Category Archives: Brooklyn Bridge Park Submissions

Brooklyn Bridge Park

The groups members were Anna, Guo Xiong, Justin and Nancy . Our area of tourism was Ecotourism. According to The International Ecotourism Society Ecotourism is: “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” Four significant activities were:12179556_907249459310732_1341869872_n12188818_907249455977399_691757028_n

  1. One of the examples of the ecotourism is bike tours. You can rent a bike from the Brooklyn Bridge bike rentals and have a bike tour through the Brooklyn Waterfront. The Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway is “a Brooklyn-waterfront route with lots of first-rate new bike lanes, tremendous views of the Manhattan skyline and a great backstory” writes the editor of sustainable transportation news source Streetsblog – Ben Fried. It has been created for the people, who like to enjoy the nature – not to disturb it. During the field trip, we confirmed our expectations that it’s a great activity, because you can not only ride in the park, however, you can observe the view of the city.
  2. Gowanus:  Have you ever seen the garbage in the river? You will see this situation in the Gowanus Canal. For years, the Gowanus Canal has been polluted by the raw sewage waste and industrial waste products. People had created a clean and green program which called “The Gowanus Canal Conservancy. People can be the volunteer to work in the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, such a good choice to make the canal and its watershed more beautiful, clean, and native. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy located in Salt Lot, 2 Second Avenue (between 5th St and the Gowanus Canal), Brooklyn 11215. If people want to do something special and help the Gowanus, it’s a best choice to choose.
  3. Environmental education center: In the Brooklyn waterfront park, there is an Environment Education Center which offer the conservancy’s environmental education program for public and a public restroom for visitors. The center contains two signature exhibits, a marine aquarium and a discovery station. The aquarium has a 250 gallon showcases fish collected from the East River during the Conservancy popular seining program. And it also offer a child-friendly touch tank where visitors can see the marine animals, such as crabs. Mussels, and fish which are released back into river. The discovery station features a 9’ scale model, it provides an opportunity to look at the ecology, history and sustainable design of Brooklyn Waterfront Park. Children can play puzzles and binoculars showcase the birds, fish, and plant life.
  4. Parks commissioners building 1.1 million dollar dock is being designed to protect storm surge. Also first to provide educational programming through floating classrooms and also recreational boating opportunities. The building is very creative and meaningful because it like the art work and help people defense the storm surge.

The way that the ecosystem presented in the Brooklyn Bridge Park tells us a lot about of how important the ecotourism is for the city. To keep the ecosystem natural no chemicals are used. During the field trip it was cold and windy at the waterfront, but as soon as we walked into a grove it became nice and warm. We were surrounded by trees and there could be many birds, butterflies, and ladybugs, if the weather was warmer.

Brooklyn Bridge Park Blog

The groups members were Eric, Brenda, DK and Alexandria. Our area of tourism was Volunteer Tourism.  Volunteer Tourism is where people volunteer to help others or projects usually in developing countries.  Five significant activities were:

  1. The Brooklyn Water Front Museum is a free museum located Redhook Brooklyn which also used to be a former dumping area which was reconverted so that it could be used as a museum. The museum is open all year around and also constantly host many different types of events and performances including a tour of a hundred year old barge which is over 100 years old being possibly the only boat of this type still intact.
  2.  Bargemusic is a group that is dedicated to enhancing the cultural life of New Yorkers and sharing the joy of music with everyone. Bargemusic has year round performances with over 200 chamber music concerts annually host admission free family concerts on board the ship the Bargemusic that is docked in Fulton Ferry landing.
  3. Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition is located in a Civil War-era warehouse on Red Hook Water Front which houses a 25,000 square foot gallery which exhibits the artwork of local Brooklyn Artist to help spread recognition and understanding of art culture. The Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition also host a annual mega exhibition and outdoor sculpture show to present the sheer variety of contemporary art ranging from different styles and inspirations.
  4. Green Team where people keep the park and waterfront clean by planting, mulching, and  removing plants.  the green team meets every Saturday at 10 am – 12 pm from April to October
  5. Public Programs such as theater.  These cultural, recreational, and educational programs that bring a residents and visitors  to visit the Waterfront and Park when they visit NYC

I learned that there is always someone ready to help a community to make it safe and beauty for the future generations. There was many things to observe around the Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Brooklyn Roasting Company. The skyline was great, having Manhattan right in front of you and being able to look at the nature of the park behind you. Also the condo’s that are being renovated inside the park which later in the future will attract many people. The ferry which transports people from borough to borough, very good source of transportation. They also have the ice cream factory which is a big hit in the summer. They also have an area where you can charge your phone. It’s a solar equipment so it’s energizer is the sun. Pretty cool, they also have an area to get a snack, they have Shake Shack right across from the park. ”Lizzmonade” is a nice place to get a fresh drink. Not far from the waterfront they have a carousel and the open water view right in front of you. The Brooklyn Roasting Company was a fun experience it was great to see how they actually process it before serving the coffee. I really liked their idea of having the process right in front of the customers it made me feel more open to them. The lady giving us a tour showed us their process of roasting the coffee beans, gave us a chance to smell it and feel it. It was a great experience, cold but i enjoyed it.

Brooklyn Waterfront Trip

Cultural Tourism: A type of tourism where people from different parts of the world come to visit and explore a country’s culture especially people’s lifestyle, art, food, and architecture. In Wikipedia, “Cultural tourism (or culture tourism) is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region’s culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped shape their way of life.”

Members: Boey, Steven, Gion Sun, Michelle, Kathy

Cultural activities in the Waterfront:

1. The Fence – is a collaboration between United Photo Industries, Photo District News (PDN), Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Flash Forward Festival, and Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) as they join forces to curate and produce this unique site-specific exhibition aimed at fostering conversations and exploring new thematic directions in photography. Armed with the task of curating such a large, public exhibition, UPI assembles a jury of more than 30 highly-respected professional photographers from around the world. They offer their time, energy, and years of experience to curate this monumental outdoor exhibition – presenting the work of 40 talented photographers from around the world to a combined audience of over 1.5 million visitors each summer. New Yorkers are always proud of their art works, no matter it’s the scrawl on the wall or the art collection hold in fancy place. Art shows the sense of New Yorkers and the culture of United States, artists use their way to show America in their eyes. It’s a really good way to learn culture from the eyes of artists.

2. Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) – BAM the Brooklyn Academy of Music (founded in 1862), is a major cultural force in both Brooklyn and New York City overall. With an international reputation for edgy, provocative pieces, it’s one of the stars in New York’s cultural and performance firmament. Find out about BAM, the BAM Bus, the BAM Opera House, the Harvey Theater, the BAM Fisher space, and BAMCafe. Find out where it is, what venues are part of BAM, annual festivals from the edgy Next Wave Festival to the ethnic DanceAfrica, and more about this dynamic performing arts center.

3. Jane’s Carousel – When you go to the Brooklyn Waterfront, one activity that you can not miss is to take a spin on the beautiful, antique Jane’s Carousel, especially when you with your kids. Jane’s Carousel has a long history, it created in 1922, and it still keep its intact now. Its housed in a gorgeous glass pavilion, you can enjoy it rain or shine. Also, you may interested in the decoration of the horses, the horses were rendered in faithful detail, every horse like endow a life when it spinning, it is lifelike and it looks like they are running around the room. All in all, when you take a ride on the carousel, you can also enjoy the art of the horses.

4. Biking at Brooklyn Bridge Park – Biking is a transportation option for tourists or people who are interested in cycling around the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Biking is a fascinating activity that can let New Yorkers and visitors get around the Brooklyn Bridge Park by themselves and without worries, because they can rent CitiBike from one station and then return to another station. CitiBike is New York City’s bike sharing system, and there are bike racks located throughout the Brooklyn Bridge Park. People can bike around Waterfront greenway to traverses the park from Pier 1 to Pier 6, and to sightseeing Brooklyn Bridge Park in order to enjoy their leisure moment. In addition, tourists can explore the park by biking in order to learn the history of Brooklyn Bridge Park and to figure out different activities in the park.

5. Brooklyn Roasting Company – Just a few blocks away from the Jane’s Carousel is a popular coffee shop called The Brooklyn Roasting Company. This coffee shop is located in 25 Jay St, Brooklyn. During the trip, we stopped by there to get some details on what they do and what kinds of coffee they have. They have different kinds coffee that are imported from other countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Asia, and East Africa. Each coffee has a different taste to it, such as the Brazilian coffee (I guess) which has a strong taste to it than most coffees do. This coffee shop I believe is trying to bring coffee from different countries so their customers can taste coffee from different cultures and know how its different from coffee here.

From this trip, we learned that in the Brooklyn Waterfront has a lot of culture within its history, community, and even activities. The trip also made us see how beautiful the the Waterfront is. An interesting thing I found in the Waterfront was that they have cellphone charger stands that is powered by the sun, along with the street lights there. Going to the Waterfront, you get fast food restaurants like Shake Shack, the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, and the Brooklyn Ice Cream factory. The view there is an amazing site, from the Brooklyn Bridge to the World Trade Center. Many people come to the Waterfront to get a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge and the World Trade Center. After the Waterfront, we went to the Brooklyn Roasting Company. The coffee there is not like what you get at Starbucks or any other coffee shop you go to. Their coffee beans come from different countries. We learned from them that before making a cup of coffee, they must put the coffee beans through a process. The Brooklyn Roasting Company was very delighted to have us visit their shop for our study on tourism. They gave us samples of the coffee they have and even posted a picture of us on their website thanking us for visiting. This trip was a wonderful experience, it expanded our knowledge about tourism.

Tourism on the Brooklyn Waterfront

=Culinary Tourism: LJ, Jasmine, Destiny, Chris  

 

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Culinary Tourism: A way of combining travel and an edible experience, which provides tourist and locals with amazing scenery and/or takes them to a place through the authenticity of the food and leaves them with a memorable dining experience. 

 

5 Significant Activities at the Brooklyn Waterfront:

1) A sweet treat:

 The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is located in Fulton Ferry Landing Pier and it’s known for it’s delicious ice cream.This ice cream shop was once a old fireboat house  which adds to the unique experience when visiting the shop. What makes their ice cream unique is that it is made with natural ingredients and most of their toppings are made from scratch. Although there aren’t many flavors to choose from, the quality flavor is amazing, and sometimes simplicity is the way to go.

2) A Gorgeous view with a side of caviar:

The River CafĂ© is a place with seamless service and a romantic atmosphere.  It was a long journey for the owner to open this spectacular place up. It took the owner twelve years to get a permit, when he finally opened up shop it was in 1977. Many questioned him as to why he wanted to open up business that had nothing around it back then. To him, he didn’t see just a deserted place, he saw romance. Now, over three decades later, tourist can enjoy an elegant meal, and soak up the beauty of the Manhattan Skyline.

3) Cuisine that will make you Salsa:

Phil’s Crummy Corner is located in the Red Hook section of the Brooklyn Waterfront. If you are in the mood for authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, but don’t have the time nor funds to go to Puerto Rico, no worries, because Phil’s Crummy Corner is here to the rescue. Phil’s Crummy Corner  serves authentic Puerto Rican food and hospitality to all customers, tourist and locals. Even though it doesn’t have a waterfront view, it is a short walk away from the the beautiful riverfront. As the aroma of the food hits you as soon as you walk in, you will feel as if you’re in a small town in Puerto Rico eating Abuelita’s homemade dishes. Phil’s Crummy Corner also has happy hour for all who love to have a great time. This restaurant brings a beautiful tropical island to the big city.

4-5)  Pizza, Pizza, Get Your Pizza!:

If you’re hungry and have a craving for pizza you could try out Juliana’s Pizza or Grimaldi’s Pizza. These amazing pizzarias are located near the Brooklyn Bridge Park and they are neighbors. During lunch hour their wait line is really long but it’s worth the wait because of their interesting history between the two and their pizza are just amazing. If you wait in front of Juliana’s Pizza they have their history in a little small printout for customers in line to read while waiting. Their pizza are different from the ones you see nowadays because they use coal fired brick-oven. Grimaldi’s Pizzeria is one of the most popular restaurants in New York City. In recent years, Grimaldi was No. 1 Pizzeria in New York. Grimaldi does not take reservations and you could not buy slices, only whole pies. There are three sizes of pizza you could order in Grimaldi’s 12in, 16in and 18in. They would let you customize your pizza if you don’t like their menu.

Our Experience At The Brooklyn Bridge Park

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Historic/Heritage Tourism Group: Amethyst,Bernaldo,Li-Man,Kelvin,and Qiansu

What is Historic/Heritage Tourism?
Historic/Heritage Tourism is a branch of tourism that focuses on experiences that allow the traveler to encounter places that consist of cultural attractions.

Our experience of historic tourism at the Brooklyn Bridge Park has encouraged each of us to have a different outlook for travelers. We believe that history plays an important role in Brooklyn. As we walked along the Brooklyn Ferry Landing we noticed different metal tablets on the ground about George Washington. It made us reflect on American history.Visiting the Brooklyn Roasting Company brought us comfort to know that history truly does repeat it’s self.

5 Historical Activities at the Brooklyn Bridge Park

1. Jane’s Carousel
Jane’s Carousel is located at Dock St.Brooklyn,NY 11201
This restored carousel is beside a breath taking view of the East river, Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. It was created by Daniel C. Muller and was once apart of the Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. For only two dollars you can ride the carousel and see the hard work of Jane Walentas up close. She is responsible for the refurbished carousel, it took her about twenty-five years to reproduce the beautiful wooden horses. It was the first to make the National Register of Historic Places. Jane’s Carousel is a family- oriented attraction and a wonderful once in a life time experience.

2. Brooklyn Roasting Company
The Brooklyn Roasting Company is located at 25 Jay St. Brooklyn, NY 11201
During the early 1900’s Brooklyn was considered to be the “coffee empire” because of the Arcbuckle Coffee Company. this company was selling and processing over 25 million pounds of coffee every month. Currently that company no longer exists but the Brooklyn Roasting Company has been keeping up a great reputation for Brooklyn’s coffee. The Brooklyn Roasting Company unknowingly grew their establishment in the home of the old Arcbuckle Coffee Company factory.The moment you walk into the B.R.C you can see the coffee being roasted and blended together,the place has a wonderful aroma and comforting scenery.Just by purchasing a cup of coffee from The Brooklyn Roasting Company you are making history and encouraging Brooklyn to continue to uphold the “coffee empire” title

3. Ferries at the Brooklyn Bridge Park
The Ferry at the Brooklyn Bridge Park is located between the Old Fulton St. and Furman St.
During the early 1800’s Robert Fulton the inventor of the world’s first steamboat influenced the Brooklyn Union Ferry Company to be a successful form of transportation. Til this day those ferry rides are available. The Fulton Ferry Landing is just near the Brooklyn Bridge and for only four dollars you can get a one way ticket along the east river as many people in history did before. The Old Ferry Landing is considered to be one of the homes to the “Free Black Community”. A neighborhood that was formed after slavery was abolished, to protect the rights of African Americans.

4. The Brooklyn Historical Society
The Brooklyn Historical Society is located at 128 Pierrepont St.Brooklyn, NY
The Brooklyn Historical Society is a museum, library and educational center. It is a “must see” from a historic tourism perspective because it holds over 400 years of Brooklyn’s history. A variety of collections are available to its visitors such as oral history,photographs,historic maps and so much more.The B.H.S also offers public programs such as “Changing the Face of Activism” which helps people understand how social media effects history. The most important thing about the B.H.S is that they don’t disregard current events and you will always learn something new no matter how many times you visit.

5. Bus Tour of the Brooklyn Bridge
The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge occurred On January 3, 1970 by John Augustus Roebling. He was a courageous engineer who had outstanding dreams for this suspension bridge. It took 13 years to build it and 20-30 workers died in the process including the inventor.Despite this tragic incident the Brooklyn Bridge continued to be a world known attraction.On this tour you will be able to see the East River from above and the hard work of all those who passed.

Place Based Learning Activity

I hope that our visit to the Brooklyn Waterfront yesterday was a positive learning experience for you. To finalize learning activity I ask that each group post to the OL using the category “Brooklyn Bridge Park Submission”. The following should be included:

– Area of tourism for your group
– Name of people in your group
– Definition of your area of tourism
– Five significant activities relevant to your area of tourism that can happen on the Brooklyn Waterfront
– What you learned about your area of tourism as it relates to the learning activity
– Your observations from your time at the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Brooklyn Roasting Company