Key Natural Resources Analyses for Brooklyn Bridge Park

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (BBPDC) — a joint effort between New York City and State — is directing the creation of a new 85-acre park along one of the world’s most dramatic locations, and AKRF has been helping to bring this important project to life by providing a range of environmental planning, engineering, and permitting services.

The new park, to be completed over the next decade, will allow public access to the water’s edge and its spectacular views, and provide many opportunities for passive and active recreation, including open space, pavilions, an amphitheater for informal events, and a marina.

The design approach for the park is to restore some of the natural habitat that once occurred along Brooklyn’s shorelines by removing man-made structures from the shoreline and impervious paving from the upland portions of the site, while at the same time encouraging public use of the waterfront for active and passive recreation activities.

Because of this approach, Brooklyn Bridge Park required special natural resources analyses and permits for in-water and shoreline construction, including a Joint Application for the Authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under Section 404 (Waters of the United States) and Section 10 (Rivers and Harbors Act), and from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) under the Tidal Wetlands, Protection of Waters, and 401 Water Quality Certification regulatory programs.

AKRF’s Natural Resource specialists developed mitigation measures to alleviate and/or reduce any potential significant adverse effects to water quality and natural resources.