Brooklyn Heights Promenade, New York

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade—locals call it the Esplanade, but you can think of it as New York’s front-row balcony that serves up some of the most jaw-dropping views in the city. From here, the Manhattan skyline stretches out like it’s posing for a postcard, the East River glints below, and the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge Park complete the scene like well-behaved supporting actors.

This lofty walkway owes its existence to one of the great plot twists in mid-20th-century urban planning. Back in the 1940s and ’50s, Robert Moses had a plan to drive the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway straight through the heart of Brooklyn Heights. The residents, not thrilled at the idea of a roaring highway replacing their 19th-century streets, pushed back—loudly. What followed was a negotiation worthy of a city-planning soap opera, ending with a creative solution: a triple-decked cantilever built into the bluff, with the highway hidden below and a pedestrian oasis placed proudly on top.

When the Promenade opened in 1950, Brooklyn Heights gained a new best friend. Elevated above the harbor, it quickly became the ideal spot for soaking in Lower Manhattan, Governors Island, and the river crossings that stitch the city together. Benches, trees, and a generous walkway softened the scene, creating a calm strip of waterfront serenity floating above the traffic humming below.

In 1965, the area became New York’s very first landmarked historic district, and the Promenade hasn’t stopped showing off since. It’s appeared in films, travel photos, and more “best views” lists than it can probably count. And just like in its early days, the community still keeps an eye on it—especially as debates over the aging Brooklyn-Queens Expressway stir up fresh questions about the future of the structure beneath your feet.

Stretching nearly two thousand feet, the Promenade is an easy, breezy stroll. The benches are often filled with people reading, sipping coffee, or pretending not to be taking dozens of skyline photos. And despite the expressway below, the atmosphere remains surprisingly peaceful—a perfect balance of city energy and Brooklyn calm.

Today, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade stands as a vivid example that, when New Yorkers band together, even a highway can become a scenic overlook...