DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN -- THE DEPARTMENT OF Transportation announced on Monday that additional sections of "The Arches," a greenspace area on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, are now available to the public following a decade of construction work. This returns one-third of an acre of space to the community, with access to more than a dozen tall shade trees, including oaks, elms and Japanese pagoda trees, as well as sixteen benches.

The Arches parks serve to physically connect the bridge to Chinatown, and began reopening last year to honor the Brooklyn Bridge's 140th anniversary. Previously, the area was a contractor staging zone, supporting restoration for the Brooklyn Bridge over the previous ten years, projects which have together totaled more than $1 billion in investment. The area is bounded by Park Row to the north and Rose Street to the south.