A neighborhood resident told the Brooklyn Eagle that two New York Police Department aviation units were hovering over the scene, which, from the resident\u2019s vantage, \u201cresembled the Washington Square snowball event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Large, social media-triggered crowds are a regular occurrence in the park when weather turns warm, especially over spring break<\/a>. The gatherings, sometimes referred to in postings as \u201cTaking over Brooklyn Bridge Park,\u201d have at times turned violent, with injuries and property damage.<\/p>\n The 84th Precinct usually stages extra police officers in the park during spring break, which for New York City public schools this year is scheduled from April 2-10.<\/p>\n Social media post calling for \u2018viral moments\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n Eric Landau, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park, told the Eagle that the park became aware of the social media post calling for a mass gathering, and reached out to the organizers in advance to get a handle on the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cOur team monitors all social media channels to see what people are saying about the park generally,\u201d Landau said. \u201cOn Friday [March 6], we came across a social media post that called for a gathering at Brooklyn Bridge Park because it was going to be 70 degrees.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically it was like, \u2018Hey, everybody meet up at Brooklyn Bridge Park Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to create viral moments, but fighting won\u2019t be tolerated. So don\u2019t fight.\u2019\u00a0We\u2019ve seen this before, where someone posts something on social media and it draws big crowds. BBP staff reached out to the organizer to inform them that large groups needed a permit, and asked them to contact the park in advance.\u00a0The person that we sent that comment to, the organizer, as I understand it, mockingly shared our post on social media and then blocked us from sending him any further messages.\u201d<\/p>\n BBP then contacted the 84th Precinct to let them know that \u201csometimes these large gatherings have led to challenges in the park,\u201d and the precinct responded, he said. \u201c Captain [Erek] Powers<\/a> and his team had a detail in the park prior to that 3:30 p.m. call time \u2014 they were here around 2-2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n By 4:30 p.m. there were \u201ca few hundred\u201d teens gathered on Pier 2, which holds basketball, pickleball and handball courts, and other exercise equipment. They were \u201cjust kind of hanging out waiting for something to happen,\u201d Landau said. \u201cThe feeling was that the crowd was definitely getting large, but that it was still manageable.\u201d<\/p>\n Around 5:30 p.m. that changed, as the crowd \u201cgot a little bit bigger, and fights broke out across the pier,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was at that time that NYPD said to us that they felt that the situation was no longer manageable, and therefore recommended closing the pier.\u201d Police began directing everybody out of the park via Atlantic Avenue, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs they were doing that, more fights continued, as I was told, and some of the people were fighting with NYPD. NYPD called for additional officers, and got everybody on the pier out of the park. They did make a number of arrests,\u201d Landau said, adding he didn\u2019t have details concerning the exact charges.<\/p>\n By 7 p.m., everyone involved was no longer in the park, Landau said. There were no injuries or destruction of property, he was told.<\/p>\n \u201cSo from our perspective, we became aware of this in advance, we tried to reach out to the organizers to explain how park rules and regulations work. That was unsuccessful. We worked in close coordination with the local precinct [to handle] the situation as best as humanly possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe you can prevent these types of things from happening. All you can do is manage it. I do think that we managed it as best as possible. Obviously, public parkland should be public parkland. It should be open to everyone. And when this type of thing does happen \u2014 and it\u2019s happened in the past, obviously \u2014 what we can do is manage it and work with our partners as closely as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Plaudits for the 84th<\/b><\/p>\n Community groups, including the Brooklyn Heights Association and the Willowtown Association have been pushing for years for more park supervision and crowd management<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Linda DeRosa, president of the Willowtown Association, told the Eagle that she heard \u201ca lot of commotion\u201d on Monday, and discovered that the 84th Precinct had closed Joralemon Street after the ruckus broke out. She saw police shepherding teens \u201cwho looked like they were around 15 years old,\u201d out of the park via Atlantic Avenue and at Pier 1 (Old Fulton Street), she said.<\/p>\n In years past, groups of youth have caused trouble on Joralemon Street as they exited the park, some jumping on cars and others crowding into shops, grabbing items and running out without paying.<\/p>\n DeRosa said it was \u201cupsetting\u201d that the mass groups of youth were starting so early this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut I want to thank Captain Powers,\u201d she said. \u201cHe did a really good job, getting the crowd under control very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Bringing in Elite Learners again<\/b><\/p>\n Councilmember Lincoln Restler has been working for several years on the mass crowd<\/a> problem.<\/p>\n In his recent newsletter, Restler said that, at his encouragement, the management of Brooklyn Bridge Park brought on a nonprofit organization, Elite Learners, to help manage crowds and deescalate large gatherings of young adults over spring break. \u201cMoving forward, we are evaluating appropriate crowd sizes of young adults on Pier 2,\u201d Restler said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Landau said the park worked with Elite Learners last year on several occasions and would be working with them again during spring break this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously spring break is the time where we have seen this dynamic play out,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will work closely with both our Park Enforcement Patrol detail, as we did on [that] Monday, and with the 84th Precinct.\u201d<\/p>\n Crowd incidents in Brooklyn Bridge Park through the years<\/b><\/p>\n \u2013 In August 2015, a gang of roughly 20 young adults leaving the park rampaged<\/a> along Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights.<\/p>\n \u2013 On May 11, 2016, hundreds of young people gathered at Pier 2 and a brawl reportedly broke out. An unverified report on social media stated: \u201cBats canes bottles knifes grips it was like world war park<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 Citing large crowds, violent incidents and death threats on social media<\/a>, police closed down Pier 2 on April 27 and on other days in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2013 On April 11, 2017, a Level One Mobilization<\/a> was called as sections of the park were forcibly evacuated by police due to overcrowding, fights and attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 Large, unruly groups and three armed robberies<\/a> took place there in one week in June 2022.<\/p>\n \u2014 In April 2023, up to a thousand high school-aged kids on spring break overwhelmed the park.\u00a0Fights broke out, at least one assault took place and hundreds of youth stampeded<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 In March 2025, a 13-year-old boy was stabbed<\/a> three times in the back after fights broke out among hundreds of teens who had filled the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pier-2-bbp-600x400.jpg\")
Brooklyn Bridge Park\u2019s Pier 2 on the Brooklyn waterfront. Photo: Alexa Hoyer<\/p>\n![\"Park](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BBP-trouble-03-Pier2-Mary-Frost-600x433.jpg\")
Park police shut Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park in April 2023 following a chaotic crowd incident. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/BBP-trouble-01-Pier2-closed-Mary-Frost-600x450.jpg\")
Police shut down Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park in March 2025 following an incident in the park. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n![\"Thousands](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bbp-evacuated-cadman-by-mary-frost-b-600x450.jpg\")
Thousands of park goers streamed out of Brooklyn Bridge Park along Old Fulton Street to Cadman Plaza West, shown above, in 2017 after sections of the park were evacuated by police. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bbp-pier2-closed-cop-cars-4-27-16-by-mary-frost-b-600x422.jpg\")
Police closed down Brooklyn Bridge Park\u2019s Pier 2 in April 2016 after large crowds, violent incidents and death threats on Facebook. Photo: Mary Frost\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n