$50 million velodrome is dead. Philanthropist backs out of Brooklyn Bridge Park project
After more than a half year of controversy, a plan to bring a bicycle racing sports complex called a velodrome to Brooklyn Bridge Park has crumbled, the New York Times reports.
Joshua P. Rechnitz, the bicycle-loving philanthropist who was backing the project with $50 million of his own funds, told the Times on Wednesday that he and his team would seek another location for the indoor “Fieldhouse” featuring a specialized, banked racing track and viewing stands.
While local support for the plan had been decidedly mixed, the decision was made mainly for financial reasons, planners said. The proposed location -– directly below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade -– added aesthetic costs to the project, and Superstorm Sandy raised the specter of flooding.