Brooklyn Bridge Park’s final pier is here!
Stewards of Brooklyn’s front yard opened the last of its six piers-turned-parkland to guests on Tuesday, snipping a ribbon at Pier 3 before inviting guests to sit back and soak up some sun on the latest addition to the lush waterfront lawn.
The new swath of East River-facing green space features plenty of space to sprawl and a landscaped maze for those looking to get lost in nature, making it a perfect place for park-goers to plop or peruse, according to the meadow’s chief.
“We’re so excited to provide even more space for people to play and relax this summer,” said Eric Landau, president of the semi-private Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, which governs the green space. “With Pier 3’s large central lawn and amazing labyrinth for children of all ages, Brooklyn Bridge Park just keeps getting better!”
Meadow keepers funneled $26 million towards transforming the Furman Street pier between Montague and Clark streets from a concrete slab into the 85-acre park’s newest play space, work on which started back in 2016.
The five-acre jetty now boasts a manicured labyrinth — whose circuitous paths are surrounded by plants and dotted with mirrors and items salvaged from the area’s days as an industrial port, including bollards, old cleats, and railroad tracks — as well as a grassy stretch furnished with Adirondack chairs and picnic tables.
And now that it’s open, 90 percent of the waterfront park is complete, according to meadow leaders, who will next turn their attention to the hilly land near Pier 2, where a project to create a sloped lawn with terraced seating — that officials said can be rearranged to accommodate sledding come colder months — and a so-called water garden that sprays wet stuff at passersby is expected to begin this fall, and wrap in 2020.
Park stewards also plan to turn the empty space beneath the Brooklyn Bridge into a public plaza that can host summer concerts and ice-skating in the winter, despite some locals’ concerns that such a facility will draw massive crowds to the area.
And just above the lawn, Brooklyn Bridge Park bigwigs are building a new permanent pool inside the city-owned Squibb Park on Middagh Street — a terminus of the zig-zagging Squibb Bridge to the meadow — after the beloved Pop-Up Pool gets drained for good at the end of this summer.
