If you haven’t been to Brooklyn Bridge Park in a while, you’re in for a shock. It’s long been a beautiful respite in DUMBO, but it has expanded exponentially over the last dozen years or so. The best way to go is via NYC Ferry, although you can always stroll across the iconic bridge; there are now six piers with eight playgrounds; a sports area with basketball, biking, handball, kayaking, Ping-Pong, roller skating, pickleball, running, soccer, and volleyball; picnicking with grilling for large groups; the historic Jane’s Carousel; and numerous spots to grab a drink, lunch or dinner, and ice cream. It’s also a great place to take a walk among rocks, flowers, and trees, communing with nature even as you gaze at Lower Manhattan across the East River.
In addition, BBP is home to exciting public art, including Tom Fruin’s permanent Watertower and, through March 9, 2025, Pakistani American sculptor Huma Bhabha’s site-specific Public Art Fund commission Before the End, four mythical, cryptic bronze statues, cast from carved cork and skull fragments, that demand your attention on the Glade Lawn in the Pier 3 Greenway Terrace.
Below is the schedule of events through August, with two bonuses for September; everything is free, but a few require advance RSVP. And always remember what Brooklyn-born rapper the Notorious B.I.G. declared in “Juicy”: “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn Way.” (Hey, iydknyk.)
Wednesday, August 7
Coastal Cleanup, 5:30
Amp’d Bootcamp with Chelsea Piers Fitness, Pier 2 Turf, advance RSVP required, 6:00
Wednesday, August 7, 14, 21, 28, 5:00 - 7:00
Thursday, August 8, 15, 22, 29, 5:00 - 7:00
Saturday, August 10, 17, 24, 31, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday, August 11, 18, 25, noon - 2:30
Kayaking, Pier 2, advance RSVP required
Thursday, August 8 (canceled because of weather)
Movies with a View: But I’m a Cheerleader (Jamie Babbit, 1999), Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, 5:00 - 10:30
Thursday, August 8, 15, 22, 29, 3:00 - 5:00
Friday, August 9, 16, 23, 30, 3:00 - 5:00
Saturday, August 10, 17, 24, 31, 1:00 - 5:00
Open Hours at the Environmental Education Center, 99 Plymouth St.
Saturday, August 10
Community Science Seining Demonstration, Pier 4 Beach, 10:00 am - noon
Celebrate World SteelPan Day, with live performances, workshops, and activities hosted by the Carlos Lezama Archives and Caribbean Cultural Center, Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, noon
Hindu Lamp Ceremony, with Aeilushi Mistry, Pebble Beach, 3:00 - 7:30
Sunday, August 11
Morning Wellness: Yoga with Jason Morris of Chelsea Piers Fitness, Liberty Lawn, 8:30 am
Waterfront Walks, Pier 1, advance RSVP required, 10:30 am
Open Studios: Fogo Azul, live performance and workshop, 2:00 - 5:00
Monday, August 12, 19, 26
Zumba with Dodge YMCA, Pier 3 Plaza, 6:00
Tuesday, August 13, 20, 27
Sunset Yoga with Abhaya Yoga, Central Lawn, 6:00
Wednesday, August 14
Amp’d Bootcamp with Chelsea Piers Fitness, Pier 2 Turf, 6:00
Shore Thing, sunset social, 6:00 - 10:00
Thursday, August 15
Nature Storytime, Environmental Education Center, 99 Plymouth St., 3:00
Movies with a View: Bram Stroker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992), Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, 5:00 - 10:30
Thursday, August 17
Big Summer Chop & Vibes, live music and food, Pier 3 Plaza and Central Lawn, advance RSVP required, 6:00 - 10:00 (canceled)
Sunday, August 18
Morning Wellness: Pilates with Steel Pilates, Liberty Lawn, 8:30 am
Pilates with Dodge YMCA, Central Lawn, 10:30 am
Tuesday, August 20
Sunset Waterfront Walks, Pier 1, 6:30
Wednesday, August 21, 28
Amp’d Bootcamp with Chelsea Piers Fitness, Pier 2 Turf, 6:00
Thursday, August 22
Movies with a View: The American President (Rob Reiner, 1995), Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, 5:00 - 10:30
Saturday, August 24
Green Team, advance RSVP required, 10:00 am
Sunday, August 25
Morning Wellness: Pick Your Practitioner, Liberty Lawn, 8:30 am
Pilates with Dodge YMCA, Central Lawn, 10:30 am
Waterfront Walks, Pier 1, advance RSVP required, 10:30 am
Wednesday, August 28
Amp’d Bootcamp with Chelsea Piers Fitness, Pier 2 Turf, 6:00
Thursday, August 29
Movies with a View Public Choice: Spy Kids (Robert Rodriguez, 2001), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Jeff Rowe, 2023), or School of Rock (Richard Linklater, 2003), Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn, 5:00 - 10:30
Friday, September 6
Sounds at Sunset: PAAK Appreciation, Pier 3 Greenway Terrace, 7:00
Sunday, September 8
New York Transit Museum Bus Festival, Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, 10:00 am - 3:30 pm
Waterfront Walks, Pier 1, advance RSVP required, 10:30 am
Open Studios: Fogo Azul, Harbor View Lawn, 2:00 - 5:00
Chop & Vibes: African Chop House x Lovers Rock, hosted by Ma Cherie & Stanley Lumax, Liberty Lawn, 3:00 - 9:00
Saturday, September 14
Walt Whitman Walking Tour, Granite Prospect, 10:00 am
Sunday, September 15
Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, open public reading, Granite Prospect, 3:00 - 8:00
[You can follow Mark Rifkin and This Week in New York every day here.]
spreading love: it’s the brooklyn bridge park way