A tiny taste of one of the state’s most highly contested projects — Brooklyn Bridge Park — has quietly become one of New York City’s biggest summer attractions.
Since popping up with little fanfare June 26 in Brooklyn Heights on a sliver of the future waterfront park’s construction site, a temporary playground at the edge of Pier 1 is giving the public its first real sense of what the long-delayed development will bring to the Big Apple.
And so far it’s been rave reviews — especially from out-of-towners who stumbled on the 26,000-square-foot chic play space for both children and adults while walking over the landmark bridge from Manhattan in search of the best views of artist Olafur Eliasson’s four “New York City Waterfalls.”
But critics of the long-delayed park project are still questioning why it took the city and state so long to offer a first glimpse of the breathtaking waterfront access the planned 85-acre park will bring.
The green space has been in the works for more than 20 years, and its price tag is now expected to exceed at least $350 million to $400 million — well above a $150 million budget set by the Pataki administration in 2002.
Even the development’s biggest critics agree that the project only gathered steam in November after Regina Myer, a longtime Brooklyn planning director, was appointed president of the state-city Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp.
She replaced Wendy Leventer, a Pataki administration holdover who was fired in March 2007 after the Post reported the agency at that time had spent $16.5 million over the previous five years with little to show expect mounting legal fees and continuously changing project renderings.
But this past March, construction kicked off despite there only being enough government funding to build about two-thirds of the park. Including $6.1 million recently donated by the City Council and Borough President Marty Markowitz’s office, the project’s current budget now totals $231.1 million.
Myer said she felt it was important to finally get the project going and then lobby to fill the remaining budget shortfall at a later date.
Since March, the sheds at Piers 1 and 6 have been razed, along with a few nearby buildings, to make way for the park, while the demolition of Pier 5’s shed and the Purchase Building under the Brooklyn Bridge is nearly complete.
Myer’s office also decided to join forces with the nonprofit Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy to bring the temporary playground to Pier 1 this summer. The first segments of the actual park are expected to open at Piers 1 and 6 in late 2009.
“We’re thrilled to be giving the public a glimpse of what this beautiful park will look like,” Myer said.
Despite having to rely on a shoestring $100,000 budget and donations to build it, the temporary park has been even more popular than a floating barge that docked nearby last summer.
As of Saturday, 67,872 people visited the park during its first month, officials said. It features a massive sandbox, sprinklers and games for children; and fine wine and beer, food and spectacular New York Harbor views — including the temporary waterfalls display.
“Who knew you could have cocktails on the waterfront here? I totally feel like a tourist,” said Jackie Igneri, of New Jersey, sipping wine as her children Francesco, 10, and Julian, 8, enjoyed the sandbox.
By comparison, the pool barge had 71,000 visitors during its nine-week run last summer.
When the floating pool barge sailed off to the Bronx for this summer, there was concern that its loss would leave the construction area barren again until the park is finally built.
But those worries were unnecessary, said Mariana Koval, the conservancy’s president.
She said the temporary park is on pace to double the floating pool’s visitors last year by Labor Day over a similar nine-week run and that there is a good chance the park will stay open through the end of September due to its great success.
Myer modestly claims she has it easier that Leventer because she took over a project that was already fully-approved, but sources close to the development say the change in leadership has been the biggest difference in project finally moving ahead.
Judi Francis, who heads a group suing to keep controversial high-rise housing out of the park that officials claim is needed to offset maintenance costs, warned that there’s “still a dark side” to the new construction plan.
“We are pleased as punch with the interim uses, but the first construction of the park is being done along the piers where the housing will be built, while the work being held up is at the real recreation piers,” said Francis.
The parkland being delayed due to lack of funding would run at Piers 2 and 3 and include kayaking, basketball courts and other recreation. The goal is for the park to eventually run 1.3 miles from Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights to Jay Street near the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO while including the existing Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in DUMBO.
Besides offering some of the best waterfront views in New York, it will include ball fields, a marina, grassy lawns, playgrounds, a beach and an ice-skating rink under the Brooklyn Bridge.
“Brooklyn Bridge Park will be to the 21st Century what Central Park was to the city in the 19th Century,” Koval said.