La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I often mention Brooklyn Bridge Park when I visit New York. It didn’t exist when I still lived there in the 1970s and was developed to reclaim the waterfront and its old, no longer used piers. In 1984, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey planned to sell the piers for commercial development. A citizens’ movement (now known as the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy) fought for years to make sure that did not happen. Their efforts ensured the development of Brooklyn Bridge Park, 85 acres that run along the East River for 1.3 miles.
Each numbered pier has a different purpose. For example, Pier 1, the largest of the park piers, has lawns, a playground, a waterfront promenade and tree-lined paths. Pier 2 is dedicated to recreation with basketball, handball, ping pong, pickleball, fitness equipment, swing sets, a play turf, picnic tables, and free, seasonal kayaking programs.
Pier 3 includes lawns, a grove, picnic area, woods, and native plantings. I stumbled upon what is known as the Labyrinth which was not signed or explained in any way. It was created using salvage materials from the old pier.
My first time at Brooklyn Bridge Park was 2015 during my mother’s long hospital stay and back surgery (when she gave me permission to take one single day away from her bedside). At that time, I entered from the other end of the park under the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. (Click here for those views.) I’ve now been to the park several times, but there’s still so much I haven’t seen. Don’t miss the chance to view the map in the thumbnails.
Suelo mencionar el Brooklyn Bridge Park cuando visito Nueva York. No existía cuando aún vivía allí en la década de 1970 y se construyó para recuperar la zona costera y sus antiguos muelles en desuso. En 1984, la Autoridad Portuaria de Nueva York y Nueva Jersey planeó vender los muelles para su desarrollo comercial. Un movimiento ciudadano (ahora conocido como Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy) luchó durante años para evitarlo. Gracias a sus esfuerzos, se creó el Brooklyn Bridge Park, un parque de 34 hectáreas que se extiende a lo largo de 2,1 kilómetros del East River.
Cada muelle, numerado, tiene una función diferente. Por ejemplo, el Muelle 1, el más grande del parque, cuenta con césped, un parque infantil, un paseo marítimo y senderos arbolados. El Muelle 2 está dedicado a la recreación, con canchas de baloncesto, balonmano, ping-pong y pickleball, aparatos de gimnasia, columpios, césped artificial, mesas de picnic y programas gratuitos de kayak de temporada.
El Muelle 3 incluye césped, una arboleda, un área de picnic, un bosque y vegetación autóctona. Me topé con lo que se conoce como el Laberinto, que no estaba señalizado ni explicado de ninguna manera. Fue creado con materiales reciclados del antiguo muelle.
Mi primera vez en Brooklyn Bridge Park fue en 2015, durante la larga hospitalización de mi madre y su cirugía de espalda (cuando me dio permiso para alejarme un solo día de su lado). En aquel entonces, entré por el otro extremo del parque, bajo los puentes de Manhattan y Brooklyn. (Haz clic aquí para ver esas vistas). He ido al parque varias veces desde entonces, pero aún hay mucho por descubrir. No te pierdas la oportunidad de ver el mapa en las miniaturas.
• Campo de fútbol del muelle 5.
• Muelle 5 puerta.
• Playa del Muelle 4.
• El Muelle 3.
• El Muelle 3 y el Laberinto.
• Perdí una oportunidad. No tenía ni idea de que esto se llamaba el Laberinto del Caleidoscopio, así que no pasé nada de tiempo en el centro viéndome a mí mismo en el caleidoscopio.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
I loved all of the photos! And now you have given me a place to visit the next time I am in NYC!
Michael:
It’s beautiful, great views, and a wonderful place for a walk.
Someday when it is not 40 degrees and raining, we should take a walk there.
David:
It’s glorious in spring and summer.
Brooklyn Bridge Park sounds marvelous! And yay for the citizens who succeeded in making such a beautiful community area out of the piers. Kaleidoscope Labyrinth is awesome! I’d love to see it!
Debra:
Yes, two days in a row with two satisfying stories about activism.
How great that The People won and got a park instead of more building. I love all the areas and I would love the kaleidoscope section, plus the views across the river.
This will be on my list of places to go when we travel to NYC again.
Bob:
Nice to know there are times when people’s voices are heard. It’s a great place.
This is funny — admiring pictures of a location about an hour away being transmitted from Europe! I knew nothing of this park nor its history before. Thanks. Boud. Also power to the people!
Boud:
I don’t remember how I found out about Brooklyn Bridge Park that year but I had known nothing about it before then. And, yes, more power to the people!
YAY for the B.B. Conservancy! Looks very inviting.
Jim:
It is an amazing place for the views, the activities, the trails. The Conservancy has a lot to be proud of.
What a fab thing to achieve – three cheers for the Brooklyn Bridge Conservancy movement! Jx
Jon:
Isn’t it nice when citizen activism works so well?!?
The map does a great job of helping me picture it all, enhancing your verbal descriptions! There are so many fun things to see and do there and I always love a labyrinth. (as opposed to a maze, which I don’t always love)
Kelly:
I’m with you about mazes. They make me nervous. The map helped me, too.
It is a very good thing that all of the cement and brick and metal is broken up with parks and trees and rivers where people can go to remember that land and water and living things, both breathing and green, are always there for us.
Also, you class up that scarf very well. The hat too.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
It’s wonderful to see that activism works and people speaking up can accomplish incredible things. I remember when the area was simply abandoned and ugly. Oh, that scarf. I was picking fuzz from my beard for hours.
You captured me in from that first picture alone. That’s a breathtaking picture.
Mistress Borghese:
I can never get enough of those views.
Ah, the scarf! A scarf makes all the difference when there are cold winds, I find 🙂
I knew nothing about this park (since I know virtually nothing about Brooklyn, really) — I think it’s wonderful!
Judy C:
The truth is I never knew Brooklyn very well and have gotten to know more of it in the years since we moved to Spain. Brooklyn Bridge Park is wonderful. And, yes, the scarf did its job. I wouldn’t have survived that walk without it.
Oh! I just saw your response about your hotel choice, and had fun scooting around the neighborhood on Streetview… such fun to see Mia’s Bakery and the IHOP you went to , and the Transit Museum… and that Goodwill would have been a great spot to pop in to get a scarf! It really brought your visit alive for me, seeing the neighborhood on Streetview 🙂 (And, I saw your A Tree Grows In Brooklyn room on the hotel website’s room photos 😉 )
Judy C:
I love that you “walked” the neighborhood and visited the hotel. I didn’t even know about Goodwill! I know the IHOP you found near the hotel. Was there once some years ago and it was not very pleasant. We went to the IHOP on Surf Avenue in Coney Island a few minutes from Nathan’s.
What exactly are those things sticking out of the ground in that Pier 3? They look like petrified water fountains.
Kirk:
Those are old bollards (for tying a ship’s mooring lines) from the pier.
Good for the Conservancy! What a wonderful series of spaces. I was hoping there would be pictures of the Labyrinth. I was not disappointed!
ellen abbott:
Too bad I didn’t know about the labyrinth before I visited.
I’ve been to “Pebble Beach” under the Manhattan Bridge, but I’m not sure I ever visited any of the waterfront parks south of that. Looks like I missed out!
Steve:
I knew nothing about this until 10 years ago. It’s wonderful and so worth a visit.