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Friday, June 15, 2018

East River State Park

We discovered this park on Brooklyn's East River waterfront in the Williamsburg neighborhood some years back when we went to a Smorgasburg event there. I returned for a lunchtime visit on a sunny, windy weekday in June to take some photos.

One feature I like about East River State Park is its extensive stretch of cobblestones (more properly called Belgian block), remnants of the park's history as a 19th-century shipping dock.

east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc
east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc

The streetside area blooms colorfully in springtime.

east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc

But a large expanse of cracked concrete dominates the park's seven acres, good for family picnics and Smorgasburgs but not exactly soothing to the eye.

east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc

The old, unfinished-looking grassy sections have a certain charm. Kids like 'em. So do lovers.

east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc
east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc
east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc

In spite of all the waterfront development going on in the city, plenty of these un-manicured stretches remain. Because they're not beautiful, they can offer a feeling of privacy, even isolation.

east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc
east river state park williamsburg brooklyn nyc

Why is this a state park? I'm not sure, but it probably has to do with the park's origins in the 1990s as a project of the Trust for Public Land, which stepped in after local residents had rallied to prevent construction of a new waste-transfer station on the abandoned site. Up the river in Queens is another State Park, Gantry Plaza State Park.

One consequence of State Park status: No dogs allowed.

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