Proposal Presented for Greenpoint Park

A team of volunteer urban planners and landscape architects debuted their proposal for the new state park on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg that utilizes the former industrial space as an ecologically sustainable riverside park.

The proposal, which was shown to the public last Thursday night, is the result of a contest that challenged local designers to create a waterfront park that incorporated several key design features, including green technology, water interactivity, and educational components, as well as meeting the needs of the community and the expanding East River waterfront.

The contest to create a proposal for the waterfront space was started by the Friends Group of the Williamsburg Waterfront Park in 2005 as a way to determine what the community wants out of the open space.

"We wanted the design for the park to come out of the heart of the community," said Cathleeen Breen, a member of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG), which led the call for open submissions for the park’s design. "As long as the designer was someone affiliated with the Williamsburg/Greenpoint community, they were welcome to submit a design."