1. The Environmental Education Center opening in the Main Street park section of DUMBO: This will include an aquarium, a discovery station and new public restrooms! The aquarium will showcase fish collected from the East River, and will also contain a child-friendly touch tank where visitors can interact with marine creatures. An interactive discovery station featuring a 9’ scale model of Brooklyn Bridge Park will provide an in-depth look at the park’s ecology, history and sustainable design. Child-friendly modules will showcase the birds, fish, insects, plant life and geology of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Set to open in July.
2. A new macaron shop called Vendome Macaron Bar opening at 1 Brooklyn Bridge Park this fall. A Smorgasburg favorite, the shop signed the lease for its first stand-alone store at Pier 5 and will offer delicious macaron flavors like Nutella, Sea Salt & Caramel and Tahitian Vanilla Bean, sandwiches, croissants and more.
3. The interactive art exhibition “Please touch the art” by Jeppe Hein, featuring 18 playful sculptures throughout the park including rooms made of jetting water (meaning fantastic water play to kids) will be open from May 2015 – April 2016. Read more!
4. Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties are taking place at the Harbor View Lawn throughout the month of May. Enjoy free dancing under the stars for the whole family at Pier 1! Line-up here!
5. The upgraded and expanded Main Street park section in DUMBO: This renovated parkland will feature an expanded lawn, a new dog run, improved pedestrian and bicycle circulation, an entry plaza at Washington and Jay Street and a bouldering wall for climbers of all skill levels. Opening in July.
6. Amazing ice cream to be found beyond the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory at Pier 1 and Ample Hills at Pier 5. Beginning Memorial Day weekend, there will be an Ample Hills ice cream cart at Pier 1 and Jane’s Carousel, as well as the Jacques Torres ice cream shop on Water Street in DUMBO.
7. The new St. Ann’s warehouse theater at Pier 1: Programming is scheduled to begin in the fall. This theater is a wonderful opportunity for cultural engagement, as well as for families on bad weather days who can come enjoy the Triangle Garden inside the theater. The garden will be open for public use during park hours.
8. Free kayaking and kayak polo this summer at Pier 2: Every Saturday (from 10 am-3 pm) and Thursday (from 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm), the first weekend in June through the end of August, free walk-up kayaking will be offered in Brooklyn Bridge Park between Piers 1 and 2. New this year, kayak polo on Sundays at 11 am for kids and 12:30 pm for adults. Everything is first come, first served, so be sure to get there early!
9. Celebrate your child’s birthday at Jane’s Carousel or the Pier 2 skating rink! For only $20-30 per child, everyone will have a blast, and the best part- no mess at home. Read more!
10. The Pier 6 landscape will complete construction of the outer two-thirds of the pier this summer. A seasonally vivid flower meadow, winding pathway and lush perimeter plantings will introduce new ecosystems to the southern end of the park. Expansive lawns will provide space for public programs and events.
