- Vernon C. Bain Centre Sale Brings City $1.5 Million.
- Removal Opens 7.4-Acre Bronx Waterfront Site for Marine Terminal.
- New Facility to Support Blue Highway Plan, Cut Truck Traffic.
A 625-foot jail barge in New York City, anchored on the East River in the South Bronx, is finally getting ready to be taken apart, two years after its last inmates were moved out. This dismantling will open up valuable waterfront land near the city’s wholesale food and beverage distribution hubs, making way for a new marine terminal, reports gCaptain.
Vernon C. Bain Centre Heads to Louisiana
The five-story barge, known as the Vernon C. Bain Centre, will be towed by tugboats to Louisiana Scrap Metal Recycling in Gibson, Louisiana, later this fall. There, it will be dismantled, and its steel will be recycled. The city is set to receive $1.5 million for the vessel and will also save on hauling expenses, as reported by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
Opening Space for Marine Terminal Development
Taking down the Bain will free up over 600 feet of pier space and a 7.4-acre area next to the Fulton Fish Market and the Hunts Point Food Distribution Centre. The EDC has plans to build a new marine terminal that will:
- Receive containers by water
- Allow for the outbound distribution of food products via barge or passenger ferries operating after hours
This initiative is part of New York’s “Blue Highway” plan, which aims to enhance water transport and lessen reliance on trucks.
Cleanup and Infrastructure Investment
Before any construction kicks off, the site needs about two years of environmental cleanup to tackle the contamination left behind by a Con Edison gas plant that ran until the early 1960s. During this time, the EDC plans to invest $28.3 million to revitalise the shoreline and enhance greenways.
History of the Vernon C. Bain Centre
Constructed in the late 1980s at Avondale Shipyard in Louisiana, this facility cost $161 million to build. It was brought to the Bronx in 1992 as a temporary fix for the overcrowding issue on Rikers Island. The centre was designed to accommodate up to 800 inmates and was initially staffed by a maritime crew mandated by the Coast Guard to oversee fire safety systems. Unfortunately, it was decommissioned in October 2023 after reports surfaced about poor living conditions, leading to the transfer of 500 prisoners to other facilities.
Neighbouring Waterfront Projects
Right next to the Bain site, Con Agg Global is working on a smaller waterfront facility.
- Phase 1, which involves aggregate transloading from barges, is set to kick off this month.
- Phase 2, a modular pier project for spud barges, is awaiting approval, with interest from food and beverage distributors. CEO Paul Granito mentioned that this project would nicely complement the larger container terminal planned for the Bain site.
Broader NYC Maritime Redevelopment
In other news, the Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Red Hook is moving ahead with a redevelopment plan that has stirred up some controversy. The development rights for housing will help fund the modernisation of the maritime facility, but waterfront advocates are concerned about the potential loss of industrial space. On Thursday, the EDC put out a Request for Expressions of Interest to draw in proposals from port operators, developers, and maritime businesses for the Brooklyn project.
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Source: gCaptain
