Brooklyn Heights Blog’s Karl Junkersfeld attended the grand opening of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 Thursday morning. In his video, Karl begins with a retrospective of some of his favorite BBP events from the past few years. He then shows the dignitaries gathering, Mayor Bloomberg’s speech, and the pier’s athletic field in use.
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/52913
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 and its uplands, which will include sports fields and a “picnic peninsula,” will have its grand opening in a ceremony to begin at 11:00 a.m. this Thursday, December 13. Rumor has it that Hizzonor himself will make an appearance.
All are invited, and refreshments will be served. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to the Brooklyn Bridge Park conservancy at (718) 802-0603.
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/52666
Sunshades are being put up on the perimiter of Pier 5, seen here from the Promenade. Note also the blue parasols over the tables on the “Picnic Peninsula,” which is on the landward side of the pier. (Click on photo to enlarge; more photos and text after the jump.)
A closer view of Pier 5; note that benches are being installed facing the water.
A view from the Fruit Street Sitting Area of the site of the pedestrian bridge that will connect Squibb Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park below. Note the sections of the bridge lying on supports on the far side of Furman Street, and the path that now loops under the bridge.
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/52198
Philanthropist Joshua Rechnitz’s $40 million donation for the design & construction of a 115,000-square-foot year-round, multi-use recreation facility near Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5 has been trumped. In April, when the Manhattan-based Founder & Chairman of the non-profit New York City Fieldhouse announced the gift, it was deemed the largest donation ever for a New York City public park.
Now, make that the second largest. The New York Times reports that Tuesday, hedge fund billionaire John A. Paulson and his Paulson Family Foundation have donated $100 million to the Central Park Conservancy, more than doubling Rechnitz’s consistently controversial Fieldhouse gift.
Paulson, a lifelong New Yorker, said that as an infant he was pushed around in a baby carriage in Central Park and that he remembers going to Bethesda Fountain as a teenager and seeing it covered in graffiti, with no water flowing. The park’s current endowment stands at $144 million. Half of Mr. Paulson’s gift will go to the endowment, while the other half will be used for capital improvements.
“Walking through the park in different seasons, it kept coming back that in my mind Central Park is the most deserving of all of New York’s cultural institutions,” he said at a news conference. “And I wanted the amount to make a difference. The park is very large, and its endowment is relatively small.”
Perhaps 50 years from now, a prominent Brooklynite will recall being strolled around Brooklyn Bridge Park as an infant and pony up $100M for its upkeep. Imagine how magnificent it will be by then. (Photo: Claude Scales)
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49669
As Brooklyn Bridge Park pushes for late Fall 2012 completion of Pier 5, there couldn’t be any greener a sign of progress than the artificial turf that was put in place over the past week. According to signage that lines the Promenade: “The 5-acre section, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, will feature three synthetic turf playing fields, a waterfront promenade, a picnic peninsula with barbecues, a playground for younger children and fishing stations. Benches and picnic tables constructed of salvaged wood will be placed throughout the pier. A portion of the park’s greenway will also be completed and connect to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.”
Meanwhile, the Squibb Park Bridge spanning Furman Street—which provides a connection at Pier 1—is also slated for completion before year’s end, according to the Brooklyn Bridge Park website. More pics below the jump. (Photos: Chuck Taylor)
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49537
As Brooklyn Bridge Park pushes for late Fall 2012 completion of Pier 5, there couldn’t be any greener a sign of progress than the artificial turf that was put in place over the past week. According to signage that lines the Promenade: “The 5-acre section, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, will feature three synthetic turf playing fields, a waterfront promenade, a picnic peninsula with barbecues, a playground for younger children and fishing stations. Benches and picnic tables constructed of salvaged wood will be placed throughout the pier. A portion of the park’s greenway will also be completed and connect to the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.”
Meanwhile, the Squibb Park Bridge spanning Furman Street—which provides a connection at Pier 1—is also slated for completion before year’s end, according to the Brooklyn Bridge Park website. More pics below the jump. (Photos: Chuck Taylor)
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49537
A large crane lowered a fully constructed “green’ building” on Thursday near Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, destined to become a series of concession stands. Constructed off-site, the structure will be clad in salvaged pine and feature a green roof to absorb rainwater, provide building insulation, create habitat for wildlife and help lower urban air temperatures, according to reports. A request for proposals from food vendors will be issued in 2013.
Spokeswoman Maureen Lynch noted, “In keeping with the park’s sustainable design, the pine is recycled wood, salvaged from the cold storage buildings on the uplands of Pier 1 and used throughout the park.” In addition to the concession stands, Pier 5 is prepping for shade sails, playground equipment, barbecue grills, picnic tables and synthetic turf for a new soccer field, DNAInfo reports. All arrived on site in the last few weeks. Pier 5 is scheduled to open to the public this fall.
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/49239
To celebrate New York’s architecture & design, the 10th-annual “openhousenewyork Weekend” will allow access to hundreds of sites talks, tours, performances and family activities in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. Included in the event is a tour of Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 5, on Saturday October 6, from 2-3 p.m.
Slated for (alleged) completion this fall, Pier 5 comprises three outdoor multi-purpose fields for soccer and other team sports. A “Picnic Peninsula” accessible from the main park promenade on the Pier 5 landslide will include banquet-length picnic tables for barbecues, a concession and children’s play equipment; while Pier 5′s perimeter will provide a waterfront esplanade for strollers, river viewers, sports spectators and fishing(!) Reservations for “openhousenewyork Weekend” are required. More info is here.
Source: Brooklyn Heights Blog
http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/48863