March 25, 2008
Demolition Underway for Brooklyn Bridge Park
The conversion of an 85-acre stretch of Brooklyn waterfront from post-industrial decay to pristine park is continuing apace, as bulldozers have begun demolishing the hulking warehouses that have barred access to the East River for years. But a Sierra Club lawsuit could yet stall the long-planned urban renewal project, and outcry from some community groups remains undiminished.
The Sierra Club objects to the “wave-calming systems and floating walkways” that are to be installed along five piers in the park to encourage kayakers, because the system could hurt East River marine life. Other critics like Fred Kent, founder of the Project for Public Spaces, opposes the park’s design, which he sees as uninspired “fields in the middle of a pier,” designed to appeal to future dwellers in the condos and hotels being built along the park – these will ultimately provide the revenue to cover the park’s operation and maintenance.
Kent would like to see the park accommodate markets, museums and other cultural life; other critics like Judi Francis, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund, fault the plans for not providing enough access to the waterfront from other places like the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. On the other side of the debate, Marianna Koval, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, tells the Times that the park, parts of which will be completed as soon as next year, will have enough activities to draw thousands of people to Brooklyn: “You can over-program a place and turn it into Disneyland.” Would that be so wrong? Part of the park is in DUMBO.
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The Sierra Club objects to the “wave-calming systems and floating walkways” that are to be installed along five piers in the park to encourage kayakers, because the system could hurt East River marine life
Ugh. Can one project in New York be done without ridiculous opposition?
"No, keep the giant concrete mounds in Washington Square Park. They give it character." No they don't, they're fucking concrete mounds.
Talk about too many fingers in the pot . . . Why can't people just let it be built. It will be a vast improvement over what's there now.
Agreed--I want to use the park now, not in 20 years. And I'm no fan of the condos, but let's not kid ourselves. They're not the reason the park will be cut off from Brooklyn Heights. The BQE is.
Interesting how blue the water is on these pics. TKaisen is right about the opposition. I went to one of those public hearings. By the end of it you'd think the rats and drug pushers were the endangered species in Washington Square Park.
Let's get this thing built, people. The eyesore that's there now needs to go. Plus, so what if it looks "uninspired" - this part of Brooklyn has virtually no grassy open areas (the one real park in the area recently converted to turf) and hardly any playing fields, unless you head way down to Red Hook. This will serve the community well.