Face-to-Face: Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge: Rich History. Rich, New Park.
We sent some of our operatives out into the field to try and experience the real Brooklyn Bridge Park. Along the way, they talked with park-visitors about their experiences with the park. Come along the journey with them.
Wouldn't you like to visit a park this green and clean? Google Images.
Observations:
The Borough Hall Train station is about a 20 minute walk from the park. Judging by the fancy houses, the surrounding neighborhood is upscale. On the way to the park from the train station, there are classic old-fashioned Brooklyn townhouses and small side streets. Walking down these narrow roads, towards the bridge, you are immediately exposed to the beautiful Manhattan skyline across the water. The surrounding area of the park has large real estate buildings, with some new building projects. There are also some very old buildings that seem to have been around for a while.
A view of Brooklyn Heights, the neighborhood directly outside of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Nice, isn't it? Google Images.
The park itself consists of a scientific water area for the kids, a sandbox, slides, and new, high tech looking swings to play on. There is also a climbing sphere, which also seemed very new. Paths run through the playground, leading to different areas of play. On each area, there were signs with the age groups that were recommended for that area, and there are safety gates on each separate area. Also, the floor was a spongy-like material to prevent injuries. There are water fountain all around for public use. However, there are no bathrooms around.
There are sit down restaurants around the area and an expensive stand at the beginning of the park. There will be future shopping areas in the rest of the piers. There weren’t any noticeable fast food restaurants around the area. The park is under constant improvement and plans are underway to include a carousel. There are signs here promising better landscapes and more lighting, as well as a carousel. In addition, they boast future beaches, pools, more trees, more playgrounds, water tanks, pedestrian bridges, more courts, cafes, water slides/ parks etc. Also, more restaurants, decks on the roof, more volleyball courts and dog runs.
Overall, the students who visited the parks and conducted interviews all reported a positive experience at the park and plan to visit it again.
Interviewing the Public:
Brooklyn Bridge Park was recently built on piers 1 & 6, which had previously been unused. Brooklyn Bridge Park is replacing abandoned piers, parking lots, and storing sheds, which is a great idea since the location is beautiful. We sent our “over-cover” investigators to scout out the area and speak to some of the park visitors. They were interested in seeing who came to the park, how often, from how far and what they did once they got there. We also wanted to find out the effect the park was having on the surrounding neighborhood, and vice versa:
Our first interview was with Amy, an Asian mother in her 30’s with her young son and baby. The interview was conducted on Thursday October 28th at about 3 PM. She reported living 20 minutes from the park and arriving there by walking. Amy tells our interviewer that she goes to the park because of her sons who want to play in the park, but only makes it about every two weeks. She loves that the park facilities are new and nice and is located by the scenic view of the water, but says that the worst part is the “bathroom situation,” as in- there isn’t one.When asked how she thinks the park has changed the area, she said, “I guess it was a more desolate are before. So now it’s more populated.”
Next, a white male in his late 50’s with his baby granddaughter visiting Pier 1 were interviewed. His granddaughter lives about three miles away and he babysits her once a week. To get to the park is about a 35-40 minute walk for them. His favorite part of coming to the park is seeing the boats and helicopters. About the park’s effect on the area, he said, “It’s a nice place for the community. The more places you have like this the stronger the community gets.”
“It’s a nice place for the community. The more places you have like this the stronger the community gets.”
When asked how the park changed her community, numerous park-goers site the increase in positive community activities. Google Images.
Another of our interviewers spoke to a Hungarian nanny in her mid-30’s who was there with a young girl. She watches the girl, Laila, three times a week and loves bringing her to the park, especially to play on the swings. Laila only lives 5 minutes away from the park. The woman says the best part of the parks is that it is close to the home and not a far walk away.
On October 31, 2010 at 1:30pm, Ally and her granddaughter, Shelly were interviewed. They live farther from the park than the others who were interviewed. It took them a 25-minute drive to arrive at the park. Ally says she walked the promenade with her husband before but it was her first time bringing Shelly. They came to get some fresh air and are enjoying the landscape and the grass. The only complaint she has is about the lack of bathrooms and place to wash hands.
Our crew interviewed another nanny. This time, Sandra, a German woman in her late 20’s with a child who was playing on the swings at Pier 6. The child she watches lives 15 minutes away and she walks him in his stroller over to the park. She likes seeing the skyline and says the child likes to come play there. Sandra was kind enough to agree to be filmed.
Three members of our interview crew enjoy the view from the Brooklyn Bridge Park after a day of conducting interviews in the park.
Of all the interviews, we learned that people from both near the park and farther visit the park, and that the playground area attracts people with children, whether grandparents or nannies. The lack of bathroom seemed to be a noticed flaw in the park, but the skyline and facilities were still beloved.
Positive Feedback from the Brooklyn Bridge Park.
