Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan Inc. d/b/a Gotham Park is a New York State not-for-profit founded in 2021 with the goal of establishing and supporting a new kind of hyper-urban public park at the Manhattan landing of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
As civic activists and advocates, we first came together at a Manhattan Community Board meeting in late 2020, when community members spoke about the importance, need and impact of public space – and specifically this place, which had been closed to public access for over a decade due to Bridge repair work and security measures. We concluded that without strong directed advocacy, funding and a plan to reopen, build and protect this park, another decade or more could pass with little change. We formed our nonprofit in early 2021 and built a strong community of stakeholders and supporters including neighborhood residents, businesses, schools and their families, tourists, sports enthusiasts, public and green space advocates, urban design experts, elected officials, City agencies, and fluffy friends.
In a city where infrastructural park project developments are counted in decades and not years, we are moving at lightning speed to deliver benefits for our community. After only two years of our advocacy efforts, the first acre of our envisioned 9-acre public space was opened on May 24, 2023, the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.
— gothampark.org