BROOKLYN EASTERN DISTRICT TERMINAL SITE RECLAMATION

HISTORY

This property was part of the historic "Palmer's Docks," renamed the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (BEDT) in 1906. Lowell M. Palmer was an entrepreneur who, in the 1870s, opened the terminal to make it easier for Brooklyn's industries to receive freight, avoiding Manhattan's congestion. During its heyday, rail cars from Jersey City, brimming with commodities headed for local businesses (sugar and flour in particular), were offloaded from barges here and then unloaded to wagons and trucks for distribution. The terminal took its name from the City of Brooklyn's "Eastern District," the designation given Williamsburg and Greenpoint after they merged with the City of Brooklyn in 1855. With the decline of industry in the area, it closed in 1983.

Under the leadership of Governor George E. Pataki and other state and local elected officials, New York State purchased these two blocks of the BEDT in 2001, with the support of the community and the assistance of The Trust for Public Land.

PROJECT

The process is now well underway to reclaim the former BEDT as a waterfront park for the people of New York State. As a beginning level of park improvements, special attention is being paid to integrating natural succession through native meadow planting while preserving shipping terminal remnants.

WWC Corp. General Contractors / RGR Landscape Architecture and Architecture, PLLC

GEORGE E. PATARI-
GOVERNOR
BERNADETTE CAMP
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK

THE
TRUST
for PUBLIC
LAND

CONSERVING LAND FOR PEOPLE

Private funding provided by:

THE RHODEBECK CHARITABLE TRUST

Additional funding provided by:

THE J.M. KAPLAN FUND & CITISTORAGE, LLC

In partnership with:

THE FRIENDS OF BEDT
JOSEPH R. LENTOL - ASSEMBLYMAN

MARTY MARKOWITZ - BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT

ALONG
# Brooklyn's Waterfront

The first float bridge in Brooklyn was constructed by Lowell Mason Palmer at the foot of North 5th Street. This 1879 map, drawn by William J. Taylor and published by Galt and Hoy, shows the track extending from the float bridge along North 5th Street.

Courtesy Library of Congress.

Brooklyn's waterfront freight industry began at Palmer's Dock in 1874. The partnership between Lowell Mason Palmer and Havemeyer & Elder Sugar Refining floated rail cars from Jersey City on and off carfloats at the Palmer's Dock freight terminal.

By bypassing
Manhattan's
wharves, the
partners kept
shipping costs
low. Their
freight yards
eventually
extended
from North 4th
Street to North
11th Street.

This photograph, which looks south from North 9th Street, shows Palmer's multi-story cooperage and to its right, the covered shed of Palmer's Dock. The Williamsburg Bridge is faintly visible in the background.

Greater New York: Bulletin of the Merchants' Association of New York, Baker Oil Class Collection, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School.

1907 First float bridge across the East River, New York State Archives, Albany, NY

In 1906, the year after Palmer left the operations, the principals of Havemeyer & Elder incorporated the Palmer's Dock properties

into the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (BEDT), a marine operation. In 1915 the BEDT was re-incorporated as marine-rail operation. The Havemeyers ran the BEDT until 1972. Operations continued under several owners until the decades-long decline in rail transportation led the BEDT to close its doors in 1983.

* BEDT was the largest of four independent marine-rail terminals in Brooklyn.

* BEDT operated 11 miles of track at its peak.

* BEDT operated around the clock from Monday-Saturday and occasionally on Sunday for most of its history.

EAST RIVER STATE PARK

# BROOKLYN EASTERN DISTRICT TERMINAL SITE RECLAMATION

## HISTORY

## PROJECT

GEORGE A. ATAR
GOVERNOR
BERNADETTE CASTLE
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK

THE
TRUST
for PUBLIC
LAND

CONSERVING LAND FOR PEOPLE

## HISTORY

## PROJECT

GEORGE F. ATAN
GOVERNOR
BERNADETTE CAMP
COMM

THE
TRUST
for PUBLIC
LAND

CONSERVING LAND FOR PEOPLE

Private funding provided by:

In partnership with:

## HISTORY

## PROJECT

GEORGE E. ATAR
GOVERNOR
BERNADETTE CAST
COMM