A new outdoor space on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge is officially open to the public.
Known collectively as “The Arches,” the area returns a third of an acre of space to the community with over a dozen tall shade trees and sixteen park benches with views of the historic bridge while connecting the bridge to the Chinatown neighborhood. The area was originally opened last year to honor the 140th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge’s opening.
“Public space in Manhattan is precious – every acre counts for the people who live, work in, and visit our bustling metropolis,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Where better to continue to deliver peaceful, elevated public space than a stone’s throw from Chinatown, in the shade of one of our city’s most iconic landmarks, the Brooklyn Bridge. While we have miles to go to complete our whole vision for this area, we are also grateful to be able to celebrate the wins and welcome New York to an area too long cordoned off, a new refuge for fun and relaxation.”
In May 2023, Mayor Eric Adams announced the opening of The Arches as well as the revitalization of public space near the Brooklyn Bridge and in Chinatown, which sits right next to the “Brooklyn Banks” site, once known as the “mecca of New York skateboarding.” The Arches honors the history of the site with a new skate area designed in partnership with Tony Hawk’s The Skatepark Project (TSP). The new one acre space opened with new basketball, pickleball and shuffleboard courts with publicly available seating.
Though the largest sections of the Arches haven’t been reopened, the NYC DOT has begun a local engagement process, including community board meetings and visioning sessions that will be held before the end of the year, to get public insight on the spaces. DOT also applied to the federal DOT for a grant to fund the next section of the project under the Reconnecting Communities Pilot, and is currently awaiting the decision.
“For the last decade, NYC DOT crews have worked hard to restore the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, creating a cleaner, brighter, and safer bridge to last us another century,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Now that this critical restoration is nearing a close, we are returning another portion of ‘The Arches’ to the community. For residents of and visitors to lower Manhattan and Chinatown, even small public spaces are precious – and we will continue working with the community to open even more of the Arches in the months ahead.”
“I’m thrilled that this large section of The Arches has been restored and is now open to the neighborhood, which despite being one of the most densely populated areas of Manhattan has access to very little open space and has been historically underplanted. Restoring The Arches is an innovative use of existing open space,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “I look forward to the work continuing to renovate and re-open the remainder of The Arches, bringing much-needed new green, open space to Lower Manhattan.”
