Park on Pier 2 May Open This Spring

February 14, 2006 — Brooklyn Bridge Park won’t be complete until at least 2010 — but as early as this spring, New Yorkers could be frolicking on a large swath of the East River waterfront, officials said yesterday. The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp., the state-controlled authority overseeing the $150 million project, wants input from residents on ways to use some of the 85 acres for recreation until construction begins next year, said spokesman Lee Silberstein. The five-acre Pier 2 in Brooklyn Heights — which contains a massive storage shed — is one likely site along the 1.3 miles of future parkland where some form of new recreation is expected to be up and running by the spring, he said. He said the park planners would get community feedback before deciding on use, although open space combined with basketball or tennis courts is among the options. The park, running from the Manhattan Bridge down to Atlantic Avenue, is expected to pay its annual maintenance through the construction of onsite condominium towers, a hotel and commercial ventures. But nine civic groups say they’re planning to sue unless the 1,240 to 1,270 proposed units are removed from the plan.
Newest Park May Open Early [NY Post]