There’s no doubt that Brooklyn Bridge Park is super-fantastic. It’s a great place to spend the day or twilight -as last night’s Whitman fest proved. However this missive arrived in the BHB Inbox this morning and it deserves to be discussed here:
Dude, Where’s My Neighborhood?
Why BBP has begun to destroy Brooklyn Heights.
No longer is BH a quiet area for residents seeking refuge from the bustle of the city and other densely populated parts of Brooklyn.
The streets are clogged with more people and cars at all hours of the day and night.
Weekends? A longtime resident’s nightmare.
The opening of Pier 6 has literally transformed Willowtown from being a sleepy nook tucked away in unknown corner of Brooklyn Heights.
Joralemon Street has become a major thoroughfare for people and cars to get to the new “crown jewel” of the City’s parks.
There’s more garbage on the streets. There’s more noise on the streets. There’s more crime on the streets.
Stories of downspouts being stolen in the middle of the night. Groups of bandana wearing youths patrolling the streets late at night. My girlfriend being followed by a mentally disturbed individual (from a playground) as she parked her car, only to return to a car with slashed tires.
All we see are more tickets and tickets. More parking tickets, more park police giving people tickets.
Where did my neighborhood go?
Where did the safety go?
Where did the peace and quiet go?
Judging by the sheer number of moving trucks loaded resident’s belongings and driving them away this month, it’s sad to see this neighborhood also packing it in and discarding its local residents, ambiance and allure.
It was nice knowing you Willowtown, you may be almost gone, but you will not be forgotten.
