Planning officials unveil $12 million waterfront park in Carroll Gardens

There’s a new $12 million riverside park coming to Carroll Gardens — provided the Department of Transportation vacates the two-acre lot where the park is planned and the city can raise money to build. The New York Post reported that the Regional Plan Association and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative released renderings of the park planned to Run Along Columbia Street between DeGraw and Kane streets (see rendering above).

The green space would include a dog run, walking paths and a sloped lawn that could host small concerts. It will also be part of A Bike Lane that connects it to the Brooklyn Bridge Park and other waterfront destinations.

Officials and local businessmen believe the park will be a boon to the neighborhood, as it could attract customers to nearby restaurants and shops. Construction could begin as soon as the DOT finishes work on nearby streets and leaves the lot.

The Post said Mayor Bloomberg had originally wanted to transform a larger portion of the area into a mixed-use complex with housing, a conference center, cruise terminals and beer gardens. But the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owns the piers behind the location of the planned park, nixed the plan to keep a working port. [Post]