Question for New Yorkers re. Brooklyn Bridge

Drachen Jager · Mar 13, 2013

Hey all, I have a scene on the Brooklyn Bridge that involves a jumper.

However, I was checking the locations on Google maps, and I find that between the 2009 pictures and the 2011 pictures there is construction. Namely, in the 2011 pictures the bridge is no longer open girders, and the lanes of traffic are completely boxed in by metal walls.

Needless to say, that will make a significant difference in how things play out. I may have to choose a different bridge.

So, native New Yorkers, are the newer corrugated steel walls a permanent feature now, or were they temporary as a part of some construction or something?

Thanks in advance!

benbenberi · Mar 13, 2013

As far as I know they must have been temporary construction-related. The roadways have always (in my lifetime at least) been completely encased in open steel cagework, and the walkway is open-air. It's a year or 2 since I drove over the bridge, but I didn't notice anything different.

Drachen Jager · Mar 13, 2013

Thanks! I was shocked to see how different it looks on portions of Google Streetview. The metal sheathing utterly destroyed the lines of the bridge, and there was no view at all from the vehicle deck.

I ended up putting the jumper on the girders above the bridge deck anyhow. It worked with the story-line and added a bit of drama, but knowing about the metal sheathing will help my descriptions.

cornflake · Mar 13, 2013

I'm not sure about which stuff is currently blocking what but the construction is ongoing, for years more iirc. That doesn't mean that stuff is up the entire time, but it may be. It's being all refurbished, painted, etc., etc.

If you want to check its current look, many of the local tv stations - NY1, WNBC, WABC, WCBS, and stuff like 1010WINS (24-hour radio news), have traffic cams on their websites trained at most crossings.

calieber · Mar 13, 2013

I think the bridge isn't on Street View, for alleged security reasons, but when I was there last -- about a week ago -- the construction was still going on.

But the construction is the only obstacle. The actual, physical bridge may be under construction, but the Platonic bridge is not. Ergo, by the power vested in me as a native Brooklynite and a congenital nitpicker, I declare that anyone who says "but that scene is impossible, because construction" is off-base.

I mean, when someone picks it up in 2063, what are the odds they'll get to the passage and say "but but but the bridge was under construction then!"?

Drachen Jager · Mar 14, 2013

Thanks everyone.

The timeline is vague, but I want it to be near future-ish. I'm not concerned about temporary construction, more that this was some sort of permanent feature to prevent jumpers or something (I encountered a similar situation with a scene at the NYU library, where they do have floor to ceiling metal screens around the atrium to prevent suicide (or at least stop it from happening on their property)). Don't worry, it wasn't a jumper there, and didn't seriously impact the plot, just the descriptions of the space.

Question for New Yorkers re. Brooklyn Bridge

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

benbenberi

practical experience, FTW

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

calieber

Couth barbarian

Drachen Jager

Professor of applied misanthropy