The Brooklyn Marine Terminal will be transformative for Brooklyn neighborhoods – but will it be the kind of transformation we want? Will we realize that we have a bigger opportunity to create "The Best Waterfront" in the world?
The city's planning process over the past nine months has identified opportunities for new public spaces along the Brooklyn waterfront integrated with maritime uses and new housing and commercial development. We want to take advantage of this moment of change to challenge the city and the community to demand a waterfront that will rival the best in the world.
This project must serve as a catalyst for reducing congested traffic and eliminating killer intersections that take away valuable pedestrian space and give it to cars and trucks. This project should also serve as a catalyst to enhance the neighborhood's "main streets" – integrating and connecting these vital public spaces to the waterfront.
The BMT Site
The Brooklyn Maritime District is a sprawling area that abuts three neighborhoods and one of the last working waterfronts in the city.
Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, and Cobble Hill
The Brooklyn Maritime District site encompasses 122 acres and extends from Pier 7 at Atlantic Avenue in the north to Pier 12 at Wolcott Street in Red Hook to the south. Our focus here is on the Brooklyn Maritime District North, the area closest to the Cobble Hill neighborhood. We hope that the underlying principles we present here have broader application, however.
The BMT is so inextricably tied to adjacent neighborhoods that we have extended our focus to spaces that are technically outside the project area. We support leveraging the BMT project to advance improvements in Cobble Hill that connect the neighborhood to the waterfront and vice versa. Commercial streets, such as Atlantic Avenue, will also serve new residents in the waterfront neighborhoods.
Six Opportunities
As members of the Cobble Hill Waterfront Committee, we've been able to take a close look at the opportunities for the waterfront and the adjacent Cobble Hill neighborhood. We want to share six opportunities for this area, described in more detail below:
1) Remove the Atlantic Avenue BQE Interchange and Create a Gateway into Brooklyn Bridge Park and the BMT
2) Make Atlantic Avenue More Like a Boulevard
3) Redevelop Pier 7 as a Mixed-use Destination and Connect with Pier 6/Ferry Landing
4) Make the Working Waterfront as Accessible as Possible
5) Create a Waterfront Promenade that Links Dumbo/Brooklyn Bridge Park/Red Hook
6) Enhance Connections to the Neighborhood and Fill the BQE "Trench" in Cobble Hill
We will provide inspirational images from other cities to show examples for each opportunity, but none can proceed without a community-driven process to develop plans and designs. That is fundamental to moving these ideas forward.
Opportunity 1: Remove the Atlantic Avenue BQE Interchange and Create a Gateway into Brooklyn Bridge Park and the BMT
Existing conditions
The first step to improving this area is removing the entire enormous intersection and access roads from the BQE. This is what we call a "killer intersection" – an overly wide intersection that kills the activity and vitality in its vicinity while also making it a more dangerous place. It is a significant obstacle to revitalization in this part of Brooklyn.
As Brooklyn's Main Street, Atlantic Avenue should naturally guide people to the area's greatest asset – Brooklyn Bridge Park and the waterfront. Instead, it leads to a confusing and unappealing space, one that feels more like a parking lot than a plaza, which buries the park behind traffic and discourages people from accessing it.
This aerial photo shows the traffic-dominated entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park at Pier 6.
Pier 7 is shown at left, and it can be a dynamic terminus to Atlantic Avenue and gateway to Brooklyn. The image at right shows the view of Pier 6 looking up Atlantic Avenue.
The entranceway at this intersection leads to one of the most puzzling parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where there is a notable lack of enjoyable amenities and visitor-friendly uses at its main entrance. It makes you wonder if this place is worth visiting at all.
The Opportunity: A Gateway Plaza
The first step to improving this area is removing the entire enormous intersection and access roads from the BQE. This "killer intersection" is the main reason we have massive traffic backups in Cobble Hill. It is a significant obstacle to revitalization in this part of Brooklyn.
What this area is missing is a gateway to indicate the entrance into the park and the waterfront. Around the world, important public places are marked with a gateway at their entrance. Places like the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, the grand entrance at Tivoli gardens, and even the arch in Washington Square Park in NYC indicate the presence of an important destination, elevating it and highlighting it.
The bigger or more interesting the space, the bigger and more interesting the gateway as these examples from Copenhagen and Barcelona show. Such a construction not only elevates the place, honoring its importance to the city and communicating to people that they are entering a special area, it also helps guide people to it because it can be seen from a distance. It attracts foot traffic and gives people a destination to aim for at the end of their walk.
The entrance to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen (left) and a gateway feature in Barcelona (right)
Example of a Successful Intersection Transformation
The Plaza de Panama is located in the heart of Balboa Park in San Diego, anchoring the west end. This central focal point was once a traffic circle and has since gradually become the main plaza of the park.
Scenes in the Plaza del Panama in Balboa Park in San Diego
Opportunity 2: Make Atlantic Avenue a Boulevard to the Waterfront
Existing Conditions
This street was transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic with "double-loaded" sidewalks that supported the growth of a restaurant and retail corridor. With the cafés, the sidewalk became a kind of pedestrian-friendly "tunnel" where people walked between storefronts and lively outdoor seating areas, protected from the chaos of busy traffic by the activations on the street and curb side. This change transformed the area into a safe and lively streetscape from Court Street to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In November 2024, we went back to the car-centric streets we had before – a great shame! New city regulations allow outdoor dining in the parking lane only seasonally, and most roof covers, except for umbrellas, have been banned, along with various other appealing features. The businesses along the street have become significantly less attractive – a hit to the previously thriving foot traffic and public life that outdoor dining had made possible at its peak.
The Opportunity
We need to bring street dining back and make it permanent. A double-loaded sidewalk is one where there are activations such as seating, kiosks, sheds, and displays of goods on both sides of the pedestrian walkway. This enhances the space's attractiveness, safety, and prosperity. Double-loading a sidewalk transforms it from a mere connection between point A and B to a destination in and of itself.
Sidewalks in this area should be permanently widened, some parking eliminated, and vehicle travel lanes narrowed. This would reduce the amount of space dedicated to car use and transform the street into a boulevard with space dedicated to uses that enhance community, commercial, and social life leading to Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Maritime District waterfront.
Fred Kent
Opportunity 3: Redevelop Pier 7 as a Mixed-Use Destination
Existing Conditions
A large beer distributor currently uses Pier 7, which with Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 is a terminus of Atlantic Avenue. The existing structure may offer some opportunities to incubate future uses on Pier 7 after the current tenant vacates.
More important to note is that Pier 7 could be the heart of an activated waterfront, with more uses and activities on Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and publicly accessible maritime uses on Pier 8.
Pier 7 (right) is currently used by a beer distributor. The activation of Pier 7 could be complemented by adding more activities to Pier 6 (center) in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Pier 8 (far right) that will be devoted to maritime uses with public access.
Pier 6 is largely a passive park with limited things to do. While there are spectacular views of the skyline, they are mainly visible only form the perimeter promenade.
The Opportunity
Current BMT planning refers to this site as a major "open space" and a "destination park." The Cobble Hill Association has advocated for a mixed-use space that is more than just a green park. There's an opportunity to diversify Pier 7 and other waterfront public spaces with uses such as a public market, civic centers, marine activities, and cultural venues.
Before the construction of Brooklyn Bridge Park, we were asked to facilitate a community workshop to offer an alternative to the then-proposed design of Pier 6. The goal was to make the pier a more mixed-use destination. Today, this concept is a potential model for Pier 7.
The community-led plan we did
Examples of Activations by the Water
One possible anchor use on Pier 7 is a market. Although not directly on the waterfront, Borough Market in London is a delight for the senses, as it has been for centuries. Along the South Bank Waterfront in London, this is the place to be if you're looking for fresh food. The market is well-connected and features a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, both inside the Market Hall and outside. Borough Market is one of the most visited destinations in London and a major attraction along the South Bank.
Pier 7 could be complemented by the activation of both Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 and BMT's Pier 8. The water basins between the three piers have much potential for public use and enjoyment, examples of which can be seen in the Bassin de la Villette in Paris, where many of the uses are seasonal and temporary.
Bassin de la Villette
The piers in the Port of San Francisco contain public uses integrated with maritime activity. There are museums, markets, commercial uses, and many public spaces and parks. Again, note how activation of multiple piers creates a vibrant and popular public destination.
In Newport, Rhode Island, the piers have a neighborhood scale and feel, and are the hub of the city's maritime activities.
Opportunity 4: Make the Working Waterfront as Accessible as Possible
Existing Conditions
Today, our working waterfront is completely walled off to public use. The city also states that future maritime uses will need to be secured, but we hope there is some flexibility on that, depending on the specific uses. As plans evolve, so should the question of whether public access can be provided. Such mixed-use spaces would be ideal if they could be located contiguous to Pier 7.
The Opportunity
Not all working waterfronts needed to be walled off to public use. Trinity Buoy Wharf in London has the docking facilities for "blue highway" delivery boats, several hundred local maker spaces, innovation labs, and an art school, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces for public events. We would like to see these kinds of spaces on Pier 8, adjacent to Pier 7.
Opportunity 5: Create a Waterfront Promenade that Links Brooklyn Bridge Park to Red Hook
Existing Conditions
While Brooklyn Bridge Park has a busy waterfront promenade, it ends at Pier 6, where it transitions to the Brooklyn Queens Greenway – essentially a widened sidewalk on Columbia Street with a designated bike path without much of interest for pedestrians.
The Opportunity
In the future, a promenade can be more than just a place to walk and bike; it can also serve as the connection for the site's mix of uses and be an attractive place in its own right. By lining these streets with shops, amenities, and places to eat, drink, and sit, these key connections can better serve their purpose of linking major destinations and directing the flow of foot traffic.
Examples of Great Waterfront Streets
Main Pier – Aker Brygge, Norway
In Aker Brygge, the waterfront street is wide and lined with seating areas, restaurants and kiosks. This makes it a place that people love to spend time as they stroll leisurely along the waterfront.
Stockholm
Only historic boats are allowed to berth on the promenade of Stockholm's waterfront, meaning it is always a visual delight. This is further enhanced by the beautiful architecture flanking the other side of the pedestrian walkway. Making sure the views at a waterfront are not only protected but enhanced and highlighted is essential to waterfront streets since the main appeal of being by the water is its beauty.
Stockholm's waterfront is full of restaurants and is uniquely well-connected, with esplanades leading to other beloved public spaces like the Kungsträdgården.
Opportunity 6: Enhance Connections to the Neighborhood and Fill the BQE "Trench" in Cobble Hill
Existing Conditions
"The Trench" walls off Cobble Hill from the waterfront, with only a few pedestrian bridges. The community has long advocated for the trench to be capped and converted into a public space, and it is hoped that the BMT development, combined with a rethinking of the BQE, will finally make this happen.
The Opportunity
Let's think about "The Trench" as a connector rather than a divider – a linear park that includes the elements of great boulevards and parks. Re-imaging this space as a "promenade" is a new concept, but one that would still achieve the goals of expanding neighborhood parks (the focus of previous planning) and adding more east-west connections to connect Cobble Hill to the BMT.
A potential model for this is El Prado, the central promenade of Balboa Park in San Diego. It is a long, wide boulevard that connects with various plazas and leads visitors to countless cultural institutions.
The two main attractions, the Prado and the San Diego Zoo were built in 1915 as the Panama - California Exposition
It's hard to have a dull moment along the Prado – it is the ultimate people-watching place where you can spend the day among joyful visitors of all ages and from all walks of life. There are many smaller parks, sculpture gardens, and other attractions along the promenade that keep people's interest at all points.
In Barcelona on the other hand, every major street is a boulevard. Imagine Hicks Street as such a place! It can be.
By adding cafes and kiosks in the outside lane, pedestrians would walk closer to the storefronts
Closing Thoughts
The transformation of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal presents an extraordinary opportunity to create the dynamic waterfront that Brooklyn rightfully deserves. As of this writing, the city's plan is not there yet.
A truly exceptional waterfront must be more than just a walled-off hub for maritime industries, a private enclave for local residents, a view for passing cars, or a platform for showcasing architectural and landscaping designs. A great waterfront is a vibrant, welcoming public space that invites all members of the community to gather, connect, and enjoy their surroundings, while also serving as an economic engine for the city and region. By implementing the six proposed interventions in this article, we can unlock the full potential of the Brooklyn waterfront and elevate it to a world-class destination that enriches the lives of everyone who experiences it.
Additional Information
Our Brooklyn Social Life Project Posts
Fred Kent
Tayana Panova
Fred Kent
Videos on Waterfronts and Public Spaces: 34 Great Waterfronts San Diego (2006)
Learn more about our two programs and the issues we are concerned about. We are based in Cobble Hill!
Fred Kent
Fred Kent
Ethan Kent
Who We Are
We are the founders of Project for Public Spaces, Social Life Project, and PlacemakingX and we are part of a growing group of community activists who have spent over 50 years building a global "Placemaking Movement" that is now in 30+ countries around the world.
We have spent the past half century traveling the world, helping communities create great public and community places that reflect their values and aspirations. From helping to make Times Square and Bryant Park what they are today and restoring the Center of Detroit to establishing local markets and main streets all around the globe, we have observed how various societies and cultures function and what features make places loved and successful.
The birth of the "Placemaking Movement" - Earth Day in April 1970
