Shovels Hit the Dirt on Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 3

BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK, BROOKLYN — Work on Pier 3, the final piece of Brooklyn Bridge Park's years-long transformation into an 85-acre multi-purpose green space, got off to a ceremonial start on Wednesday.

The five acre pier, due to open in the spring of 2018, will feature a large, "undulating" lawn in the middle, shade trees along the edges, a hard-surfaced open area for programming, and a "play labyrinth" featuring hedge mazes, picnic tables, and "historic elements" taken from the pier. Pier 3 will also be fully ADA accessible.

The project will cost $26 million, according to the mayor's office.

On Wednesday, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and City Councilman Stephen Levin, who represent Brooklyn Heights, joined Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Webster, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna, BBP architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, and outgoing BBP President Regina Myer to shovel dirt onto the pier.

All offered effusive praise for Myer, who has seen the project through its entire construction process thus far.

Near the entrance to the pier, a poster showing a rendering of its future form had been tagged with an arrow pointing to a white family picnicking on its grounds, alongside the words, "Only ones living here."

But the officials who spoke on Wednesday offered a contrary message.

Myer said that "saving the waterfront for all New Yorkers is a bold idea," adding that the Park is "a public space for everyone" that offers a "mix of uses that makes anything possible."

Squadron said Pier 3 will offer "a great lawn for our Central Park in our center of the city," while Reyna said the pier will promote "the health and wellness of our neighbors" by offering places to rest, reflect and exercise.

Michael Van Valkenburgh said that when the project started, he was told by some members of the public that "nobody would come here." Later on, he said he was asked how he would "make something for the borough, not just for this neighborhood."

Today, he said, the park's piers offer a "rhythm of active and passive places to be," alternating between open green space and areas for athletics.

Officials said Brooklyn Bridge Park is now used by 300,000 people per week during the summer months. And while statistics concerning the geographic makeup of users weren't immediately available on Wednesday, a 2016 survey of those swimming in the park's pop-up pool (recently extended for another season) found that 63 percent came from neighborhoods outside Brooklyn Heights.

Pier 3 on October 19, 2016. Photo by John V. Santore

Pictured at top: A rendering depicting the completed Pier 3 of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Rendering courtesy of Brooklyn Bridge Park.