Brooklyn Bridge Park in the context of "Atlantic Avenue (New York City)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Brooklyn Bridge Park

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.

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In this Dossier

Brooklyn Bridge Park in the context of Central Park Conservancy

The Central Park Conservancy is an American private, nonprofit park conservancy that manages New York City's Central Park under a contract with the government of New York City and NYC Parks. The conservancy employs most maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively oversees the work of both the private and public employees under the authority of the publicly appointed Central Park administrator, who reports to the parks commissioner and the conservancy's president.

The Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980 in the aftermath of Central Park's decline in the 1960s and 1970s. Initially devoted to fundraising for projects to restore and improve the park, it took over the park's management duties in 1998. The organization has overseen the investment of more than $1 billion toward the restoration and enhancement of Central Park since its founding. With an endowment of over $200 million, consisting of contributions from residents, corporations, and foundations, the Conservancy raises the Park’s nearly $74 million annual operating budget and is responsible for all basic care of the park. The Conservancy also provides maintenance support and staff training programs for other public parks in New York City, and has assisted with the development of new parks, such as the High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park.

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Brooklyn Bridge Park in the context of Blue space

In urban planning and design, blue space (or blue infrastructure) comprises areas dominated by surface waterbodies or watercourses. In conjunction with greenspace (parks, gardens, etc. specifically: urban open space), it may help in reducing the risks of heat-related illness from high urban temperatures (urban heat island).Substantial urban waterbodies naturally exist as integral features of the geography of many cities because of their historical development, for example the River Thames in London.

Accessible blue spaces can help revitalizing neighborhoods and promote increased social connectedness as seen on waterfront renovation projects like the Chattanooga Waterfront (Chattanooga, Tennessee), the CityDeck in Green Bay, Wisconsin, or the Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City, further enhanced by waterfront festivals such as the Christmas lights in Medellin, in Colombia. Design guidelines promoting healthy buildings -such as, WELL -managed by The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™), or Fitwel -developed and managed by The Center for Active Design (CfAD), recommend incorporating including and water features as a strategy to improve the health and wellness of the building occupants, and "the 9 foundations of a Healthy Building" -developed at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health-, also recommends indoor access to nature views or nature-inspired elements.

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Brooklyn Bridge Park in the context of Dumbo, Brooklyn

Dumbo (or DUMBO, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections: one situated between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another extending eastward from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. The neighborhood is bounded by Brooklyn Bridge Park to the north, the Brooklyn Bridge to the west, Brooklyn Heights to the south, and Vinegar Hill to the east. Dumbo is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2.

Dumbo has historically been known by several names, including Gairville, Rapailie, Olympia, and Walentasville. The area was originally a ferry landing, characterized by 19th- and early 20th-century industrial and warehouse buildings, Belgian block streets, and its location on the East River by the imposing anchorage of the Manhattan Bridge. A large number of the buildings in Dumbo were bought by developer David Walentas and his company Two Trees Management in the late 20th century, and remade into an upscale residential and commercial community—first becoming a haven for art galleries, and currently a center for technology startups.

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