Millions (and millions) of visitors poured into Brooklyn Bridge Park this summer

They came for programs, shows and just to hang out

December 26, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s seventh summer season was its busiest ever, according to a year-end wrap-up sent out by park operators. Shown: The outdoor film series Movies With A View. Photo by Mary Frost

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If it seemed like there were more people than last year at Brooklyn Bridge Park this past summer, you were right on the money. The park’s seventh summer season was its busiest ever, according to a year-end wrap-up sent out by park operators.

Popular events such as the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, Photoville, Met Opera and Movies With A View attracted more than 300,000 visitors this year to the 85-acre strip running along the East River. This number increases steadily very year, but doesn’t count the people who come just to stroll, sunbathe on the lawn or throw some burgers and dogs on the grill.

Park spokesperson Sarah Krauss told the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday that the figures just released don’t include general visitor numbers, as the park is still aggregating data from their park user count conducted over the summer.

Krauss referred the paper to last year’s aggregated numbers, however, to get a feel for the final count. In the summer of 2016, there were 330,000 visitors every week between Labor Day and Memorial Day, a period of 14 weeks. That means 4,620,000 visited the park just over the summer of 2016. So it looks likely that close to 5 million visitors attended the park in 2017, if the trend continued.

And it seems probable it will continue into the future, as the programming continues to evolve. For example, the outdoor film series Movies With A View partnered this summer with DeKalb Market Hall to include concessions from Brooklyn food and alcohol vendors. All the Park’s a Stage brought in 2,000 visitors to explore different parts of the park as they were treated to a panoramic performance of “Macbeth” by New York Classical Theatre.

Besides programs, the park offers outdoor and athletic pursuits such as free kayaking, a weekly run with New York Road Runners, fitness classes and basketball clinics. Almost 8,000 students from 114 schools attended education programs in the park this year, and park amenities such as the roller rink and climbing wall continued to be a hit.

Considering the size of the park, the annual visitor count is remarkable. Brooklyn’s flagship park, Prospect Park, attracts roughly 10 million visitors a year, roughly double the number of Brooklyn Bridge Park. However, Prospect Park, at 526 acres, is more than six times as large as Brooklyn Bridge Park.