Henrik Krogius - Brooklyn Bridge Park : A Dying Waterfront Transformed download DJV, EPUB
9780823273577 English 0823273571 A major social and political phenomenon of how a community overcame overwhelming opposition and obstacles to build the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's greatest harbors andstoried skylines, Brooklyn Bridge Park is among the largest and most significant public projects to be built in New York in a generation. It has transformed a decrepit industrial waterfront into a new public use that is both a reflection and an engine of Brooklyn's resurgence in the twenty-first century. Brooklyn Bridge Park unravels the many obstacles faced during the development of the park and suggests solutions that can be applied to important economic and planning issues around the world. Situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity became the site of a prolonged battle. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey eyed it as an ideal location for high-rise or commercial development. The idea to build Brooklyn Bridge Park came from local residents and neighborhood leaders looking for less intensive uses of the property. Together, elected officials joined with members of the communities to produce a practical plan, skillfully won a commitment of government funds in a time of fiscal austerity, then persevered through long periods of inaction, abrupt changes of government, two recessions, numerous controversies often accompanied by litigation, and a superstorm. Brooklyn Bridge Park is the success story of a grassroots movement and community planning that united around a common vision. Drawing on the authors' personal experiences--one as a reporter, the other as a park leader--Brooklyn Bridge Park weaves together contemporaneous reports of events that provide a record of every twist and turn in the story. Interviews with more than sixty people reveal the human dynamics that unfolded in the course of building the park, including attitudes and opinions that arose about class, race, gentrification, commercialization, development, and government. Despite the park's broad and growing appeal, its creation was lengthy, messy, and often contentious. Brooklyn Bridge Park suggests ways other civic groups can address such hurdles within their own communities., Brooklyn Bridge Park has emerged as an internationally recognized attraction. Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's great harbors and a storied skyline, it has utterly transformed a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity. When the idea was put forward, it did not come from government officials or planners, but from a local community aghast that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey might sell the defunct piers and their upland, situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, for intensive housing development. Neighborhood leaders, looking for less intensive uses of the property, ultimately came to the idea of a park. The Port Authority resisted, seeing a park as a money-losing proposition, as did the once powerful longshoremen's union, which was desperate to hold onto jobs. The battle was waged inconclusively for well over a decade; the Port Authority was prevented from developing the site, but the park did not move forward, either. Then, locally elected officials joined with members of the local communities to form something called a Local Development Corporation (LDC) to explore how the Port Authority might be induced at last to shed its money-losing waterfront piers in favor of a park. The LDC turned to the communities themselves and carried out an open process of public planning, a democratic process that became a model for other public projects but that was unique in its day. That process produced a plan, and that plan ultimately produced a park. In this book, the authors have tried to tell the full story of how Brooklyn Bridge Park came to be, from the inside deliberations as well as the public actions. They have tried to be complete and factual. One of the people interviewed told them that all history is revisionist to some extent, and they do have a point of view on many of the issues discussed, but they have tried to keep each other honest and to reflect all the competing views., Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's greatest harbors andstoried skylines, Brooklyn Bridge Park is among the largest and most significant public projects to be built in New York in a generation. It has transformed a decrepit industrial waterfront into a new public use that is both a reflection and an engine of Brooklyn's resurgence in the twenty-first century. Brooklyn Bridge Park unravels the many obstacles faced during the development of the park and suggests solutions that can be applied to important economic and planning issues around the world. Situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity became the site of a prolonged battle. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey eyed it as an ideal location for high-rise or commercial development. The idea to build Brooklyn Bridge Park came from local residents and neighborhood leaders looking for less intensive uses of the property. Together, elected officials joined with members of the communities to produce a practical plan, skillfully won a commitment of government funds in a time of fiscal austerity, then persevered through long periods of inaction, abrupt changes of government, two recessions, numerous controversies often accompanied by litigation, and a superstorm. Brooklyn Bridge Park is the success story of a grassroots movement and community planning that united around a common vision. Drawing on the authors' personal experiences--one as a reporter, the other as a park leader--Brooklyn Bridge Park weaves together contemporaneous reports of events that provide a record of every twist and turn in the story. Interviews with more than sixty people reveal the human dynamics that unfolded in the course of building the park, including attitudes and opinions that arose about class, race, gentrification, commercialization, development, and government. Despite the park's broad and growing appeal, its creation was lengthy, messy, and often contentious. Brooklyn Bridge Park suggests ways other civic groups can address such hurdles within their own communities.
9780823273577 English 0823273571 A major social and political phenomenon of how a community overcame overwhelming opposition and obstacles to build the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's greatest harbors andstoried skylines, Brooklyn Bridge Park is among the largest and most significant public projects to be built in New York in a generation. It has transformed a decrepit industrial waterfront into a new public use that is both a reflection and an engine of Brooklyn's resurgence in the twenty-first century. Brooklyn Bridge Park unravels the many obstacles faced during the development of the park and suggests solutions that can be applied to important economic and planning issues around the world. Situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity became the site of a prolonged battle. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey eyed it as an ideal location for high-rise or commercial development. The idea to build Brooklyn Bridge Park came from local residents and neighborhood leaders looking for less intensive uses of the property. Together, elected officials joined with members of the communities to produce a practical plan, skillfully won a commitment of government funds in a time of fiscal austerity, then persevered through long periods of inaction, abrupt changes of government, two recessions, numerous controversies often accompanied by litigation, and a superstorm. Brooklyn Bridge Park is the success story of a grassroots movement and community planning that united around a common vision. Drawing on the authors' personal experiences--one as a reporter, the other as a park leader--Brooklyn Bridge Park weaves together contemporaneous reports of events that provide a record of every twist and turn in the story. Interviews with more than sixty people reveal the human dynamics that unfolded in the course of building the park, including attitudes and opinions that arose about class, race, gentrification, commercialization, development, and government. Despite the park's broad and growing appeal, its creation was lengthy, messy, and often contentious. Brooklyn Bridge Park suggests ways other civic groups can address such hurdles within their own communities., Brooklyn Bridge Park has emerged as an internationally recognized attraction. Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's great harbors and a storied skyline, it has utterly transformed a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity. When the idea was put forward, it did not come from government officials or planners, but from a local community aghast that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey might sell the defunct piers and their upland, situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, for intensive housing development. Neighborhood leaders, looking for less intensive uses of the property, ultimately came to the idea of a park. The Port Authority resisted, seeing a park as a money-losing proposition, as did the once powerful longshoremen's union, which was desperate to hold onto jobs. The battle was waged inconclusively for well over a decade; the Port Authority was prevented from developing the site, but the park did not move forward, either. Then, locally elected officials joined with members of the local communities to form something called a Local Development Corporation (LDC) to explore how the Port Authority might be induced at last to shed its money-losing waterfront piers in favor of a park. The LDC turned to the communities themselves and carried out an open process of public planning, a democratic process that became a model for other public projects but that was unique in its day. That process produced a plan, and that plan ultimately produced a park. In this book, the authors have tried to tell the full story of how Brooklyn Bridge Park came to be, from the inside deliberations as well as the public actions. They have tried to be complete and factual. One of the people interviewed told them that all history is revisionist to some extent, and they do have a point of view on many of the issues discussed, but they have tried to keep each other honest and to reflect all the competing views., Stretching along a waterfront that faces one of the world's greatest harbors andstoried skylines, Brooklyn Bridge Park is among the largest and most significant public projects to be built in New York in a generation. It has transformed a decrepit industrial waterfront into a new public use that is both a reflection and an engine of Brooklyn's resurgence in the twenty-first century. Brooklyn Bridge Park unravels the many obstacles faced during the development of the park and suggests solutions that can be applied to important economic and planning issues around the world. Situated below the quiet precincts of Brooklyn Heights, a strip of moribund structures that formerly served bustling port activity became the site of a prolonged battle. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey eyed it as an ideal location for high-rise or commercial development. The idea to build Brooklyn Bridge Park came from local residents and neighborhood leaders looking for less intensive uses of the property. Together, elected officials joined with members of the communities to produce a practical plan, skillfully won a commitment of government funds in a time of fiscal austerity, then persevered through long periods of inaction, abrupt changes of government, two recessions, numerous controversies often accompanied by litigation, and a superstorm. Brooklyn Bridge Park is the success story of a grassroots movement and community planning that united around a common vision. Drawing on the authors' personal experiences--one as a reporter, the other as a park leader--Brooklyn Bridge Park weaves together contemporaneous reports of events that provide a record of every twist and turn in the story. Interviews with more than sixty people reveal the human dynamics that unfolded in the course of building the park, including attitudes and opinions that arose about class, race, gentrification, commercialization, development, and government. Despite the park's broad and growing appeal, its creation was lengthy, messy, and often contentious. Brooklyn Bridge Park suggests ways other civic groups can address such hurdles within their own communities.