9. Brooklyn Bridge is Made Up of Recycled Materials

Brooklyn Bridge Park was built with sustainability in mind and many of its features incorporate salvaged or repurposed materials from all around New York City. The Granite Prospect, a set of steps along the western edge of the pier, was constructed out of 300 pieces of granite taken from the reconstructed Roosevelt Island Bridge. The seating area at Pier I salt marsh and portions of the Empire Fulton Ferry landscape utilize 3,200 cubic yards of granite taken from the demolished Willis Avenue Bridge.

When the MTA began construction on its East Side Access Project in 2001 – to connect the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Main and Port Washington Lines to a new LIRR terminal beneath Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan – Brooklyn Bridge Park acquired “clean bulk fill” from the tunneling procedures, which was later placed under manufactured soil to create portions of the landscape in the park.