Ice Skating Rink Might Be Built Under Brooklyn Bridge

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Brooklyn Bridge Park could get a new ice skating rink underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, according to officials.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation is considering building a skating rink in Brooklyn Bridge Plaza near Water and Old Fulton streets, Community Board 2's Parks and Recreation committee chair announced Wednesday night.

“It’s in the thought stage,” Barbara Zahler-Gringer said, explaining that the BBPC is interested in bringing more winter activities to the park.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation president Eric Landau first raised the idea during the Parks and Recreation committee meeting on Oct. 16., city records show.

The skating rink would be a seasonal installment and the space could be used as an arena or marketplace during the summer, a spokeswoman said.

But residents raised concerns about the proposed location, noting it was in a flood zone and underneath a significant historical structure.

“Nowhere in the world would it be appropriate to have a skating rink under the Brooklyn Bridge,” said resident Katrin Adams. “It’s a monument on the scale of the Statue of Liberty.”

Rink plans would also depend on the feasibility of electrical hookups since generators were not the preferred option, Landau told the Parks and Recreation committee.

Landau also noted that the community could provide further feedback to the Community Advisory Committee, the nonprofit’s council responsible for neighborhood outreach.

The committee’s next meeting is open to the public and slated for Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Brooklyn Bridge Park offices at 334 Furman St.

This story has been updated to reflect an interview with a Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation spokeswoman.

Photo by Kathleen Culliton