By the 1970s, the Brooklyn piers had become a wasteland on the New York
City waterfront. Today, they have been transformed into a stunning park
that is enjoyed by countless Brooklynites and visitors from across New
York City and around the world. A History of Brooklyn Bridge Park
recounts the grassroots, multivoiced, and contentious effort, beginning
in the 1980s, to transform Brooklyn's defunct piers into a beautiful,
urban oasis. The movement to resist commercial development on the piers
reveals how concerned citizens came together to shape the future of
their community.
After winning a number of battles, park advocates, stakeholders, and
government officials collaborated to create a thoroughly unique city
park that takes advantage of the water and the 'Manhattan skyline,
combining an innovative design with vibrant cultural programming. From
start to finish, this history emphasizes the contributions,
collaborations, and spirited disagreements that made the planning and
construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park a model of natural urban
development and public-private partnership. The book includes interviews
with Brooklyn residents, politicians, activists, urban planners,
landscape architects, and other key participants in the fight for the
park. The story of Brooklyn Bridge Park also speaks to larger issues
confronting all cities, including the development of postindustrial
spaces and the ways to balance public and private interests without
sacrificing creative vision or sustainable goals.
