Overview

The Brooklyn Bridge Park will offer a continuous experience along the East River from the foot of Atlantic Avenue to Jay Street, north of the Manhattan Bridge. The 80 acre park will provide neighboring residents from the surrounding communities with a major new precinct of outdoor public recreation and the opportunity to experience their waterfront directly, while also serving both the larger City and the region.

Within its 1.3-mile stretch of waterfront, the proposed park will offer a range of landscapes, passive and active recreational activities, and other opportunities for a wide variety of park experiences. Walkway, bikeway, and waterborne transportation features will provide access into and through the project area, with priority given to pedestrian access adjacent to the water’s edge.

The proposed park is envisioned as five interconnected areas. From the south, these are: the Atlantic Avenue Gateway including Pier 6 and its upland; Piers 5, 4, 3, and 2 and their uplands; Pier 1 and Fulton Ferry Landing; the Interbridge Area; and North of the Manhattan Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge Gateway. The following section presents a description of the proposed plan elements for each of these areas.

Parkwide Elements
Waterfront Access and Circulation
One of the primary assets of Brooklyn Bridge Park is its proximity to the water. Several elements of the proposed plan permit interaction with the water, both visually and physically. The area between Piers 1 and 6 will feature a waterfront promenade extending roughly along the bulkhead line. This paved promenade will serve as a main pedestrian thoroughfare running through the park and allowing views of the water, piers, harbor, and Manhattan skyline. Through a series of sloping ramps and floating and fixed walkways, park users will also experience the water close to sea level. These walkways provide for an entirely different experience of the park, allowing dramatic views of the columnar forest of piles that support the pier deck. In addition to pedestrian activity, water-level access will also allow for kayak launching in certain areas, as well as fishing and other water-dependent activities.
In the Interbridge area, existing access to the water (in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, the Main Street Park, and Fulton Ferry Landing) would be extended to connect with the areas to the north and south. North of the existing Main Street Park, new walkways and an esplanade will be created, as well as a bridge linking the Main Street Park to the area north of Adams Street.

“SAFE WATER” ZONES AND WATER-DEPENDENT USES
From the southern edge of Pier 4 to the southern edge of Pier 1 a “safe water zone” is planned that will provide approximately 10 acres of secure water area for kayaking and paddle boats. Marine structures will define the area, serving to attenuate waves from passing boats; floating boardwalks will be arranged to contain the boaters and kayakers and provide additional wave attenuation within the safe water area. Connecting the two safe water zones, between piers 4 and 5 and between Piers 1 and 2, will be a channel, created along the upland of Piers 2 and 3 by removing existing pier structure. This “canal” will allow kayaks or other small craft to navigate from the area between Piers 1 and 2 to the area south of Pier 3. Kayak launching areas will be provided adjacent to Pier 4 and along the north side of Pier 2. Piers 2 and 3 will be connected across the canal to the upland areas of the park through a series of overhead pedestrian walkways that will also provide access for emergency vehicles. The remnants of Pier 4 will be left in place and used as a nature preserve. At Pier 1, some timber piles will be left in place following removal of the pier deck to preserve a physical record of the site’s industrial past as well as serving as a kayaking course.
Outside of the safe water zones, the area between Piers 5 and 6 will provide slips for the mooring of historic or educational vessels. Between Pier 5 and Pier 4 will be an approximately 185-slip marina for sailboats and powerboats. Water taxi stops would be located along the south side of Pier 6, at the slip between Pier 2 and 3, and the north side of Pier 1, allowing waterborne transportation options for park users and others coming to the project site.

BIKEWAYS
A designated bikeway, coordinated with the Greenway Initiative effort, would be integrated into the park from Pier 1 to Pier 6. Entry for cyclists to the park would primarily be at Old Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue. At Fulton Ferry Landing, the bicycle route connects north to the proposed Greenway route along Water Street.

VEHICULAR ACCESS AND PARKING
Vehicular access and parking would be needed for both park visitors and development parcels in the park. New roads would be created from Furman Street to allow access to the hotel, restaurant and residential uses in the park. These roadways will be very much like a normal New York City street, thus providing a clear boundary between park spaces and development parcels. This road will define where the different activities are taking place; such as drop-off at hotels and service to residential units versus the beginning of park activities.
In the cold weather months, park users may be allowed to access and park on Pier 5, which would allow field sports teams and their supporters to reach the playing fields directly by vehicle and provide for drop-offs and pick-ups.
It is expected that parking would be provided on streets (largely along Furman Street), in nearby off-street parking facilities and new parking to be created within the park boundaries.

HABITAT
Our goal is to establish the maximum number of sustainable, functioning habitats at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. By following ecological principles and guidelines in construction, these landscapes will need only modest management as the decades pass. These diverse natural areas are linked together ecologically, supporting each other in ecological function and providing valuable living space to support wildlife that will live here in the city, or move through the Brooklyn waterfront during the great avian migrations. The diversity and scale of the new natural landscapes should act as an ecological magnet, drawing wildlife such as birds and butterflies, enriching the park experience for its users.

DEVELOPMENT PARCELS: SUPPORTING PARK OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
The 2002 MOU for the park requires that the park be self sustaining. The park’s annual operation and maintenance costs would be supported from revenue generated from within the park. To that end, development parcels have been incorporated into the park plan, including new residential uses at the upland of Pier 6 located at the foot of Atlantic Avenue; at the end of Jay Street, along the upland of Pier 1, where a mixed use development of hotel and residential use is proposed, and within the Empire Stores warehouse complex, which would include restaurant and retail uses. In addition, 360 Furman Street, an existing building on the upland between Piers 5 and 6, would be converted to residential use. Other commercial opportunities in the park would include a restaurant at the end of Pier 1, and small kiosks or concessions located throughout the park. As described under the terms of the MOU, development parcels may not constitute more than 20 percent of the project. As proposed, development parcels make up approximately 10 percent of the park’s area, and of that more than half is taken up by existing structures such as the Empire Stores and 360 Furman Street.
The protected view plane of the harbor from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, existing mapped parkland of the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park and Main Street Park, and viewsheds down existing city streets establish very limited zones within the park where development can be located. The proposed development minimizes building footprints and maximizes parkland. The development envelopes only occupy 9.8% of the parkland.

North of the Manhattan Bridge
The northernmost precinct of Brooklyn Bridge Park is at a bend in the river and is bordered by a large electrical transformer to the north. In the park’s existing configuration, it would be necessary to travel city streets to get from this area to the remainder of the park. To form a connection that allows for the internal continuity of the park, a fixed-pier walkway across the cove underneath the Manhattan Bridge is proposed. The creation of a large earth form at this major park entrance will result in one of the most spectacular harbor views within the park, encompassing the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges to the south, and the East River to the north. To facilitate river-viewing, the mounded site will feature planting, paved area, site furnishings, and lawn.