Photo Credit: Jenna Jenkins
Samantha Johnson, a community organizer, feels cautiously optimistic about the ongoing redevelopment proposal for 50 Navy St. and 240 Nassau St. in Downtown Brooklyn. While the renovations could be a valuable addition to the neighborhood, she worries about the sincerity of the community outreach efforts by the entities overseeing the project.
Johnson pointed to an in-person public meeting for advisory board members scheduled for 10 a.m., a time she said feels inaccessible to many residents who work during the day.
“(If) you’re having a meeting, what is your intent behind it?” Johnson said. “Is it because you just want to write it down and present it to the community board, as they need (more) community engagement, or are you actually trying to build a unified understanding about what the community is saying?”
Johnson’s concerns reflect a broader debate among residents about whether the redevelopment process has meaningfully included the community as the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), a public approval process for major land-use developments, scheduled for TK approaches.
NYC Educational Construction Fund (ECF), the city agency that works with developers on school-related construction projects, has partnered with Alloy Development and GFB Development to demolish the former Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, along with the 70-year-old school building, P.S. 287 in Dumbo, to create new housing, a community space, retail spaces, and a new school. Renovations are expected to begin in the summer of 2027, but specific start dates have yet to be determined. Starting in June of 2027, P.S. 287 students will be relocated to P.S. 67, a 10-minute walk away, for three years.
“What can be carved out to give the kids the best thing?” asked Johnson. We are challenging the developers.”
During a Q&A at the fourth community board meeting– held on April 21– Dymond Holmes, a Brooklyn resident and executive director of Love Yourself Foundation, shared her concerns about the school’s design. Holmes, 37, asked, “How will the students contribute to the design process?”
The board members and developers present stated that the children could potentially give suggestions on the new school’s color scheme. Megan Dunn, Superintendent of P.S. 287, suggested that students write down their questions and concerns and have them reviewed during the remaining discussions and presentations.
While these answers may have sounded reassuring on paper, they didn’t seem to garner enough assurance in real time. A few community members, along with Johnson and Holmes, stared blankly at the board members and developers as if waiting for a further explanation.
Community members also expressed concern about the number of housing units that will be set aside for low-income residents. Alloy Development has promised to deliver a total of 1,500 rental apartments across three buildings— including 305 affordable homes and 95 of those units for seniors.
“We have had conversations [like] why is it that you guys are hesitant to increase this, to make it at least half?,” said Johnson.
NYCHA residents and low-income people in the neighborhood do not meet the median income of residents across Dumbo. According to the 2025 NYCHA fact sheet, the average family living in public housing has an income of $26,129, while the average monthly rent for an 1-bedroom apartment in public housing is $601. But MNS, a real estate brokerage and marketing firm, said the average rent for a 1bd room in Dumbo is $4,880.
As the proposal date moves closer to the formal review stage, Johnson hopes to see more students and residents involved in this process.
“I think the community engagement can be increased when you’re not limiting it just to TAs (technical assistants),” said Johnson. “Make it more engagement friendly, to where you have literature, and you’re putting it under every door.”
Series: Community