The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy will convene a public meeting on Monday, November 26, from 6:30-9:00 pm, to facilitate public input as part of a yearlong effort to develop a strategic plan for programming in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Funding for the plan is being contributed by New York Community Trust, the Altman Foundation, the Fidelity Foundation, and the J.M. Kaplan Fund. The Conservancy is working together with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation, New York State Parks, and New York City Parks on the study.

Team coordinators Mikki Shepard and Laura Mandeles from noted non-profit consulting firm WolfBrown, will conduct a study of comparable local and national urban parks and carry out an extensive outreach effort to solicit community input on educational, recreational, and cultural activities within the future Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Public outreach efforts will include interviews and focus groups with community stakeholders, cultural, educational, and recreation groups, elected officials, and parks organizations, as well as public meetings, surveys and online research. The completed plan will include a timeline, financial plan, schedule for the rollout of activities, and plan for available land use.

“Every park begins as a dream,” said Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy President Marianna Koval. “We have a beautiful design, but as the Van Valkenburgh team moves to the details, we need to plan for how the park will be used. The decisions that are made in the next year will make our dream a reality and will define Brooklyn Bridge Park for generations to come.”

Questions to be addressed in the plan include what types of cultural, recreation, and educational activities does a diverse community want in Brooklyn Bridge Park, what type of infrastructure is needed for these activities, should public programming be free or fee-based, how will the park be activated through the winter months, and how will the cultural, educational and recreational programming be funded.

“Brooklyn Bridge Park will be a regional park,” said Koval, “not simply a spectacular front yard to the adjoining neighborhoods. How do we learn lessons from other urban parks and create a welcoming, active space with broad appeal, but also allow for passive enjoyment? It will no doubt be about balance.”

In addition to a general statement of goals and major recommendations, the final Strategic Plan for Programming in Brooklyn Bridge Park will include suggestions for potential partnership arrangements and strategies, recommendations for interim uses during park construction, general recommendations for types of major facilities, infrastructure recommendations, a timeline for implementation of programs and construction of facilities and venues, and a financial plan for self-sustaining programming which carefully balances public and private uses.