[4]: 3  On August 29, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, het Veer served as a crucial strategic location for George Washington and the Continental Army in the Battle of Long Island.

The community continued to grow into the 19th century as Brooklyn Heights developed into a residential neighborhood,[4]: 4  eventually becoming one of America's first suburbs, as ramps and bridges to the waterfront were built.

By the 1970s, much of the Brooklyn waterfront developments were largely barren and decrepit, causing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to end cargo ship operations in 1983.

[4]: 5 In 1984, shortly after closing cargo ship operations on this stretch of waterfront, the Port Authority decided to sell the vacant piers for commercial development.

In response to these plans, the not-for-profit organization Friends of Fulton Ferry Landing was established in 1985, conceiving the idea of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

[24] New York State Senator Martin Connor and Assemblywoman Joan Millman secured $1 million in funding, and the LDC began an intense public outreach process.

[49][50][51] On the other end of the spectrum, urban planner Fred Kent lamented the park plans as a missed opportunity for development on the waterfront.

[40][56] Excavations for the first part of the park, Pier 1, revealed artifacts from the Jewell Milling Company, a business that occupied the site in the 19th century.

[82][83] Work on a new entrance pavilion at Pier 1 commenced in July 2023,[84] and a pop-up skating rink called Glide opened at the park that December.

[22][86] Curbed architectural critic Justin Davidson wrote that the park was successful in part because Van Valkenburgh remained involved in the project long after it was complete.

Davidson wrote that landscape features were combined to make the park "spectacular but un-precious, informal but highly artificial, tough enough to withstand crowds and violent weather".

[98] The park includes engineering features such as a water garden used as a storm-reclamation system, a series of hills to block noise from the BQE, and several areas designed with microclimates.

[99] The park also incorporates several natural habitats, which have attracted several wildlife species, including the native but now-rare two-spotted lady beetle.

The area includes two landscaped lawns overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbor, a salt marsh with native plants, a playground, a granite lookout, a waterfront walkway, and various food and drink concessions.

[2] Reopened to the public in 1997, Fulton Ferry Landing provides views of the Manhattan skyline and houses the classical music venue Bargemusic.

[102][105][106] The landing contains railings upon which are engraved the Walt Whitman poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry", as well as a deck with bronze reliefs of historic events nearby.

[107] A pavilion adjacent to the fireboat house was proposed for Fulton Ferry Landing in 2019 but was delayed due to objections by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

[69] The pier is surrounded by a waterfront walkway and includes basketball, handball, bocce, and shuffleboard courts; artificial turf; swings; fitness bars; and picnic tables.

[58][68] Additionally, the Pier 3 hill was formed with salvaged material from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's East Side Access tunneling project.

[137][138] The pier, which extends outward from Greenway Terrace, is 5 acres (2.0 ha) in area and contains the park's only lawn, a maze of mirrors, sound installations, climbable artifacts, and stone seating.

[149] In mid-2010, Pier 6, located at the intersection of Furman Street and Atlantic Avenue (at the site of South Ferry), was the second section of parkland to open.

[150][151] The pier contains four themed playgrounds: Swing Valley, Slide Mountain, Sandbox Village, and Water Lab, which collectively span 1.6 acres (0.65 ha).

[95] Spanning 4.8 acres (1.9 ha) of the easternmost section of parkland, underneath the Manhattan Bridge,[163] Main Street opened in December 2002 and was originally operated by NYC Parks.

[168] Two Civil-War era structures, the Tobacco Warehouse and Empire Stores, are located on the site; both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[171] The following year, the city reached an agreement where it would give the warehouse to St. Ann's in exchange for constructing an additional 1 acre (0.40 ha) of parkland underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

The design called for the preservation of the building's original brick walls, and for the creation of a 7,600-square-foot (710 m2) roofless landscaped area in the warehouse's triangular section, which would serve both as a publicly accessible park space and as an entrance to the theater.

[7] In 2013, Brooklyn developer Midtown Equities was selected to redevelop the abandoned Empire Stores warehouses into a mix of commercial and office space, designed by Studio V Architecture.

[176][177] The plan contained commercial and office space; restaurants and event areas; and a publicly accessible central passageway, courtyard, and rooftop.

[180] Upon the opening of other shops, Empire Stores' waterfront location quickly became a popular spot for selfies, especially those with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

[183] The River Café is located in the western part of the Empire–Fulton Ferry section, directly southwest of the Brooklyn Bridge and north of Pier 1.