Why you should experience Pier 1 in New York, NY.
Pier 1 is a spirited waterfront destination where Brooklyn Heights' harborfront energy, landscape architecture, maritime heritage, and panoramic skyline views converge within the flagship entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Set along Furman Street near Old Fulton Street and just steps from Jane's Carousel, the pier blends expansive lawns, dramatic overlooks, native gardens, and inviting waterfront promenades into a landscape that reconnects Brooklyn with the East River. Rolling topography, shaded seating areas, carefully restored shoreline habitats, and uninterrupted views across New York Harbor create an atmosphere equally suited to quiet reflection and lively public gathering. Families, photographers, runners, and landscape enthusiasts continue gravitating toward the park's northern gateway for its remarkable balance of ecology, recreation, and urban scenery. The result is an experience defined by waterfront vitality, exceptional public design, and one of Brooklyn's premier civic landscapes.
What you should know about Pier 1.
Pier 1 is best known as the inaugural section of Brooklyn Bridge Park to open in March 2010, marking the first completed phase of the park's long-term transformation of 85 acres of former shipping infrastructure into a continuous public waterfront along the East River. Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates under the Brooklyn Bridge Park Master Plan, the pier replaced deteriorated cargo facilities with engineered landforms, reconstructed bulkheads, native plant communities, and resilient open space while preserving views of Lower Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge, and New York Harbor. The landscape incorporates 1,300 linear feet of reconstructed shoreline, extensive lawns, tidal edge restoration, granite seating, playgrounds, overlook terraces, and thousands of trees, shrubs, grasses, and perennial plantings selected to strengthen biodiversity and improve environmental performance. Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation oversees long-term operations through horticultural management, structural inspections, environmental stewardship, capital improvements, and self-sustaining park maintenance supported by the park's financial model established in New York State legislation.
Extensive horticultural management maintains diverse native and adaptive plant collections that provide seasonal succession, pollinator habitat, stormwater absorption, and long-term resilience within one of New York City's most intensively managed waterfront landscapes. Sustainable infrastructure beneath the park integrates engineered soils, advanced drainage systems, irrigation networks, shoreline stabilization, and structural pier rehabilitation that collectively support both ecological performance and heavy public use. Ongoing monitoring, landscape renewal, and climate adaptation initiatives continue informing maintenance practices while reinforcing the original design philosophy established by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. Together, these horticultural systems, engineered infrastructure, operational strategies, and long-term stewardship demonstrate how Pier 1 continues serving as a national model for post-industrial waterfront reclamation and resilient landscape architecture.
How to fold Pier 1 into your trip.
Pier 1 works as the culmination of a day exploring Brooklyn Heights' remarkable blend of waterfront scenery, public space, and historic character.
Begin at Brooklyn Heights Promenade, where elevated views across the East River establish one of New York City's most celebrated urban panoramas before descending toward the shoreline. Continue to Empire Fulton Ferry, where historic ferry infrastructure, landscaped open space, and remarkable perspectives beneath the Brooklyn Bridge deepen appreciation for Brooklyn's maritime heritage. Continue to Jane's Carousel, where the beautifully restored 1922 carousel enclosed within Jean Nouvel's striking glass pavilion provides a memorable blend of history, architecture, and craftsmanship before following the waterfront southward. Conclude at Pier 1, where sweeping harbor vistas, innovative landscape architecture, and expansive green spaces provide a fitting finale that reflects Brooklyn's enduring relationship with the East River.
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