On June 1, Michael Van Valkenburgh, lead designer of the park, and Regina Myer, President of BBP, led members through the playgrounds, lawns, and piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Beginning at Pier 6, Michael Van Valkenburgh confronted the challenges of integrating the nearby neighborhoods around Atlantic Avenue into the park while maintaining a sense of mystery about what lies past the entrance. Past Pier 6, Regina Myer brought members out onto an unfinished pier of the park to experience the breathtaking views of Lower Manhattan and see the intense transformation of the park from industrial use into Brooklyn’s newest playground.
Back ashore, Michael explained the proposed hilly topography for the park, sheltering the park from the noise and oppression of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Members wandered past the kayak launch and installed wetlands, which hovered over the city’s trans-borough subway tunnels. Wrapping up at Pier 1, it was easy to see the park’s greatest accomplishment: attracting New Yorkers from far and wide to relax in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge.
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