Naming Rights Mulled for Brooklyn Bridge Park
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…
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]
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.
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.
Just call it Walentas World and be done with it.
There’s already a fairly prominent New York Citi park in Flushing that pretty successfully sold off naming rights.
“PC Richard Playground”….hmmm.
The Department of Parks and Recreation has had a citywide policy on naming rights for years, perhaps as many as ten. I don’t think the agency has closed any deals, but the policy has been there. A sexier, higer profile park like BBP is probably where we will see this precedent, well characterized by chris, occur first.
Just build so f’ing condos and be done with it! The whole anti-condo thing is a joke. They a putting a couple of buildings on either edge of the park (where there are already buildings) it will be TOTALLY unobtrusive – yet to avoid the cackling of a bunch of people who really just dont want a park at all, the city is going to put advertising all around a public park – how is this an improvement
yuck… but may be necessary
Well… since there doesn’t seem to be much evidence of this involvement by condos…