Brooklyn Bridge Park
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The future Brooklyn Bridge Park will be the first major new park development in Brooklyn since Prospect Park was built 135 years ago. It will stretch 1.3 miles along the East River from Atlantic Avenue to just north of the Manhattan Bridge. The 85 acre park includes the huge Piers 1 - 6 on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront. Most of this area is underused and inaccessible. Only the stretch between the Fulton Ferry Landing and the Manhattan Bridge is a park, the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park.
Final approval has been given by State and City authorities. Construction will commence in early 2008, with completion in 2012. The total cost is estimated at $130 million, excluding additional private development costs.
A major objective is to make the park financially self-sustaining, hence parts of it will be used for commercial and residential development. Most of the residents of Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO appear to be in favor of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, yet there are concerns about increased traffic, the lack of public transportation close to the park and the extent of the commercial and residential development.
The Brooklyn Heights Association, the powerful local neighborhood association, has come out in favor, albeit with some reservations (see their website below).
[edit] External links
- Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
- Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation
- Brooklyn Heights Association
- brooklyn101.com Brooklyn for Brooklynites and Visitors
