Brooklyn Bridge Park: A Dying Waterfront Transformed
- ISBN-10
- 082327358X
- ISBN-13
- 9780823273584
- Category
- Architecture
- Pages
- 272
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2016-09-07
- Publisher
- Fordham Univ Press
- Authors
- 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 of Brooklyn’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 record of 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.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2024-01-03
- - pages
- Paperback
- Monacelli Press
Similar books
-
A History of Brooklyn Bridge Park: How a Community Reclaimed and Transformed New York City's Waterfront
By Nancy Webster, David Shirley22 Deborah Hoffman, “The Revitalization of Fulton Ferry: A Prototype of Waterfront Development in New York City” (New York University, Graduate School of Public Administration, July 1979), 21. 23 Edward C. Burks, “A Touch of Frisco in ...
-
Birding at the Bridge: In Search of Every Bird on the Brooklyn Waterfront
By Heather WolfWhen avid birder Heather Wolf moved from tropical Florida to a nearby apartment, she wondered how many species she might see there, and soon came to a surprising realization: Not only is the park filled with an astonishing variety of birds, ...
-
Tales from Concrete Jungles: Urban Birding Around the World
By David LindoFeaturing 70 locations to explore, Tales from Concrete Jungles is the perfect book to dip in to when on the move, or to hide away with on a rainy afternoon.
-
66 Square Feet: A Delicious Life
By Marie ViljoenThe book draws the reader into Viljoen’s beautiful world of unfolding city seasons as she forages through New York City and harvests from her garden to create elegant and inspiring meals that encourage the reader to pause and savor life.
-
Jane's Carousel
By Jane WalentasThe story of one woman's remarkable 25-year odyssey to restore the beloved carousel at Brooklyn Bridge Park In 1983 a dream to revive the Dumbo area of Brooklyn was underway.
-
Birding at the Bridge: In Search of Every Bird on the Brooklyn Waterfront
By Heather WolfIt does show up regularly in the city, even in Bryant Park, just a couple of blocks from Times Square. Being a city birder, I should have seen the bird my first year back in Brooklyn. In fall 2015, I met Peter in the park and told him ...
-
The Urban Birder
By David LindoThe book is an inspirational look at the birdlife in our cities, or more accurately, the author's personal journey of discovery involving encounters with racism, air rifle-toting youths, girls, alcohol, music, finding urban wildlife oases ...
-
Young Scrooge: A Very Scary Christmas Story
By R. L. StineRick Scroogeman hates Christmas and he hates being called Scrooge, but everything starts to change when three ghosts visit him, and he realizes this nightmare might be real.
-
In the Shadow of Genius: The Brooklyn Bridge and Its Creators
Named a Gift Book for the Discerning New Yorker by The New York Times In the Shadow of Genius is the newest book by photographer and author Barbara Mensch. The author combines her striking photographs with a powerful first-person narrative.
-
Brooklyn Bridge: A Novel
By Karen Hesseas we headed down the bright avenue of lights to- ward the exit, we passed Uncle Izzy's booth one last time. Even though the crowd had thinned, Luna Park still carried on. My uncle's booth, however, looked deserted.