Brooklyn Bridge Park

Joanne Witty, Henrik Krogius

Description

A major social and political phenomenon of how a community overcame overwhelming opposition and obstacles to build the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's greatest harbors and storied skylines, Brooklyn Bridge Park is among the largest and most significant public projects to be built in New York in a generation. It has transformed a decrepit industrial waterfront into a new public use that is both a reflection and an engine ofBrooklyn's resurgence in the twenty-first century. Brooklyn Bridge Park unravels the many obstacles faced during the development of the park and suggests solutions that can be applied to important economic and planning issues around the world. Situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity became the site of a prolonged battle. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey eyed it as an ideal location for high-rise or commercial development. The idea to build Brooklyn Bridge Park came from local residents and neighborhood leaders looking for less intensive uses of the property. Together, elected officials joined with members of the communities to produce a practical plan, skillfully won a commitment of government funds in a time of fiscal austerity, then persevered through long periods of inaction, abrupt changes of government, two recessions, numerous controversies often accompanied by litigation, and a superstorm.Brooklyn Bridge Park is the success story of a grassroots movement and community planning that united around a common vision. Drawing on the authors' personal experiences-one as a reporter, the other as a park leader-Brooklyn Bridge Park weaves together contemporaneous reports of events that provide a recordof every twist and turn in the story. Interviews with more than sixty people reveal the human dynamics that unfolded in the course of building the park, including attitudes and opinions that arose about class, race, gentrification, commercialization, development, and government.Despite the park's broad and growing appeal, its creation was lengthy, messy, and often contentious. Brooklyn Bridge Park suggests ways other civic groups can address such hurdles within their own communities.

Sujets

• Local history
• History of the Americas

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 07 septembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823273584
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK

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BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARKA DYING WATERFRONT TRANSFORMED

Joanne Witty and Henrik Krogius

Empire State Editions An împrînt of Fordham Unîversîty Press New York 2016

Copyrîght © 2016 Joanne Wîtty and Henrîk Krogîus

A rîghts reserved. No part of thîs pubîcatîon may be reproduced, stored în a retrîeva system, or trans- mîtted în any form or by any means—eectronîc, mechanîca, photocopy, recordîng, or any other—ex- cept for brîef quotatîons în prînted revîews, wîthout the prîor permîssîon of the pubîsher.

Photographs by Henrîk Krogîus except where otherwîse credîted.

Fordham Unîversîty Press has no responsîbîîty for the persîstence or accuracy of URLs for externa or thîrd-party Internet websîtes referred to în thîs pubîcatîon and does not guarantee that any content on such websîtes îs, or wî remaîn, accurate or approprîate.

Fordham Unîversîty Press aso pubîshes îts books în a varîety of eectronîc formats. Some content that appears în prînt may not be avaîabe în eectronîc books.

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www.fordhampress.com

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Lîbrary of Congress Cataogîng-în-Pubîcatîon Data avaîabe onîne at http://cataog.oc.gov.

Prînted în the Unîted States of Amerîca

18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1

Fîrst edîtîon

CONTENTS Lîst of Fîgures Preface

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

Introductîon The Stage A He Breaks Loose The Manheîm Years A New Game wîth a Fresh Team Strange Bedfeows Pubîc Pannîng Pubîc Pannîng Contînues Money and Poîtîca Gamesmanshîp Breakîng the Logjam Reaîty Sets In Housîng “în the Park” At Long Last, Shoves The Poîtîcs of Housîng The Park Begîns to Materîaîze Deep Dîfferences over a Nîneteenth-Century Reîc A Hurrîcane Has Unexpected Consequences The Growîng Experîence Learnîng from the Sîte The Poîtîcs of Housîng, Contînued Waterfront, Parks, and Communîty Pannîng Relectîons on Brookyn Brîdge Park

 Acknowedgments  Appendîx: Brookyn Brîdge Park Thîrteen Guîdîng Prîncîpes  Tîmeîne  Cast of Major Characters  Organîzatîon and Agency Names, Abbrevîatîons, and Acronyms  Notes

Color photographs follow page 178

vîî îx

1 7 15 27 44 55 63 73 82 92 101 110 123 129 136

142 152 162 169 179 191 198

207

209 213 217

223 225

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FIGURES 0-1 Brookyn Brîdge Park Pan, 2015  1-1 Wa Street Ferry Company’s Brookyn Termîna, cîrca 1880  1-2 Wa Street Ferry Company’s Brookyn Termîna, cîrca 1900  1-3 Warehouses aong Furman Street, 1924  1-4 Constructîon of the Brookyn-Queens Expressway, 1948  1-5 Port Authorîty maps from 1956 and 1969  1-6 Freîghters beow Brookyn Heîghts, 1953  1-7 The Manhattan skyîne as seen from Pîer 3, 1969  1-8 Contaîners stacked aong the upand, 1979  2-1 The 1974 “scenîc vîew pane”  2-2 The 1988 “Harbor Park” pan for a waterfront park  2-3 Two vîsîons for Brookyn’s waterfront, 1988  3-1 Tony Manheîm and Cobbe Hî’s Roy Soane  3-2 Governor Marîo Cuomo, Mayor Rudoph Gîuîanî, and Borough Presîdent Howard Goden, 1994  4-1 Neîghborhoods wîth sîgnîicant înterest în the park’s deveopment  5-1 Deveoper Davîd Waentas, 2000  5-2 The proposed hote în DUMBO, 1999  5-3 The Tobacco Inspectîon Warehouse and the Empîre Stores, 1968  5-4 DUMBO, before and after the park  6-1 LDC presîdent Joanne Wîtty and pannîng consutant John Aschuer, 2000  6-2 Joraemon Street and the Brookyn-Queens Expressway  7-1 2000 îustratîve master pan  8-1 2001 proposa for a grand staîrway connectîng Montague Street to the park  8-2 Park groundbreakîng  8-3 The 1937 Purchase Buîdîng under the Brookyn Brîdge roadway  8-4 9/11 memorîa tuîp beds, 2002 10-1 Wendy Leventer 10-2 Landscape archîtect Matthew Urbanskî, 2004 11-1 Deveopment sîtes on the park’s perîphery 11-2 Competîng vîsîons of the resîdentîa buîdîngs at Pîer 6 12-1 The “Foatîng Poo Lady” next to Pîer 5, 2007 12-2 Regîna Myer

xîv 10 10 11 12 12 13 13 14 16 23 25 28

38 46 56 56 57 61

64 68 77

89 90 91 91 101 106 116 121 125 126

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12-3 12-4 14-1 14-2 14-3 14-4 15-1 15-2 15-3 15-4 16-1 16-2 16-3 16-4 16-5 16-6 16-7 17-1 17-2

17-3 17-4 17-5 17-6 18-1 18-2 18-3 18-4 18-5 18-6 18-7 19-1 21-1 21-2

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Large underground tubes used to coect and recyce water Cearîng of Pîer 1, 2008 Buîdîng the hî on Pîer 1, 2009 Pîes eft by Pîer 1 that woud form one border of a sat marsh “Spîra poo” by Pîer 2 Paygrounds on Pîer 6 adjacent to the Governors Isand Ferry Tobacco Warehouse, 1936 Tobacco Warehouse theater pan Tobacco Warehouse waed garden, 2016 Restored and reused Tobacco Warehouse Pîer 2 patform under water, 2012 A beach în DUMBO A sat marsh în DUMBO The vîew from the Promenade to the Brookyn Brîdge, 2005 The vîew from the Promenade to the Brookyn Brîdge, 2015 Aerîa vîew of Pîer 1 Pîerhouse and 1 Hote Two-story addîtîon to the Empîre Stores, 2015 Mayor Mîchae Boomberg and Borough Presîdent Marty Markowîtz, 2013 Squîbb Park pedestrîan brîdge “Pop-up” poo near Pîer 2, 2012 Sound-dampîng berm from Promenade sîde, 2015 Marîna constructîon Mîchae Van Vakenburgh Stone-paved wak aong the water’s edge between Pîers 2 and 1 “Shady traîs” on Pîer 1 Sound-dampîng berm from însîde the park Jonathan Marve Grandmother and chîd on Pîer 4 beach Pîer 2 restroom sîgn în mutîpe anguages Renderîng of the two resîdentîa buîdîngs sated for Pîer 6 Fortîs Group pan for repacîng Long Isand Coege Hospîta Brookyn Brîdge Park, 2015

LIST OF FIGURES

127 128 136 137 138 139 143 149 150 151 153 154 155 158 159 160 161 163

164 165 165 166 167 170 170 171 173 175 177 178 184 204 205

Br P ookyn R Brîdg E e Pa F rk îs A one o C f the  E argest and most sîgnîicant pubîc projects to be buît în New York în a generatîon. It transformed a workîng îndustrîa waterfront that had served New York’s commercîa needs for neary three centurîes înto a new pubîc use for the twenty-irst century. When we irst thought about wrîtîng thîs book, constructîon of the park was we underway but far from compete. We both have a ong hîstory wîth the park. One of us spent sîxteen years as a key payer hepîng to brîng the park about, and the other covered the unfodîng saga from îts începtîon în the mîd-1980s as a jour- naîst and supportîve member of the communîty. We thought ît was an înterestîng and împortant story to chronîce whîe ît was stî fresh în our mînds and those of the other sîgnîicant payers, and we set about întervîewîng as many of those pay- ers as we coud. The more we taked to partîcîpants în the park’s deveopment, the more we reaîzed that the story was much more than a chronoogy of events. It was a story of grassroots organîzîng and communîty pannîng to form a consensus around a common vîsîon for the park. It was aso a story about the dîficuty of maîntaînîng that consensus agaînst the forces that threatened ît and the controversîes and crît- îcîsm that seem to accompany every major pubîc undertakîng. It was the story of government at îts worst and îts best, the conlîcts among pubîc oficîas and pubîc agencîes and the împact of poîtîcs, but aso the merîts of exceent desîgn and taented peope. Perhaps most of a, ît was the story of hard work and perseverance over more than three decades. To te that story propery, we had to te ît în detaî and to weave a îts ee- ments înto a tae that woud be comprehensîve and accurate. Fortunatey, we were present at many of the events and meetîngs we descrîbe. We used our own memo- rîes, of course, but we maîny reîed on contemporaneous notes and documents, and an archîve of newspaper artîces and bog posts that captured every twîst and turn în the story and served as rea-tîme buetîn boards for partîcîpants. When pos- sîbe, we consuted others who coud conirm or deny our împressîons. We înter- vîewed more than sîxty peope. The aîm was to document, fuy and accuratey, the eve of partîcîpatîon and energy around the creatîon of Brookyn Brîdge Park by so many îndîvîduas over so many years. Stî, the story was compex and not easy to te. Despîte îts broad and grow- îng appea, the park’s creatîon was engthy, messy, and often contentîous. Legîtî- mate îssues were raîsed aong the way, and even now that ît îs successfu the park has îts crîtîcs. The heîght and buk of new buîdîngs on the park’s perîphery was

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