Brooklyn Bridge Park Announces Spring/Summer Schedule & Beefed Up Security
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK – Brooklyn Bridge Park announced its schedule of free events coming to the waterfront park for the Spring/Summer 2018 season as well as plans to increase security measures during the peak summer months.
The four-month season will kick off on Saturday, May 5 with Lift Off: A Waterfront Kite Festival. The kite-flying event will take place on Pier 1 and will also feature various S.T.E.A.M (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) activities involving wind tunnels, robotic air propellers, and experiments exploring the science of flight.
The Corning Museum of Glass will bring its GlassBarge to the Park from Thursday, May 17 through Monday, May 28, offering free public glassmaking demonstrations. GlassBarge, a 30 x 88 foot canal barge, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company’s (now Corning Incorporated) relocating to Corning, New York via canal barge on the New York Waterways.
The eight-week film series, Movies With A View, returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park for its 19th year with the theme “She Directs!” highlighting work by female directors. Movies will be screened Thursday evenings in July and August.
The six-week literary program, Books Beneath the Bridge, will host authors for readings discussions, and signings on Monday evenings from July 9 through August 13.
United Photo Industries’ sprawling outdoor photography exhibition, The Fence, returns to the Park for its seventh year in June and the Aarti Hindu Lamp Ceremony returns for its seventh year as well on Saturday, August 4.
Cultural performances planned for the summer include dance performances by Gibney Dance, a New York Classical Theatre production of Romeo & Juliet, and the new concert series, Brooklyn Americana Music Festival: Unplugged, which will showcase acoustic sets by musical duos throughout the month of June.
Along with all the above events, five new acres of parkland will open at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 3. The new open space will include a central lawn, a labyrinth garden, and a cedar grove with seating for picnics, play, and relaxation.
An increase in police presence and the installation of security cameras will ensure that visitors can enjoy the Park safely this season, Brooklyn Bridge Park President, Eric Landau, told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
Landau told the paper that the park has 15 Park Enforcement Patrol officers and three sergeants on its staff and will be adding eight more officers during the summer months.
A 360-degree security camera was installed on Pier 2 last year, he added, and four more cameras were installed on Pier 5 on the building housing Ample Hills.
The beefing up of security comes after a series of incidents at the Park over the years, particularly on Pier 2. Last April, thousands were evacuated from Brooklyn Bridge Park after a massive melee erupted on the Pier. Following this incident, Captain Roberto Melendez of the 84th Precinct requested security cameras for the park and promised to assign more officers to the public space.
Brooklyn Heights residents are also campaigning for a fifth entrance to the park at Montague Street, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. They argue the additional entryway would alleviate some of the foot traffic, noise, and rowdiness caused by groups traveling to and from the park on the surrounding residential streets.