Elizabeth Harnett is one of the people on Brooklyn Bridge Park’s team that you can thank for Movies with a View, Waterfront Workouts, Harvest Festival and so many of the other free programs on our Piers. As Deputy Director of Public Programs, Elizabeth plans the events and makes sure guests can have a great time during programs at the Park.
Before she was in this position, Elizabeth was the Volunteer Manager and left BBP briefly to care for her family. When this role opened before BBP and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy joined forces in 2025, she was eager to take on the opportunity to transition the programs department into this new phase.
Elizabeth grew up in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, and remembers the abandoned waterfront Piers before the Park was built. Now, she helps make the space operate at its fullest potential.
“I think what’s really special about Brooklyn Bridge Park is that we have the ability to put on all of this amazing world class programming for free to the public,” Elizabeth said. “Especially raising kids in New York City – [which] as we all know, is very expensive – being able to bring my kids to the park, to enjoy these programs for free, is super special. It’s not something that I take lightly when planning programs – we want all people, from all families from all over New York, to be able to come and enjoy.”
As a parent and a parkgoer herself, Elizabeth understands how to create a great experience for children and adults alike.
“Whether it’s at Movies with a View or at Kite Festival, you get to see people laughing, enjoying times with their friends,” she said. “Sometimes you’ll overhear a kid tell their parents, ‘Oh, this was the best day ever.’ So, when you hear something like that, you know you’ve done something.”
Of course, Elizabeth has a favorite program to put on at the Park – the upcoming Kite Festival, which takes place Saturday, May 16 on Pier 5, and is the only day where visitors are allowed to fly a kite in BBP.
“We shut down Pier 5, so you have the whole space for kite flying,” she said. “When it’s a beautiful day, and you have all of the kites up in the sky, it’s pretty spectacular.”
Elizabeth loves spending time at the Main Street Playground, where she brings her kids, and the Pier 5 Uplands. She highly encourages anyone interested in visiting the Park to stop by during a program, especially during the warmer weather!