Brooklyn Promenade Social Seating and Kiosk/Cafes for Remsen Street, Montague Street Extension Experiment.



Connecting Montague Street with Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Activating The Brooklyn Heights Promenade represents an enormous opportiunity to add some small features that give it a richness to make it even more special. A few small kiosks, or cafe could make it a strong gathering place for the Brooklyn Heights Community and enhance the experience for visitors and residents alike.



Some Thoughts:
The entire promenade is very stark and not very inviting except for the extraordinary view. By initially just adding a few items to experiment with, the community could see what might be possible in the future. No matter what decision is made, it should be considered an experiment both as a way to get it started...something we call LQC (Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper)
The seating needs to be either fixed or very heavy. The few people we have talked to are concerned that someone might take the lighter seating and throw it over the railing. The three examples from Porto and Paris along the Seine in Paris might be potential examples. You may know of other types of seating that would provide the social seating you are seeking.
We think there are other small activations that could add a lot to the experience along the Promenade. Once you get started other ideas will very likely arise and should be encouraged.
As to the cafe (or whatever it might be), the images suggest temporary ones like the example in Stockholm or even mobile ones. This needs more discussion.
Miscellaneous Carts/Kiosks types that could be a possible


Stockholm. Shallow cafe and seating along a promenade leading down to the waterfront
Paris Waterfront Seating

Paris. A recently added bench along the Left Bank
Seating - Other Possibilities


Exibitions and Book Stalls along the Paris Seine. Louvre Museum has been actively involved in bringing art to the Paris Plage in a number of locations
Two other Brooklyn Heights Discussions


One other that you might find interesting:

Two other resources about Promenading/Passeggiata:


Other Posts as Resources


We want to hear from you! This post, along with other efforts, add to a discussion that we hope, ultimately, will pave the way for a dramatic transformation of the downtown core of Brooklyn, and our nearby neighborhoods.

Our family lives in Cobble Hill. Our grandchildren currently go to PS 29. Kathy and I work together with our two sons, Ethan and Josh, Kathy and I on the Social Life Project. Ethan and Josh lead PlacemakingX , a global network that grew out of the work we collectively did at Project for Public Spaces starting in 1975 creating placemaking campaigns and catalytic projects in over 3500 communities around the world. They were led and implemented locally with a big impact as part of a fast growing Placemaking Movement. These two programs are managed by Josh as part of The Placemaking Fund. Our work over the last 45 years has given us insights into what works and a sense of how some of what we have seen out there could be applied to Brooklyn and especially the areas that we consider our greater neighborhoods. We hope these discussion posts can lead to improvements that we can all enjoy and show the rest of the world how great Brooklyn is. Our Brooklyn team also includes Steve Davies, Madeley Rodreguez and Chris Heitmann
