• Pier 1 (Open)
• Pier 2
• Pier 3
• Pier 4
• Pier 5
• Pier 6 (Open)
• Fulton Ferry Landing (Open)
• Brooklyn Bridge Plaza
• Empire Fulton Ferry
• Main Street (Open)
• John Street
• The Design
• Site History

Pier 1 (Open)

At 9.5 acres, Pier 1 is the largest of the park piers, and the only pier that is built on landfill rather than on pile-supported structure. This strong foundation provides the base for a new topography including a hill at the center of the pier which provides dramatic and sweeping views of the New York Harbor and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Pier 1 includes two large lawns, the Bridge View lawn and the Harbor View lawn, a playground at the northern edge with play equipment for younger children, a waterfront promenade, and a series of tree-lined pathways that provide a varied waterfront experience. The "Granite Prospect" is a dramatic set of steps built from granite stones salvaged from the Roosevelt Island Bridge reconstruction along the western edge of the pier.  Over 500 mature trees will be planted on Pier 1 including Kentucky Coffees, Catalpas, Magnolias, Lindens, Sweetgums, Serviceberries, London Planes, and various species of Oaks.

Just Opened! A salt marsh at the southern edge of Pier 1, planted with native plant life and nestled within a salvaged granite seating area, provides a unique opportunity to experience the tidal river, and a boat ramp at the southern edge of Pier 1 provides access for non-motorized watercraft.

The water gardens at Pier 1 create a dramatic display of water-loving plants along the main park promenade, including shrubs like highbush blueberry, spice bush, pussy willow, button bush, serviceberry, swamp rose and swamp azalea, and perennials like rose mallow, mist flower, joe-pye weed, marsh marigolds, milkweed, and a variety of irises, asters, goldenrods, rushes, sedges, and ferns.  Visible from major pathways and crossed by pedestrian bridges, the water gardens start in a small pond near the Old Fulton Street entrance into Brooklyn Bridge Park.  The water cascades through successively lower weirs incorporated into the bridge structures, that create a lush swath of plants that wraps southward along the eastern edge of the Pier 1 mound. In addition to the value they bring to the experience of the park, these gardens are the visible component of the rainwater collection and treatment that is one of many ecologically positive site systems that support Brooklyn Bridge Park.  
 
Throughout this area of the park, excess stormwater will be collected from building roofs, paved areas and lawns.  As the water passes through each segment of the water garden, pollutants and sediment are removed. When the water reaches the lowest section at the southern end of Pier 1, it is drained back into the underground tank and ultimately used as irrigation for the entire Pier 1 landscape.  This runoff collection system in conjunction with a decrease of impervious surfaces on the site, will represent an improvement over the previous site system which, in large storm events, diverted untreated surface runoff directly into the East River.  Based on the size of the tanks and the annual cycles of wet and dry seasons, it is estimated that the water that has been collected on site will supply 70% of Pier 1 yearly irrigation needs.

A future component of Pier 1 is the provision of a pedestrian bridge from Squibb Park, located to the north of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. This bridge will allow direct pedestrian access from Brookyn Heights to the Pier 1 uplands.