Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85-acre (34 ha) park on the Brooklyn side of the East River in New York City. Designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park is located on a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) plot of land from Atlantic Avenue in the south, under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and past the Brooklyn Bridge, to Jay Street north of the Manhattan Bridge. From north to south, the park includes the preexisting Empire–Fulton Ferry and Main Street Parks; the historic Fulton Ferry Landing; and Piers 1–6, which contain various playgrounds and residential developments. The park also includes Empire Stores and the Tobacco Warehouse, two 19th-century structures, and is a part of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a series of parks and bike paths around Brooklyn.The park's first portion, Pier 1, opened in 2010. The land for the park was formerly an industrial stretch of waterfront owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After the city and state signed a joint agreement in 2002, site planning and project funding proceeded. The first work, undertaken in 2007, involved the demolition of a warehouse under the Brooklyn Bridge. Since the opening of Pier 1, several other portions of the park have been completed. The park was finished in December 2021. There have been disputes and lawsuits over several aspects of Brooklyn Bridge Park, including the construction of residential developments to help pay for the project.Brooklyn Bridge Park is overseen by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates and maintains the park, as well as oversees its construction. The corporation's mission is to "create and maintain a world class park that is a recreational, environmental and cultural destination enjoyed by residents of, and visitors to, New York City".In 1642, the first ferry landing opened on the land that is now Brooklyn Bridge Park's Empire Fulton Ferry section. Soon after, a thriving trading economy developed into a small town called "het Veer", meaning "the Ferry". As het Veer grew throughout the 17th century, it became known as the "Road to the Ferry". On August 29, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, het Veer served as a crucial strategic location for George Washington and the Continental Army in the Battle of Long Island. In the middle of the night, Washington's troops evaded the quickly advancing British Army by escaping across the East River to Manhattan.As the 18th century came to a close, additional ferry services were added to this waterfront community, including docking points for the "Catherine Street Ferry" and the first steamboat ferry landing that was created by Robert Fulton, which eventually became known as the Fulton Ferry Landing. The community continued to grow into the 19th century as Brooklyn Heights developed into a residential neighborhood, eventually becoming one of America's first suburbs, as ramps and bridges to the waterfront were built. By the 1850s, Brooklyn City Railroad rail lines were installed at the Fulton Ferry Landing. During this boom period, brick warehouse development proliferated along the waterfront, and the area soon became known as "the walled city". In addition to the warehouses, the Empire Stores were constructed between 1870 and 1885.In 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was opened. While the Brooklyn Bridge formed a needed link between Manhattan and Brooklyn, it also disrupted ferry traffic, which reported sharp drops in patronage. In addition, the bridge bypassed the waterfront, spurring more inland development and neglecting the waterfront. The Manhattan Bridge, which opened in 1909, further disrupted trade to this section of the East River. The addition of these two crucial bridges resulted in the demise of this waterfront and the closing of the Fulton Ferry Landing in 1924. The construction of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in 1950, and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) underneath it in 1954, posed another barrier to accessing the waterfront from Brooklyn Heights.Throughout the 1950s, over 130 warehouses and 25 smaller "finger piers" were demolished along Brooklyn's waterfront. To accommodate larger ships and cargo, the New York Dock Company built 13 new piers between 1956 and 1964, comprising what is now Piers 1–3 and 5–6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. However, as trade technology advanced, so did trade routes. By the 1970s, much of the Brooklyn waterfront developments were largely barren and decrepit, causing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to end cargo ship operations in 1983.[2] Many of these warehouses were demolished or abandoned by the end of the 20th century. One of the last tenants, the New York State Labor Department, continued to occupy a warehouse until 1996.
Here is a local
Business that supports the community
Google Map-
https://maps.app.goo.gl/iDrByCgGmVbhtKFg9247 Prospect Ave #4, Brooklyn, NY 11215
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