First section of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s new greenway opens to public

NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Tuesday that the first section of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s new greenway has been opened to public, including a scenic bikeway and a walkway.

In total, five acres of the park were opened, including the first 2,000 feet of the greenway and a 30-foot wide, scenic bikeway and walkway along the East River shoreline. The new opened section of the greenway begins at the park’s entrance at Old Fulton Street and ends at the foot of Pier 2, approximately 2,000 feet to the south.

Brooklyn Bridge Park is a component of the Administration’s Waterfront Vision and Enhancement Strategy to revitalize New York City’s more than 500 miles of waterfront. Since 2002, more than 500 acres of new parkland have been opened.

“The opening of the next five acres of the park makes it an even more attractive place to visit, and moves us one step closer to our goal of building the full 85-acre park,” Bloomberg said.

In order to provide continuous public access to the portion of the park already open at Pier 6 on Atlantic Avenue, the new section is connected to an interim path on the uplands of Piers 2, 3 and 4. Such connection includes a two-way bike lane and a 10-foot wide pedestrian path.

The new sections of the park include a tidal salt marsh with an adjacent seating area composed of granite blocks salvaged from the old Willis Avenue Bridge in the Bronx. The tidal marsh will be home to marine and aquatic bird life.

Fresh water gardens and a series of weir bridges were established in Pier 1. . The ravine-like setting is the park’s most pastoral landscape and many different kinds of flowers and bushes were planted there.

“This opening highlights two wonderful aspects of Brooklyn Bridge Park – its scenic beauty and its multi-faceted functionality. The salt marsh and fresh water gardens are extraordinary scenic amenities that also serve important environmental and sustainability functions,” said Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, known as Brooklyn Bridge Park, is the not-for-profit entity responsible for the planning, construction, maintenance and operation of Brooklyn Bridge Park, an 85-acre sustainable waterfront park stretching 1.3 miles along Brooklyn’s East River shoreline.

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