Brooklyn has Brooklyn Bridge Park. Why shouldn't the Manhattan side of the famous span have a park too? Now it does. As planned, on completion Gotham Park will be "nine acres of joy, discovery and wonder." Quite a claim.
But Gotham Park is a strange beast. Hiding under the bridge's ramps and not really connected to any particular neighborhood (unless you count the great gated compound of 1 Police Plaza as a neighborhood – technically this is Chinatown, I guess, but you wouldn't know it), the new park is not a creature of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
Instead, it's the brainchild of the New York Department of Transportation, Trinity Church, two Community Boards, and a nonprofit, with support from the mayor's office.
At the inland end there's an enclave for passive recreation. This is all part of what was once, and can now be again, known as The Arches.
Crossing to the area jutting towards the East River, you find a long banked wall perfect for skateboarders, and a fairly wide brick plaza adjoining the arches themselves. Those arches, according to the master plan, will house additional facilities for the community, including a library branch and a museum.
The facilities available now include basketball, pickleball, and, for some reason, shuffleboard.
Sometimes a bit of whimsical art is just what you need, especially right beside a great big police headquarters.
I've been to well over 300 parks in the course of writing this blog, and this is certainly one of the weirder ones. Unusual location. Unusual layout (determined by the unusual location). Interesting choice of facilities. And an unusual genesis. It's an oddball all right.
A park from an alternate universe?
Still, any place that gets skaters off the sidewalks is all right by me! Welcome back, Brooklyn Bridge Banks.
Also always welcome: touches of whimsy.
All photos © Oren Hope
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