Latest Section Of Brooklyn Bridge Park Opens To The Public

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — The latest section of the Brooklyn Bridge Park opened to the public this week with a giant lawn and "labyrinth" garden, according to the park.

Officials cut the ribbon on the five-acre Pier 3 on Tuesday afternoon, the latest section on the planned 65-acres park near the bridge to finish taking shape, officials said.

Pier 3's main attraction is the large, central lawn on the waterfront with trees and shrubs, park officials said.

"I keep thinking of Pier 3 as our version of a Long Meadow or a Great Lawn in Prospect and Central Parks, respectively," Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation president told Curbed New York."This is sort of our answer to that—our version of having this large open space."

Aside from the acre of grass, the new section also features a "whimsical labyrinth garden" along the north side of the pier, according to the Brooklyn Bridge Park Cooperation.

The gardens has hedges of different sizes to create a maze along with picnic tables, a walk-in kaleidoscope and kids games that play with sound, according to Metro.

Crews also repurposed bollards and cleats that anchored ships onto the pier when it was a shipping terminal to turn it into a playground for children, Metro reported.

The park, which started construction in 2010, has three sections left to complete before it's fully open, including a recently announced permanent pool at Squipp Park.

Image: Kathleen Culliton/Patch