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Brooklyn Heights’ next big makeover is underway — the resurrection of the long-defunct Squibb Park into a gateway to the new Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Renovations are underway for the sunken park at Columbia Heights and Middagh Street — the beginning of a project that could one day include a bridge from Squibb Park to Pier 1.
For now though, Squibb Park will be reopened after new fencing, landscaping, a wide staircase at the park entrance, and skate park elements are installed.
It’s enough to make even the hardest of the Heights go soft.
“It’s going to be beautiful, and great for the kids,” said Paula Smiley, a 20-year Heights resident. “I’m a little worried that it will create too much action, but most people here are thrilled.”
The cutesy renovations to Squibb Park will be finished by mid-summer, the city has said.
Residents said the new park would be a sweet abandon from the dirt wasteland that it is today.
“There’s a lot to buzz about in the park,” said Heights visitor Jonathan Lawlor on Monday. “We’re going to see a lot more people up here once it’s done.”
But the second phase of the project — the $5-million bridge extending over Furman Street down to the pier — is hogging the spotlight for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation, which wants to build, but lacks the funds.
The bridge was all but nixed last year when Mayor Bloomberg announced his budget woes. But now that the city has taken over maintenance and operations of the $350-million Brooklyn Bridge Park and allocated an extra $55 million to its construction, the Squibb Park Bridge is back on the table.
©2010 Community Newspaper Group
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