Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, adjacent to the forthcoming mammoth
Brooklyn Bridge Park, is a nine-acre waterfront park along the East River in Brooklyn located between the historic Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. With its sprawling lawn and riverfront boardwalk, Empire Fulton Ferry provides visitors the perfect place to view the skyline of Lower Manhattan, picnic, stroll, view the ships traveling the river and enjoy the sun.
Bodering the park is the up and coming DUMBO neighborhood (DUMBO stands for down under Manhattan Bridge Overpass). DUMBO is the new SoHo of sorts, and the millenium brought a land rush of sorts as urban bohemians vied for space in the landmark Civil-War era coffee and tobacco warehouses that line the streets here. These warehouses are all that is left of the thriving businesses that played an integral part in the great shipping activities that once dominated the entire Brooklyn waterfront.
The park is a popular site for photography with its spectacular view of the bridges and lower Manhattan. Each summer a sculpture show turns the park into an outdoor art gallery. The park is also part of the New York City Harbor Park, one of fifteen designated Heritage Areas in New York State, the purpose of which is to preserve and promote the state's cultural and natural resources.
