Brooklyn Bridge Park: A Dying Waterfront Transformed

The first question in a reviewer’s mind who the intended readership is for Brooklyn Bridge Park. This is an extremely detailed account of the development of Brooklyn Bridge Park, a long, narrow park between the waterfront of East River and Brooklyn Heights bluffs in Brooklyn, New York. The place was formerly an industrial complex that had lost its usefulness. For over a decade politicians, conservationists and local residents haggled over the valuable piece of land whether sell it to a developer or reserve it for the public. Joanne Witty and Henrik Krogius researched the history and progression of the park from its conception to date. The book is well written, illustrated with many small but clear historic and modern black-and-white photos and two sets of larger inbound color photos. We learn about heavy politicking, funding problems, setbacks during the project. The book is a historic record of interest mostly for locals and libraries but also showing precedence for similar projects elsewhere in the country. The average reader would have problem keeping attention with pages and pages of the many details. The book ends with detailed timeline, organizations involved and copious chapter-by-chapter Notes.