BROOKLYN BRIDGE — The iconic Brooklyn Bridge will be feted for its 140th birthday with the opening of a historic new park on the Manhattan side, in Chinatown, Mayor Eric Adams and New York City announced on Friday, May 12. The publicly accessible greenspace, which will open up access to safe outdoor recreation for the nearly 50,000 diverse local residents who live within a half-mile radius, is opening on May 24, starting with the “mecca New York” skateboarding and opening of “the Arches,” which a decade ago was a major NYC attraction.
Roughly one acre in size, the Arches will open on May 24, 2023, after being closed to the public for over a decade, and feature space for basketball, pickleball, shuffleboard, and public seating — directly adjacent to the 53 historic arches on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge.