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NY1 and The Post report on how corporate sponsorships are one of the ideas being considered to offset Brooklyn Bridge Park’s annual maintenance budget. According to The Post: “The inspiration for the commercial sponsorship comes from Chicago’s Millennium Park, which opened to rave reviews in 2004, and saw the private sector pick up $220 million of its $490 million tab. The massive downtown Chicago park is now flooded with corporate-sponsored attractions, including AT&T Plaza, Chase Promenade and the Frank Gehry-designed BP Bridge. Edward Uhlir, Millennium Park’s executive director, said the green space would’ve been ‘ordinary and bland’—and half of it likely not built —if naming rights weren’t sold to a dozen sponsors.” Meanwhile, NY1 notes that if this happens, it would be the first time a New York City park sells off naming rights. Since the park was always going to be a public-private partnership—in which condos were supposed to pay for the park’s maintenance—would this fundamentally alter its dynamic as originally conceived?
Naming Rights Sought For Brooklyn Bridge Park [NY1]
B’klyn Plan Gives New Meaning to ‘Corporate Park’ [NY Post]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Name away. The plaques can come down when the brands are dead. I wouldn’t mind a little taste of Times Square in the Park for the sake of economic development that the tourists will surely bring. There are other alternatives that abound in this Borough for locals in the know where one can enjoy peaceful relaxation without commercialization. What right minded Brooklynite would be caught dead in this Park at peak times? Let the condo foes have their day, but ultimately, it will no longer be about them.

  2. I think pluralism is the key here as it relates to revenue sources for park maintenance funding. Corporate sponsorships may indeed be a good fit if managed correctly. I did notice however that the term “corporate sponsorship” was missing from the conservancy’s press release. I wonder if that is a signal or an oversight.