Editing Brooklyn Bridge (section)

==== Approaches ====
Each of the side spans is reached by an approach ramp. The {{Convert|971|ft|m|abbr=|adj=on}} approach ramp from the Brooklyn side is shorter than the {{Convert|1567|ft|m|abbr=|adj=on}} approach ramp from the Manhattan side.<ref name="Barnes p. 28" /> The approaches are supported by [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance-style]] arches made of masonry; the arch openings themselves were filled with brick walls, with small windows within.<ref name="NYCL" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/lpc/downloads/pdf/presentation-materials/20180710/Brooklyn%20Bridge.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916194911/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/lpc/downloads/pdf/presentation-materials/20180710/Brooklyn%20Bridge.pdf |archive-date=September 16, 2018 |url-status=live|title=Brooklyn Bridge|date=June 29, 2018|website=[[Government of New York City|nyc.gov]]|publisher=[[New York City Department of Transportation]]|access-date=June 18, 2019}}</ref> The approach ramp contains nine [[Arch bridge|arch]] or iron-[[girder bridge]]s across side streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn.<ref name="McCullough pp. 330-331">{{harvnb|ps=.|McCullough|1972|pp=330–331}}</ref>

[[File:Brooklyn Banks (4094206902).jpg|thumb|alt=The Brooklyn Banks, a skate park composed of brick obstacles under a series of steel viaducts|[[Brooklyn Banks]] skate park, seen in 2009]]

Underneath the Manhattan approach, a series of brick slopes or "banks" was developed into a [[skate park]], the [[Brooklyn Banks]], in the late 1980s.<ref name="nyt20100513">{{Cite news|last=Branch|first=John|date=May 13, 2010|title=To Fix Bridge, Skateboard Mecca May Be Lost|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/sports/14skateboard.html|access-date=May 11, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032411/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/sports/14skateboard.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The park uses the approach's support [[pillar]]s as obstacles.<ref name="nyt20050624">{{Cite news|last=Porter|first=Justin|date=June 24, 2005|title=Under a Bridge, And on Top of the World|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/nyregion/under-a-bridge-and-on-top-of-the-world.html|access-date=May 11, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309015737/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/nyregion/under-a-bridge-and-on-top-of-the-world.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the mid-2010s, the Brooklyn Banks were closed to the public because the area was being used as a storage site during the bridge's renovation.<ref name="nyt20100513" /> The [[skateboarding]] community has attempted to save the banks on multiple occasions; after the city destroyed the smaller banks in the 2000s, the city government agreed to keep the larger banks for skateboarding.<ref name="nyt20050624" /> When the NYCDOT removed the bricks from the banks in 2020, skateboarders started an [[online petition]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=It Looks Like the Brooklyn Banks May Be Done|url=https://skatenewswire.com/brooklyn-banks-destroyed/|date=May 10, 2020|website=Skate Newswire|language=en-US|access-date=May 11, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814044115/https://skatenewswire.com/brooklyn-banks-destroyed/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2020s, local resident Rosa Chang advocated for the {{convert|9|acre|adj=on}} space under the Manhattan approach to be converted into a recreational area known as Gotham Park.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Leland|first=John|date=July 27, 2024|title=You See Rubble and Garbage. She Sees New York's Next Great Park.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/27/nyregion/gotham-park-brooklyn-bridge-rosa-chang.html|access-date=July 28, 2024|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Some of the space under the Manhattan approach reopened in May 2023 as a park called the Arches;<ref>{{cite web |last=Izzo |first=Christina |date=May 26, 2023 |title=The Arches, a new public park, opens beneath the Brooklyn Bridge |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/the-arches-a-new-public-park-opens-beneath-the-brooklyn-bridge-052623 |access-date=November 17, 2024 |website=Time Out New York |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Shivonne |first=Adeja |date=May 24, 2023 |title=Brooklyn Bridge turns 140, with a new addition open to the public |url=https://www.fox5ny.com/news/brooklyn-bridge-turns-140-the-arches-mayor-adams |access-date=November 17, 2024 |publisher=FOX 5 New York}}</ref> this was followed in November 2024 by another {{convert|15000|ft2|adj=on}} section of parkland.<ref>{{cite web |last=Quigley |first=Liam |date=November 17, 2024 |title=Public space reopens beneath Brooklyn Bridge, giving Chinatown a bit more room to breathe |url=https://gothamist.com/news/public-space-reopens-beneath-brooklyn-bridge-giving-chinatown-a-bit-more-room-to-breathe |access-date=November 17, 2024 |website=Gothamist}}</ref>