Latest design ideas for Brooklyn’s Columbus Park unveiled

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, its design team and elected officials unveiled some big, bold ideas at a presentation on Thursday at Borough Hall showcasing the latest ideas for redesigning Columbus Park.

Planners say Columbus Park is underutilized and uninviting, with most of the green spaces fenced off and some areas inaccessible. It needs shade, could use more seating, plus restrooms, a playground and a dog run. 

Here are some of the concepts being floated:

♦ Rethink the classical fountain and garden

One idea sure to make an impact on the look and feel of the plaza is a total rethinking of Borough Hall Plaza’s classical-style water fountain and surrounding formal garden. The proposed design would remove the fence surrounding the fountain and garden — and replace the classic pedestal with an accessible, open spray-style water feature on a raised “bosque,” surrounded by tables, chairs and new trees. The former fenced-in garden would be replaced with an open “passive lawn.” This concept recommends “rethinking the area as a usable, accessible, programmed place” with the fountain as the centerpiece, a DBP spokesperson said.

♦ Replace judges’ parking lot with lawn, pavilion 

As the Brooklyn Eagle reported last year, the community is pushing to reclaim a parking lot at the southeast section of the park, currently used by Supreme Court judges — sure to be a tough ask. In 2008, the judges agreed to no longer park their cars on the adjacent pedestrian walkway (the former Old Fulton Street) and took over the lot instead. The Office of Court Administration opposes the idea for security reasons. Judge Richard Montelione, chair of the Board of Justices, NY State Supreme Court, will be issuing a response after examining the planners’ ideas. 

Designers hope to replace the parking lot with a lawn sloping upward on its east side facing Downtown. The highest part would sit atop a glass-walled pavilion that could house bathrooms, office space and perhaps a cafe.

♦ Remove fences, add trees

The latest “before and after” renderings of the park bring home the goal of removing fences wherever possible to make the green areas more accessible and welcoming, putting in more benches and planting more shade trees. By removing fences, meandering walkways could be added to the lawns on either side of the broad walkway headed north towards the U.S. Post Office.

♦ Enlarge park to include Korean War Veterans Plaza

Planners want to de-map Johnson Street, which runs between Columbus Park and Korean War Veterans Plaza, and incorporate the street and the 1.5-acre Plaza into Columbus Park, which is currently 5.4-acres. The Plaza, a memorial to those who died in Korea, is currently part of Cadman Plaza Park, which is also home to the Brooklyn War Memorial. Renderings envision a skatepark and playground located in the Plaza, but these are preliminary and contingent ideas, as skateboarders want to remain in centrally-located Borough Hall Plaza.

What’s next for the redesign plan?

The redesign process is steered by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, WXY Studio and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. DBP President Regina Myer said a redesigned Columbus Park would help interconnect Downtown Brooklyn and the “strand” of parks leading to the Brooklyn waterfront and would include street safety improvements.

The community stakeholder group assembled last year by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynosa and Councilmember Lincoln Restler, “really, really dug into this issue of what the future should be like in Downtown Brooklyn,” Myer said.

Got to be ‘big and bold’

“It seems like for some time now, people feel like we just can’t get things done,” Reynoso told the crowd at the presentation. “And I want to say to you all, we’re going to get something done, and it’s got to be big, and it’s got to be bold.” The design process is not over, he said. “We want to keep hearing from you all. We have some exciting news coming in the near future.” 

Redesigning Columbus Park is on his “short list” and a top priority, Restler (accompanied by his baby Elliot) said. “I’ve also spoken about it with our Speaker of the City Council, Adrienne Adams, and she’s really excited about this process … And we’re hoping to have some very positive progress to share soon on that front,” he hinted.

‘Skateboarders are cool’

WXY’s Claire Weisz, who explained many of the plan’s details, emphasized the need for more shade and better conditions for trees, and the many fences that block the desirable green areas from use. 

“In fact, there was a group of artists visiting from Denmark, and their first question was, ‘Are fence companies making a lot of money here in Brooklyn?’” she said.

Van Valkenburgh pointed out “how important the space in front of Borough Hall is for a whole variety of things that go across the life of the city during the year. So we want to leave a substantial paved area in that location.”

Addressing the push by skateboarders to be allowed to use Borough Hall Plaza as their informal skatepark, Van Valkenburgh said, “Skateboarders are not everybody’s cup of tea, but I like them. I think the skateboarders are really cool, and they bring a kind of level of activity and vibrancy to the space.”

Van Valkenburgh said there were three goals he had for the park when looking at the design. “One is that it would feel like a park, and what does a park feel like? Well, it’s a green space that says you’re invited to come in here and sit down and enjoy yourself … and the way it feels says that you’re invited to be here. 

The second thing is that we wanted to have lawn, a place to go and actually just sit with yourself or with your family or whoever on the coolness of the lawn. And the third is that it should be very shady… I would say those are the three aspirations for the park that we have.” 

He added that the park should be more accessible. “The way it is now, it’s especially not accessible to people with movement limitations.”

Following the presentation, Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Lara Birnback told the Brooklyn Eagle, “The BHA is enthusiastic about a new vision and design for the park that is far more responsive to the needs and desires of the surrounding communities, and the many who pass through our neighborhoods.”

She added, “With such a large footprint to work with, I’m very excited about the possibility of doing something really transformative to elevate this civic space in the heart of Brooklyn for everyone to enjoy.”

Thursday’s update was held as part of NYCxDESIGN Week.