Schumer, Gillibrand and Goldman Deliver $2 Million Federal ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Grant for Arches Plaza to Connect Several Lower Manhattan Communities Separated by the Brooklyn Bridge

  

   

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) today, alongside Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, and Gotham Park President Rosa Chang presented a $2 million federal Reconnecting Communities grant for New York City to transform the underutilized space underneath the Brooklyn Bridge also known as the Arches. This area will connect several diverse and long-separated neighborhoods in Manhattan.   

  

The Reconnecting Communities grant will allow the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) to gather community feedback from the Arches Working Group and produce concept designs, including renderings, traffic analysis, and vault surveys, address security needs, and more. The federal funding will be used to identify key pedestrian, bike, and transit connections to the surrounding communities that for too long have been separated.   

 

“I am thrilled that after decades of underutilization, the area beneath the Brooklyn Bridge is slated to be transformed into a vibrant recreation space that will unite Lower Manhattan communities that have been divided for far too long,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “This funding will create a plan that will ultimately give countless New Yorkers better access to critical green space while simultaneously linking robust neighborhoods in Chinatown, Two Bridges and the South Street Seaport. I look forward to continuing to work closely with the city and plaza partner Gotham Park to ensure the implementation of this critically needed funding.” 

 

Senator Chuck Schumer said, “For too long, space under the Brooklyn Bridge has been abandoned and underutilized, and has left surrounding communities disconnected from one another. This federal grant will help turn the space under the Brooklyn Bridge from a blight to a benefit. These federal funds, secured via the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Law I led to passage, will advance the Arches Plaza project to transform the area underneath the Brooklyn Bridge into a community hub that will restore community connectivity, create open space, enhance transportation safety, and bring economic and climate benefits to the area. I fought to include the Reconnecting Communities grant program in the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law with projects like Arches Plaza in mind. Infrastructure should build up and connect communities, not divide them, and this Reconnecting Communities grant will provide tens of thousands of New Yorkers with space to gather, new transportations options like protected bike lanes, increased pedestrian safety, and a more sustainable and equitable environment for surrounding neighborhoods.” 

 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “Arches Plaza will help reunite divided communities, as well as boost social mobility and economic development in lower Manhattan. Projects like this are critical to build community and bolster well-being. I helped lead the creation of the Reconnecting Communities program, and I am proud that the resources I fought for will improve quality of life in New York City and across the state.” 

 

Meera Joshi, New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations, said, “The Arches is a transformative project that will provide residents, workers, and visitors in lower Manhattan and Chinatown with much needed public space. The Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge have long benefitted from public space access which has transformed the economic development and quality of life surrounding that area. It’s time to bring the same vibrancy and public realm experience to Chinatown.” 

Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC DOT Commissioner, said, “As NYC DOT has finished critical repairs to the Brooklyn Bridge, the Adams Administration is continuing to work closely with the surrounding community to return more of ‘The Arches’ to the public. This funding will play an important role in helping NYC DOT create a world-class public space with safe and convenient access for the Chinatown and Lower Manhattan communities,” said  “We thank Representative Goldman, Senate Leader Schumer, and Senator Gillibrand for their support of our agency’s work and look forward to opening additional sections of ‘The Arches’ in the future.” 

  

Rosa Chang, Co-Founder and President of Gotham Park, said, “Gotham Park is so thankful to Congressman Goldman and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for their vigorous support for federal catalytic funding to Reconnect our long-divided neighborhoods. Large transportation infrastructure projects have historically created physical and psychological barriers to health, connection and economic prosperity in the communities where they land, the burden of which is typically borne by those who already have the least. This federal “Reconnecting Communities” grant will help our long divided and diverse communities by creating a legacy public space to reconnect with each other at the foot of one of our nation’s most significant landmarks – the Brooklyn Bridge - while catalyzing social, economic, environmental and health benefits for our 47,000 residents living in the immediate vicinity. Many thanks to our agency partners at NYC DOT and NYPD, and to our incredible community stakeholders who have supported our grassroots efforts: Gotham Park’s Board led by Elizabeth Lewinsohn, Trinity Church NYC, The Skatepark Project, our Community Boards 1 and 3, our neighbors including NYCHA's Alfred E. Smith Houses, Chinatown, Chatham Green, Southbridge Towers, the South Street Seaport Historic District, Pace University, the Murry Bergtraum Campus, and so many more. None of this would be possible without Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, who believes our community is important enough to fight for and invest in. Thank you all for seeing us, and for joining together in your support.  It is really hard to build things, and so easy to break them. Thank you ALL for your commitment to the hard work of building significant legacy public space to uplift New Yorkers for generations to come!   

  

The federal grant was awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities grant program, which Congressman Goldman, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assemblymember Grace Lee, and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine sent a letter in support of in September of 2024. When completed, the Arches Plaza project will create a permanent plaza complete with seating, landscaping, recreation spaces, opportunities for short-term concessions, temporary art activations, among many other uses. The project will build and expand on Brooklyn Banks, a small portion of the plaza that was previously opened by NYC DOT and its partners in 2023. Additionally, the project will introduce two-way protected bike lanes on Frankfort St. and Dover St. to connect with the East River Greenway, which will create continuity in the bike network for bicyclists traveling to and from Arches Plaza. Finally, the project will enhance pedestrian safety on Pearl St. to increase visibility of pedestrians in the area and minimize pedestrian-vehicle conflict points.