More Public Space Reopens Around Brooklyn Bridge “Arches”

As James Brown the Godfather of Soul so often exhorted, let’s “take it to the bridge!”

At first glance, the occasion—the reopening of some more runt open space under the maze of ramps coming off the Brooklyn Bridge—might not seem worthy of the progenitor of “Mother Popcorn,” “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing’” or “Hot Pants (She Got to Use What She Got to Get What She Wants)” but in truth, it’s kind of a big deal.

It’s also kind of a long story.

The short version starts with the May 1883 opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Construction took 14 years among and its many remarkable engineering feats, it also caused substantial disruption on the ground around its terminals, which in Brooklyn was at Sands Street and in Manhattan at Park Row, across from City Hall. (Its later neighbor, the Municipal Building, didn’t open until 1914.)

As the bridge descended into it crossed over streets named Cherry, Pearl, Cliff, Vandewater, Rose, William and North William, each developing in their way for 70 to 100-odd years, depending on when the wrecking ball of urban renewal—or Brooklyn Bridge automobile ramps—got to them.

But that’s getting ahead of the story.

When it opened, the Bridge carried pedestrians, carriages and cable cars which ran as a shuttle between the two boroughs, which were independent cities at the time.. Brooklyn Manhattan Transit (BMT) elevated trains began running in 1898, with cable car service ending, and trolley service beginning, ten years later.

Fast forward to the 1950, when trolley and elevated service across the Bridge is ceasing. With lower Manhattan elevated subway lines having ended service and been removed in previous decades, now there’s room for ramps—glorious ramps!— that will in time carry cars—glorious cars!—between the Bridge and the FDR Drive, completed in 1955. Interboro transit—between Brooklyn and both Manhattan and the Bronx—will become easier than ever. Oh, the passion!

Creating these ramps will require substantial demolition of buildings around the bridge, as will the construction of the Alfred E. Smith Houses public housing complex.

Later, the expansion of Pace University and Southbridge Towers south of the bridge, and construction of One Police Plaza (which will wipe out the former Leather District among other losses) and Murry Bergtraum High School north of it, would, at the street level, render the Civic Center nearly unrecognizable to someone who knew it just thirty years earlier.

There were some compensations, however, the most remarkable of which is the inspired design under the ramps by the innovative landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg. [Jacob Riis Plaza, opened in 1965, within the eponymous Lower East Side public housing complex is among his most renowned designs.]

Completed in 1972, by the mid-1980s, with little help from the city other than basic maintenance and leaving the kids alone, the area had become a citywide and later an international mecca of skateboarding, as well as some related cultural movements including punk, hip-hop and graffiti.

That Friedberg had no idea his design could serve this function, as the acrobatic style skateboarding that didn’t then exist, only affirms his visionary brilliance. [Head over to YouTube and search for “Brooklyn banks skateboarding” for many examples of what’s gone down there over the decades.]

Meanwhile, the Banks closed temporarily in 2004 for bridge repair work and again, more permanently in 2010. Had skateboarders, Community Board 1 and other tenacious parks advocates not raised a ruckus, it’s fair to assume their reopening would have taken even longer.

The first section, between Pearl and Rose Streets, now dubbed “The Arches” but known to skateboarders as the Small Banks, reopened in May 2023—the 140th Anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge— to some fanfare.

“This revitalized public space at the entryway of one of America’s most historic landmarks improves the quality of life for those who live in, work in, and visit our great city, and demonstrates the city’s commitment to creating and maintaining safe, public spaces for all,” said then New York City Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell. “I congratulate the Mayor’s Office, NYC Parks, and the Department of Transportation on the reopening of this beautiful park, which people will enjoy for many years to come.”

The newly opened section, between Park Row and Rose Street, is also part of The Arches, though its function is more for repose than recreation. Sited on the 1/3-acre patch are more than a dozen tall shade trees, including oaks, elms, and Japanese pagoda trees and sixteen park benches.

This should be a boon for tourists, city workers and students from nearby Murry Bergtraum High School.

“Public space in Manhattan is precious – every acre counts for the people who live, work in, and visit our bustling metropolis,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Where better to continue to deliver peaceful, elevated public space than a stone’s throw from Chinatown, in the shade of one of our city’s most iconic landmarks, the Brooklyn Bridge. While we have miles to go to complete our whole vision for this area, we are also grateful to be able to celebrate the wins and welcome New York to an area too long cordoned off, a new refuge for fun and relaxation.”

Joshi’s use of the phrase “miles to go” is notable—and telling, as Joshi has been a serious runner for many years, though she had to sit out this year’s marathon with a foot injury.

“For the last decade, NYC DOT crews have worked hard to restore the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, creating a cleaner, brighter, and safer bridge to last us another century,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Now that this critical restoration is nearing a close, we are returning another portion of ‘The Arches’ to the community. For residents of and visitors to lower Manhattan and Chinatown, even small public spaces are precious – and we will continue working with the community to open even more of the Arches in the months ahead.”

God speed, Commissioner.