Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
Encyclopedia
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The park is located next to the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, extending north and south of the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
. It was created in 1978 with the purchase of nine run-down warehouses from Con Edison
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $36 billion in assets...
.
The park has been incorporated into Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park is an park currently under construction on the Brooklyn waterfront in the vicinity of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. As of March 22, 2010 the first newly built section of the park, Pier 1, has been open to the public...
, which is operated by an agency of the City of New York, and extends the recreational waterfront area on the East River north and south of the Fulton Ferry Park.
To the south of the park is Fulton Ferry Landing
Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn
Fulton Ferry is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is named for a prominent ferry line crossing the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is also the name of the ferry slip on the Brooklyn side...
, a large pier and one of the most popular sites for photography in New York City. The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is an ice cream shop at a converted 1922 fireboat house at 1 Water Street on the Fulton Ferry Landing Pier in Brooklyn, New York City. It is located in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge in the neighborhood called DUMBO....
sits on the pier. Behind it is the former Marine Company 7 Firehouse
Fire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
from 1924 with a tower for drying fire hoses.
The northern part of the park offers a lawn with picnic tables and a boardwalk with views of the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
and Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. It also contains two historic buildings, the Empire Stores buildings and the roofless former Tobacco Warehouse. The Empire Stores are a group of former dry goods storage warehouses from 1869 that are currently unused. Plans call for rehabilitation as part of the future Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park is an park currently under construction on the Brooklyn waterfront in the vicinity of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. As of March 22, 2010 the first newly built section of the park, Pier 1, has been open to the public...
, containing a mix of commercial,
retail, and office uses. The Tobacco Warehouse serves as an outdoor entertainment area.
The park was the place where pop group Danity Kane
Danity Kane
Danity Kane was an American female music group signed to Bad Boy Records, first established in 2005. Formed on the third installment of MTV's Making the Band reality television series, the quintet comprised members Aubrey O'Day, Wanita "D. Woods" Woodgett, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, and Aundrea...
performed as part of the finale of the third season of MTV's Making The Band 3 (and their first concert as a group) on July 24th,2006
This part of Brooklyn Bridge Park is currently closed for construction an expected to open in late summer 2011. It will feature new park plantings, improved lighting, and a restored 1922 carousel housed in a pavilion designed by architect Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel
Jean Nouvel is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture...
, scheduled to open in September 2011.