Restrooms:\u00a0<\/strong>March \u2013 November: 7am \u2013 11pm | December \u2013 March: 7am \u2013 10pm<\/p>\n Playgrounds:\u00a0<\/strong>Sunrise \u2013 Sunset<\/p>\n Pier 6 Water Lab:\u00a0<\/strong>Memorial Day \u2013 September\u00a0(weather dependent)<\/em><\/p>\n Education Center:\u00a0<\/strong>Tuesday & Thursday: 3-5pm | Saturday: 1-5pm<\/p>\n Squibb Park & Bridge:\u00a0<\/strong>8am-10pm<\/p>\n Pier 2:\u00a0<\/strong>May \u2013 September: 8am \u2013 11pm| October \u2013 April: 8am-9pm<\/p>\n Pier 5:\u00a0<\/strong>7am \u2013 11pm<\/p>\n Pier 5 Picnic Peninsula Grills:\u00a0<\/strong>6am \u2013 10pm<\/p>\n Pier 6 Volleyball Courts:\u00a0<\/strong>8am \u2013 10pm<\/p>\n The remainder of the Park is open 6am \u2013 1am<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Visiting The Park<\/strong><\/p>\n Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85-acre world-class waterfront park with rolling hills, riverfront promenades, lush gardens, and spectacular city views. Our list of amenities continues to grow as we work each day to revitalize this previously deteriorated industrial space and build a park that allows New Yorkers to rediscover the waterfront.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WATERFRONT HISTORY<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The area that is today Brooklyn Bridge Park was once a site of bustling commerce, a transportation terminal, an entry point for immigrants, an artistic and activist center, and finally, a world-class park visited by millions every year.<\/p>\n Beginning in the mid-1600s, boats and small ferries provided transportation along the river and supported a growing trade economy. Launched in 1814, Robert Fulton\u2019s steam powered Fulton Ferry Company revolutionized travel and trade between Brooklyn and Manhattan. Railroad lines were installed at the Fulton Ferry Landing in the 1850s followed by construction of massive brick warehouses, most notably the Empire Stores warehouse. Smaller storage warehouses were built alongside the ferry landings and small \u201cfinger piers\u201d jutted out from the land. The opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 and the Manhattan Bridge in 1909 signaled the end of the ferry trade and a period of neglect of the Brooklyn waterfront. In the 1950s the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the replacement of the narrow finger piers with wider piers able to accommodate larger ships and cargo revitalized the area. However, trade technology and transportation advanced quickly, and by the 1970s, much of the Brooklyn waterfront was largely barren, decrepit, and abandoned. In 1984, the Port Authority announced plans to sell the piers for commercial development, which caused a reevaluation of the site\u2019s value as a public resource and sparked a community movement to reclaim the waterfront area for public use.<\/p>\n To learn more about the dynamic history of the Brooklyn waterfront,\u00a0visit\u00a0Brooklyn Waterfront History<\/a>, a joint project between Brooklyn Bridge Park and\u00a0The Center for Brooklyn History<\/a>. The site delves into the history, ecology, and sustainability of the waterfront. Visitors can access detailed information on points of interest, explore thematic tours, and examine The Center for Brooklyn History\u2019s collection of related historical documents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n PLANNING BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Brooklyn Bridge Park is the result of extensive planning and community advocacy for many decades.<\/p>\n After the close of its cargo operations in 1984, the Port Authority announced plans to sell the piers for commercial development. This caused a reevaluation of the site\u2019s value as a public resource and generated a decades-long citizens\u2019 movement dedicated to mobilizing public support for a park. Initiated by local community residents and carried forward by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition (now the\u00a0Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy<\/a>), this grassroots campaign enlisted the endorsement and financial commitment of local, city, and state officials to the park concept.<\/p>\n In 1998 the Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront Local Development Corporation was created to undertake a public planning process for what would become Brooklyn Bridge Park. The result was the September 2000 Illustrative Master Plan, which presented a conceptual framework for the waterfront park.<\/p>\n On May 2, 2002, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dedicating State and City funding for park construction and the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (BBPDC) to oversee its design and construction. An important mandate of this agreement is that the Park is required to be financially self-sufficient in its ongoing maintenance and operations. The long-term funding is provided by revenue-producing development and is a required component of the Park project. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy transformed its mission from advocacy to support and is now the primary public programming partner for the Park.<\/p>\n In 2010, Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation became\u00a0Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation<\/a>, the non-pro\ufb01t organization that plans, builds, maintains, and operates Brooklyn Bridge Park. The mission of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation is to provide an exceptional public space that connects people, nature, and the waterfront through inclusive, innovative, and sustainable management, and design.<\/p>\n In 2004, Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation hired the landscape architecture team of\u00a0Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates<\/a>\u00a0to lead an intensive planning process and prepared a master plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park. In 2005,\u00a0the Master Plan<\/a>\u00a0was released, the\u00a0Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)<\/a>\u00a0was completed, and the General Project Plan was approved (and subsequently modified in 2006 and 2010). Ground was broken on the park in February 2008. The first section of parkland opened to the public at Pier 1 in 2010 and spaces have opened incrementally on the following timeline:<\/p>\n 2010:\u00a0Pier 1<\/a>,\u00a0Pier 6 playgrounds<\/a><\/p>\n 2011:\u00a0Empire Fulton Ferry<\/a>,\u00a0Jane\u2019s Carousel<\/a><\/p>\n 2012:\u00a0Pier 5<\/a>,\u00a0Picnic Peninsula<\/a><\/p>\n 2013:\u00a0Squibb Park & Bridge<\/a>,\u00a0Pier 4 Beach<\/a><\/p>\n 2014:\u00a0Pier 2<\/a><\/p>\n 2015:\u00a0Pier 6<\/a>,\u00a0John Street<\/a>, and redesigned\u00a0Main Street<\/a><\/p>\n 2017:\u00a0Pier 5 Uplands<\/a><\/p>\n 2018:\u00a0Pier 3<\/a><\/p>\n 2020:\u00a0Pier 2 Uplands<\/a><\/p>\n 2021:\u00a0Emily Roebling Plaza<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n DESIGNING BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Brooklyn Bridge Park extends 1.3 miles along the East River on a defunct cargo shipping and storage complex. The ambitious park design sought to transform this environmentally hostile site into a thriving civic landscape while preserving the dramatic experience of the industrial waterfront. This site also presented excellent opportunities including its adjacency to two thriving residential communities and its unparalleled viewsheds to the fabled Lower Manhattan skyline.<\/p>\n Brooklyn Bridge Park\u2019s lush\u00a0lawns<\/a>, young trees and beautiful flowers have created a robust landscape and brought\u00a0nature<\/a>\u00a0to this former industrial site. Public access to the long, narrow site was enabled by \u201curban junctions,\u201d neighborhood parks at key entry points that transition between the park and adjacent residential communities. These entry parks host program such as dog runs, civic lawns and playgrounds, which foster community stewardship and the safety that comes with constant occupation.<\/p>\n Brooklyn Bridge Park introduces variety to a previously monofunctional industrial waterfront. Unlike other waterfront parks, where visitors remain perched above the water, Brooklyn Bridge Park encourages close interaction with the water. The park\u2019s diverse edge types reveal the dynamic nature of New York Harbor. Salt marshes, boat ramps, beaches, and waterfront promenades provide visitors with a unique opportunity to interact with the water.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/usa.camegone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/new-york-new-york-city-best-parks-brooklyn-bridge-park.jpg\")
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