Arbor Place

.377 acre

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

Arbor Place, along with the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, serves as a testament to one of New York City’s greatest public works, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (B.Q.E.).  The brainchild of Robert Moses (1888-1981), former NYC Parks Commissioner and Chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, the B.Q.E. was finished in 1964 following 18 years and $137 million of civic commitment by the people of New York City.

For 40 years, Robert Moses served as the master builder of public works for the City of New York, fundamentally shaping the city’s parks, transportation, and housing identity today.  A master multi-tasker, from the start of his career in 1924 to his eventual retirement, he held over a dozen city and state positions – many concurrently.  By the time Robert Moses retired, he had led the construction of 416 miles of highway, 13 bridges, 658 playgrounds, 17 miles of public beaches, and 11 swimming pools, as well as zoos, recreation centers, and ball fields. Moses’s time as NYC Parks Commissioner saw the City of New York’s park acreage more than double to 34,673 acres, including the park you are standing in today.

As Chairman of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (T.B.T.A.), Moses creatively combined his roles at the T.B.T.A. and NYC Parks enabling the development of the B.Q.E.  The project represented a major transportation public works, but Moses’s team designed a series of small parks along the expressway as an opportunity to add more public green space and to buffer the surrounding neighborhoods from the activity of the expressway.  Unique in its own right, Arbor Place is a shining example of one of these green space parks.

Resting at Tillary and Prince Streets, Arbor Place lies nestled between the ramps of the B.Q.E. where Downtown Brooklyn meets Fort Greene.  The City of New York acquired the property as part of the land used for the expressway’s construction.  Arbor Place provides drivers and passersby with momentary relief from the shade-less concrete of the surrounding on- and off-ramps.

Wednesday, Dec 12, 2001