Imagine going to the beach … in Williamsburg

By Amelia Anthony

Tired of having to make the trek from Williamsburg to Coney Island or Rockaway to soak up the sun in the sand? Fortunately for you, crowded beaches may be in your backyard before you know it! Developer Two Trees has its eyes on the Williamsburg waterfront—with plans to bring two huge towers designed by Bjarke Ingels and a beach along the East River to “transform the way New Yorkers interact with the water.”

This April, Two Trees is planning to re-introduce the project to Brooklyn Community Board 1, as they aim to complete the required seven-month city uniform land use review procedure (ULURP) before the end of the year because a zoning change is required for the development to go through.

The latest iteration of the “River Ring” project includes 1,050 apartments, 30,000 square feet of retail, and 57,000 square feet of office space into the mixed-use towers. A circular public park, with a beach, tidal pools and a salt marsh, and a gigantic indoor YMCA space are also slated for development. Of the units available, 263 are promised to be “deeply” affordable, most of them rentable for 60 percent of area median income level.

The site on River Street was purchased by Two Trees in 2019 for a reported $150 million. The plan was last presented to BCB1 in Jan 2020, pre-pandemic. Their opponents, community group Sustainable Williamsburg, argue in an open letter that the area doesn’t need more rezoning or high rises and wants investment in transportation and city planning instead.

Two Trees created Domino Park as part of its redevelopment of the former Domino Sugar Factory, which had been home to Con Edison since 1984.