New Entrance Gate Advances the Navy Yard’s Mission to Connect the Campus with Surrounding Community

Brooklyn, N.Y. (May 5, 2026) – The Brooklyn Navy Development Corporation (BNYDC) announced the completion of a newly constructed entrance gate at Flushing and Cumberland avenues and adjacent landscaped space area, marking a significant step in the organization’s ongoing efforts to weave the perimeter of the historic 300-acre campus into the surrounding vibrant Brooklyn neighborhoods.

For generations, the Brooklyn Navy Yard has stood as an engine of American industry, first as a shipbuilding facility and now as a manufacturing and innovation hub. While much of the Yard’s activity from the more than 550 businesses and 13,000 employees happens behind the Yard’s fences, the new gate and landscaped area reflect an intentional effort to honor the Yard’s storied past while beautifying a part of Flushing Avenue for the local community.

“Today is an exciting day not just for the 13,000 people who come to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but for our greater community,” said BNYDC Board Chair Hank Gutman.  “The opening of the Cumberland Gate opens up new opportunities – literally and figuratively – for the Navy Yard and its surrounding neighborhoods. We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received from our partners, including the New York Department of State, Empire State Development, Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Member Crystal Hudson, in making this new and improved gate a reality.”

“The opening of the Cumberland Gate moves the Navy Yard further into our community,” said Lindsay Greene, President and CEO of BNYDC. “As the Yard continues to be one of the nation’s leading hubs for advanced manufacturing and innovation, it’s crucial that our campus is visible to our neighbors. This project supports our goal to make the economic opportunities here accessible to our community members and make the programs we offer welcoming to job seekers and business owners.”

The Brooklyn Navy Yard is nestled between the brownstones of Fort Greene, the tree lined streets of Clinton Hill and the creative energy of Vinegar Hill and Dumbo, some of the borough’s most dynamic communities. The renewed Cumberland Street Gate was conceived primarily to serve the Yard’s industrial tenants and their vendors, employees, and visitors. Designed by WXY architecture + urban design (WXY), the project improves pedestrian access, clarifies truck and vehicle movement, opens sightlines at one of the Yard’s most heavily used intersections, and creates a new landscaped parklet where a blank brick edge once separated the Yard from the neighborhood.

Empire State Development President, CEO, and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is designed to support projects that strengthen communities and drive economic growth, and these improvements at the Brooklyn Navy Yard do exactly that. By upgrading this key entrance, we are enhancing safety and efficiency, while supporting the continued growth of a major hub for jobs and innovation.”

New York City Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chairs Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and William D. Rahm said, “Projects like this show how targeted investments in infrastructure can strengthen access to key job centers like the Brooklyn Navy Yard. By improving this critical entrance, we are helping ensure the Yard remains safe, efficient and accessible for the businesses and workers who rely on it every day.”

In 2018, Downtown Brooklyn was selected as the New York City region winner of the third round of Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funding, receiving a $10 million award to improve public spaces, pedestrian connections and cultural institutions across the area. Through nine rounds of the program, the DRI has invested a total of $1 billion in 99 communities across every region of the State. Governor Hochul has proposed another $100 million for the program in her 2026-2027 Executive Budget.

This project is a direct outgrowth of New York State’s Downtown Revitalization initiative (DRI), a cornerstone economic development program that transforms downtown neighborhoods into vibrant epicenters for redevelopment, business, and job creation. The impetus for transforming Cumberland Gate was to improve accessibility and create a safer multi-modal entrance. The project also aligned with broader DRI-funded efforts to reconnect to communities surrounding the Yard that had been long divided by the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens expressway to Downtown Brooklyn.

“An economic hub as important as the Brooklyn Navy Yard deserves grand entranceways to welcome those who work there, as well as visitors from the neighborhood and around the world,” said New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley. “The Cumberland Street Gate not only connects the Navy Yard to the surrounding community, but it shines a bright spotlight on the rich historic, cultural and economic vibrancy of one of New York City’s most successful transformations to the modern innovative business generator the Brooklyn Navy Yard is today. The DRI is playing yet another pivotal role in the revitalization of neighborhoods both in New York City and throughout the State.”

The project was funded in part by an $853,700 grant from the New York Department of State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative in partnership with Empire State Development. BNYDC completed this project through the support and financial backing of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Member Crystal Hudson, each allocating $250,000 in capital funding.

“Brooklyn Navy Yard has always been a major industrial hub for New York City. With thousands of people moving through this space every day, it is important that we invest in infrastructure that makes the space more accessible and welcoming to the communities around it. That’s why I’m proud to have invested $250,000 to help create the new Cumberland Gate, which will open the Yard to opportunity and innovation for even more Brooklynites. I am so excited to see this plaza come to life and to see the Yard continually grow and improve,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

“I was proud to allocate $250,000 in FY25 toward improvements at the Cumberland Gate, with the goal of making this part of Flushing Avenue safer, more accessible and more welcoming for the surrounding community,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a vital economic engine for our borough, and investments like this should strengthen the connection between the Yard and its neighbors while supporting the people who work there every day. I am encouraged to see progress on this project and remain committed to ensuring that our public investments deliver meaningful, lasting benefits for our communities.”

“The new Cumberland Gate is a beautiful symbol of the Brooklyn Navy Yard opening up to our community,” said Council Member Lincoln Restler. “The model hub of modern manufacturing and innovation is welcoming our community in and making it easier and safer for everyone to benefit from the economic dynamism in the Navy Yard.”

The 2,500 square foot landscaped area includes seating, a public garden with planted stepped berms that, combined with other raised planters and fixed furniture create various pockets of multi-use gathering spaces for visitors, all under shading and flowering trees. The landscaped area will generally be open to the public from dawn to dusk. The first of four new thresholds planned around the Yard, Cumberland builds on WXY’s work on the 2018 Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan and campus wayfinding strategy, establishing a more accessible, legible, and connected perimeter for BNYDC’s evolving industrial campus. The design team included Thornton Tomasetti, Sam Schwartz, ONELUX Studio, Applied Wayfinding and EKLA, with Hunter Roberts serving as construction manager.

“We are excited to unveil this new public space on Flushing Avenue, designed for flexible use and embodying the idea that the future of Brooklyn Navy Yard is tied to the people who work here and those who live nearby,” said Claire Weisz, Founding Principal of WXY architecture + urban design. “Cumberland is the first of the gates to be reimagined and the first application of a wayfinding and signage system that extends into the Yard’s buildings, all of it growing out of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan Exercise and Rezoning. We commend BNYDC’s focus on design at every stage and every scale.”

“This project was truly rewarding, as it not only created new outdoor spaces but also strengthened the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s bond with the local community. The Gates and Wayfinding initiative demonstrates the Navy Yard’s dedication to creating jobs and supporting local industries. We at Hunter Roberts are proud to have worked closely with the Navy Yard and the design team to bring their vision to life,” said Nicholas Gibson, Senior Project Manager, Hunter Roberts Construction Group.

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About the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is a not-for-profit corporation that serves as the real estate developer and property manager of the Yard on behalf of its owner, the City of New York. BNYDC’s mission is to fuel New York City’s economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the City’s modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. BNYDC helps connect local talent to quality jobs via the Albert C. Wiltshire Employment Center and the Brooklyn STEAM Center high school located on the campus. BNYDC’s vision is a vibrant and dense, modern manufacturing community where businesses are provided the stability they need to invest, grow, and thrive and where diverse candidates can attain quality jobs. Brooklynnavyyard.org