Brooklyn Bridge Park

Rendering courtesy of Architecture Research Office

State and City elected officials, community leaders, Brooklyn Bridge Park leaders, and Stalco Construction team members started a $3.6M redevelopment and conversion of a large former NYC DEP structure into the first community and environmental education center in Dumbo, Brooklyn. The officials began construction by demolishing a section of a wall with sledge hammers at the 99 Plymouth Street building.

Located directly beneath the Manhattan Bridge, the new community center will be the first permanent location of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, which provides environmental education programs to over 8,000 of New York City students as well as residents, and visitors. In addition to the environmental education center, the building will also provide restrooms and a community meeting space.

“The project includes demolition of a portion of the main, one-story building previously used by NYCDEP, and two adjacent storage structures,” explained Stalco Project Manager Keith Ward. “Stalco will construct a new glass curtainwall on the west and south elevations, refurbish the original exterior brick walls, build a new storefront-type entrance and additional window and garage door openings, and completely renovate the interiors in order to create offices and community facilities,” he continued.

The building’s exterior will feature a glass and aluminum curtain wall and main entrance, with a portion of the wall constructed of soundproof glass. Stalco will build a new access door, windows, and a garage-type door in the brick wall of the building to provide access to a new compactor room. The upgrades will include a new reflective EPDM roof and all new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems.

Other parts of the Main Street conversion plan include an outdoor community space with stone seating, a bouldering wall, a dog run, and expanded lawn space.

Photo by Peter Wilk/Wilk Marketing Communications

Previously:
{New Construction to Begin at Brooklyn Bridge Park in January 2014, 30Dec2013}
{Brooklyn Bridge Park Main Street Conversion Proposed Design, 30May2013}
{Main Street Conversion Site Plan to be Presented, 16May2013}

Press Release and more photo renderings after the jump. (more…)

Photo by Montag007

The Macy’s annual 4th of July fireworks show will be moved back to the East River at the Brooklyn Bridge and on East River barges in 2014. The last time Macy’s held its fireworks show on the East River was in 2008. Unless you have access to one of the rooftops on one of the Dumbo loft buildings, Brooklyn Bridge Park will be the prime spot to watch the fireworks. However, we advise not driving to the area since parking will not be available, says Brooklyn Eagle. Fireworks begin at 9:20 p.m. on July 4. However, tow trucks will be towing cars from Joralemon to Middagh streets starting 11 p.m. on the night of July 3 to establish NYPD emergency vehicle and crowd management lanes. Street closures include:

• Joralemon Street from Furman Street to Court Street
• Montague Street from Hicks Street to Columbia Heights
• Columbia Heights from Remsen Street to Old Fulton Street
• Water Street from Main Street to Old Fulton Street
• Middagh Street from Cadman Plaza West to “Dead End”
• Cranberry Street from Columbia Heights to Hicks Street
• Vine Street from Columbia Heights to Hicks Street
• Cadman Plaza West from Tillary Street to Furman Street

Brooklyn Bridge Park will be open on July 4. However, they note the following details:

• Squibb Park and Bridge will be closed.
• The Main Street section of the park will close at 4pm
• Barbeques on Picnic Peninsula will be closed.
• All playgrounds will close at 4pm.
• The Pop-Up Pool will close at 4pm.
• Pier 4 Beach will close at 4pm.
• Jane’s Carousel will close at 6pm.
• Volleyball courts will close at 4pm.
• The Pier 2 sports courts will close at 4pm.
• The Pier 5 sports fields will close at 4pm.
• Chairs will not be allowed in the park.
• Parking is extremely limited. Please use public transportation. See our Visitor Information page for subway, bus and ferry information.
• To enter the park, please use the park’s main entrances at Old Fulton and Furman Streets or Atlantic Avenue and Furman Street.
• Bags will be checked by NYPD at all entrances.

The bridges will also be shut down. The Brooklyn Bridge will be shut down in both directions starting at 7pm. The Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridge footpaths will be closed to pedestrians and bikes starting at 7pm.

See Macy’s best spots to watch the fireworks. Happy July 4th America!

This Sunday at 4:30pm come down to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5 and watch the New York Empire take on the DC Breeze. This game has serious playoff implications for each team and is free for all attendees.

Photo by Katie Killary

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, in cooperation with Brooklyn Bridge Park, announced the lineup for the fifteenth year of its signature movie series. This year’s theme is animals.

The movies take place Thursday evenings in July and August on the Harbor View Lawn of Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. (Google map). Last year, more than 35,000 viewers enjoyed the outdoor movie nights with the river view of lower Manhattan as the backdrop. Syfy has been a presenting sponsor of Syfy Movies With A View since 2008.

Music starts at 6:00 pm, and the films begin at sundown. Park concessionaires Ample Hills Ice Cream, Luke’s Lobster, No. 7 Subs, Lizzmonade Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge Garden Bar will be offering food and drink for purchase.

Note: The park gets crowded and lawn is first come, first served, so we suggest getting there early.

Movie lineup:

• July 10: Duck Soup (1933). The Marx Brothers take fictional Europe in this Depression-era classic.

  Short: Silo by David Soll

• July 17: Sharknado (2013). Regulars of a beachside bar including owner Fin (Ian Ziering/Beverly Hills 90210), bartender Nova (Casie Scerbo/Make It Or Break It) and local drunk George (John Heard/Home Alone) team up with Fin’s ex-wife April (Tara Reid/Scrubs) to investigate the ecological nightmare that has sharks swimming through the streets of Los Angeles and falling from the skies.

  Short: Phoebe’s Birthday Cheeseburger by Will Lennon

• July 24: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). One of Roald Dahl’s classics hits the big screen in Wes Anderson’s quirky, stop-motion animated film. Mr. Fox (voiced by George Clooney) and his thieving ways are threatened by three mean farmers, but his friends, family and neighbors come to his aid.

  Short: Font Men by Dress Code

• July 31: Beetlejuice (1988). A young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) lead an idyllic country life until they accidentally drown and become trapped in their old house as ghosts. This ghost couple attempts to scare off a family of cosmopolitan New Yorkers that move into their home, eventually enlisting the help of an insane poltergeist, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). A darkly funny vision of the afterlife that made director Tim Burton a household name.

  Short: Passer Passer by Louis Morton

• August 7: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). The Tennessee Williams play comes to life as Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) and Brick (Paul Newman) duke it out while celebrating the 65th birthday of his father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). The temperatures are high, but the tensions are higher in this classic.

  Short: Unlocking the Truth by Luke Meyer

• August 14: Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). Hip hop, samurai culture, and italian gangsters come together in this oddly quiet action movie by independent spirit Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a reclusive hitman who lives by a strict samurai code. When his mafia employers turn against him, Ghost Dog must go to war against an gang of old-school Italians that simply do not understand his ways.

  Short: The Roper by Ewan McNicol, Anna Sandilands

• August 21: The Birds (1963). Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of horror, mystery, and slow-burning suspense. A beautiful socialite (Tippi Hedren) visits the sunny town of Bodega Bay, where the weekend’s peace is shattered by a series of inexplicable bird attacks, one more violent than the next. These attacks grow increasingly bigger and more gruesome until the entire town finds itself under siege from above.

  Short: Woodhouse by Fred Rowson

• August 28: (Public vote). As is tradition, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and Syfy invite the public to vote on the last film of the summer. Stay tuned to brooklynbridgepark.org for details.