearing on the draft agreement on August 10 in Manhattan, per Go Green Brooklyn. City Council Member Lincoln Restler reported that 99.3% of constituent feedback sent to his office opposed the cafe and marina proposal, a figure detailed by the same source. Restler, State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher sent a joint letter, as reported by the Brooklyn Eagle, requesting that the Parks Department pull back the proposal and work with the community on a smaller option.
Restler has also said that building a standalone public restroom facility at the park without a private partner would cost the city roughly $5 million, a fiscal reality that helps explain why the city turned to a commercial partner in the first place. The station notes that before landing on the current proposal to demolish the park's historic building for a marina and restaurant, the Parks Department made at least three failed attempts over more than a decade to find a vendor willing to simply renovate the existing structure for public restrooms.
Who Is Behind the Proposal
The dining component of the project is led by local restaurateur Josh Cohen, who is active with the North Brooklyn Angels charity, and David Schmitt, who operates marina-adjacent venues including DJ's at Bayside and Dakota's on the Cove, according to the Brooklyn Downtown Star. The publication frames the pair's background in neighborhood dining and waterfront hospitality as central to the pitch, though it has done little to quiet residents wary of a 40-slip marina replacing open parkland.
A Park Built on Broken Radio Towers and Old Promises
WNYC Transmitter Park sits on a 6.6-acre East River parcel that served as a ferry landing in the 19th century until 1921 and was acquired by WNYC radio in 1935, broadcasting AM radio signals from twin 304-foot towers between 1937 and 1990, according to NYC Parks. The site was redeveloped into a public park for $12 million and officially opened in September 2012 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, part of public commitments tied to the 2005 Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront rezoning.
That history is part of why the current fight feels so personal to longtime residents. Local park advocates noted in June that approximately 65% of promised waterfront parkland at nearby Bushwick Inlet Park remains undeveloped 21 years after the 2005 rezoning, a comparison that has fueled fears that Greenpoint's waterfront commitments keep getting deferred or diluted.
A Citywide Restroom Problem
The debate over Transmitter Park also reflects a broader infrastructure gap. A December 2025 investigation by the New York City Council Oversight and Investigations Division inspected 172 public restroom sites and found that over 10% of park restrooms were closed during posted hours, with many lacking basic sanitary amenities. That citywide shortfall is part of what pushed the Parks Department toward a private concession model in the first place, even as the scale of the current proposal has become the flashpoint for community anger.
For now, the proposal remains under review following the August 10 hearing, with no indication from the dossier of when or whether the Parks Department will revise its plans. Restler, Gonzalez, and Gallagher's joint letter has put pressure on the agency to scale back the project, but it is not yet clear whether officials will heed that request or move forward with the marina and restaurant as drafted.
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