Recreation Center Survey

Brooklyn Bridge Park is in the early stages of planning to reconfigure the space directly under the Manhattan Bridge. Brooklyn Bridge Park is considering a recreation center and wants your help to decide what to do with the space to ensure that it is inclusive, accessible, and responsive to local needs.

A recreation center at Brooklyn Bridge Park would bring new health and wellness amenities to the community, potentially including a public pool with free swimming lessons and lifeguard training. Flexible spaces could host inclusive, intergenerational activities (such as sports leagues, yoga, dance, and arts programming).

Currently, the use of the space beneath the Manhattan Bridge is severely restricted because objects routinely fall from the bridge above, putting the safety of people in the park space below at risk. A physical structure would enable the park to activate this underutilized space year-round, expand the Park’s activities and program offerings, and ensure patron safety.

The project is sponsored by Brooklyn Bridge Park. Though the full financing details are yet to be determined, we expect most of the costs to be covered by funds available to Brooklyn Bridge Park and grants from the state and city. The rest would be paid for via private donations.

We are still deep in the conceptual phase of the project as we solicit public feedback. Brooklyn Bridge Park is actively engaging community stakeholders to help shape the vision for the space. Because Brooklyn Bridge Park is protected by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the proposed project will require waivers from federal and state agencies, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

BBP is currently commissioning a traffic study with an environmental planning firm, AKRF, to determine the potential impacts of construction. We will release the study once it is available.

That is up to you! We are reaching out to community members to hear your ideas about additional amenities and features you want to see in the potential recreation center. We are still in the early stages of planning, and the final concept will be contingent on both regulatory constraints and the levels of funding available to the park.

If Brooklyn Bridge Park proceeds with a recreation center, a new building would be constructed on the site of the former bouldering wall and dog park under the Manhattan Bridge overpass. Our preliminary plan calls for a facility with 30,000 square feet of space, half of which could be dedicated to the indoor pool. During construction, the site would be off-limits to parkgoers.

Because this central part of Brooklyn Bridge Park is currently restricted, the new recreational center would open up the area to use by all parkgoers.

Over the years, our pop-up pools have received rave reviews from the community and a 2018 plan to construct a pool generated excitement. With a shortage of pools citywide, we believe a new year-round swimming facility will benefit the entire borough.