Brooklyn's Sweetest New Park Opening Soon At Domino Sugar Factory Site
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – It was once the site of Brooklyn's Domino Sugar factory.
Now, Williamsburg has a new park, and people say it's pretty sweet.
It was selfie-time for Wellington Cunha, of New Jersey, and his friends visiting from Brazil. He wanted to expose them to another side of New York.
"Show them different things other than Manhattan," he said.
So he brought them to the new Domino Park, knowing it will soon be the latest hot-spot.
"I feel like I'm at the beach and I'm just staring out into the river," Williamsburg resident Rose Angell Perez said.
"It just seems like its own little slice of paradise," said Bushwick resident Baily Trahan.
The highly anticipated six-acre park isn't officially open yet, but that hasn't stopped many looking to be close to the river from checking it out.
"There's very little access to the water in Williamsburg. We always have to go to Dumbo," Myriam Lopez said.
The park features plenty of new, like a taco stand, volleyball court, dog run and playground. But the designers kept some history, painting and displaying the 80-foot cranes from when the site was a fully functional sugar factory.
Dave Lombino, of Two Trees Management, said it took six years to design the park and plenty of community input.
"The first thing they said was, 'we just want a park, we haven't been able to access this waterfront for over a century,'" he said.
His company is redeveloping the area, paid to build the park and will maintain it.
"I think it's a model that you will see more often. The city is always squeezed for funds," said Lombino.
A few other New York City parks are run the same way, but none as big as this park.
The official grand opening is Sunday.
