Op-ed: Want an “abundant” New York? Let’s be bold at the Brooklyn Marine Terminal

When my parents arrived in Brooklyn from Sicily in the 1960s, the bustling waterfronts were a symbol of the unbound opportunity that New York City offered to immigrants from around the world. Many of their fellow Italians worked as longshoremen, alongside the Norwegians, Irish, and Germans, unloading ships under the watchful eyes of the Statue of Liberty on the horizon. My parents chose to open a restaurant, joining a growing, vibrant community of Black, Latino, and Asian small business owners, workers, and families.