On Wednesday, January 28, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP) President Joe Chan were joined by Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, City Council Member Letitia James and community leaders to renew their protest of the deplorable conditions in and around 370 Jay Street—one of the most neglected MTA properties in the city—and at the Jay Street/Borough Hall station. Also participating in the press conference prior to the Brooklyn MTA hearing hosted by the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge were Michael Gold of Sid’s Hardware and Michael Nill of Brooklyn Friends School.

The city-owned, 400,000-square-foot building is mostly vacant and has been surrounded by unsightly sidewalk sheds and scaffolding for several years. The MTA has budgeted $150 million toward renovating the building for its back offices, but says it won’t be fully occupied until 2016. According to BP Markowitz and DBP President Chan, 370 Jay Street could be sold or leased to attract one or more major corporate tenants, including retail, and the savings used to close the MTA’s budget shortfall.

During his testimony at the public hearing, BP Markowitz urged the MTA to consider more equitable proposals to close its budget gap without cutting subway and bus service or using revenue from bridge tolls that would disproportionately punish Brooklynites.