From October through February, Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park closes at 9 p.m. Inland, the Dumbo Improvement District's Halloween projections on the Manhattan Bridge run from dusk to 11 p.m. Those two schedules sum up how Dumbo works this fall. The waterfront is cutting back for the season. Meanwhile the stretch of Pearl Street under the bridge has dated events from the first of October through the first Thursday of December.
This is the first fall the Archway has worked that way. The city's six-year street project ended only last winter. It left behind a permanent plaza next to the bridge, and the fall programming is built around that plaza.
The Waterfront Is Running a Shorter Day
Brooklyn Bridge Park's October 1 alert page reads like a seasonal wind-down. Since September 14, the Pier 6 Water Lab has opened only when the temperature tops 80 degrees. The Tarzan swings in Pier 6 Swing Valley were removed after wear and tear and are being replaced with new versions this fall. From Sunday, October 4, through Friday, October 9, parts of Emily Warren Roebling Plaza and New Dock Street are closed for setup, the event and load-out of the park's gala.
The rotating lawn closures continue into mid-October. The Pier 1 Harbor View Lawn is closed October 5, Pier 6 Liberty Lawn October 8, Pier 1 Bridge View Lawn October 12, Empire Fulton Ferry Lawn October 14 and the Pier 3 Outboard Great Lawn October 15. At Fulton Ferry Landing, a work barge is staged in the former Bargemusic slip for pile and bulkhead repairs that run through December. The park says most of that work happens overnight to fit low-tide windows and ferry traffic.
The park still has fall events. The free Harvest Festival is Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Pier 6, with a pumpkin patch, a children's corn maze, crafts and music. The Pier 2 Roller Rink's 12th season runs through November. These are daytime events, though, and some run on a closing date. Once the sun is down, most of the dated events on the neighborhood calendar move inland.
What the Street Project Left on Pearl Street
On November 19, 2025, the city declared its $108 million Dumbo infrastructure project finished. The work, which began in 2019, covered 26 blocks, restoring cobblestones on 25 of them and converting Gold Street between Front and Water from asphalt to cobblestone. It also added granite bike paths set into the streets, rebuilt storm sewers and created Pearl Street Plaza. The BID's own construction page dates completion to December 2025. Either way, the street work has only been done for one winter, spring and summer.
According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the plaza covers 2,500 square yards and has lighting, fencing, planters, umbrellas and seating. The Archway next to it got new lighting as well. That lighting and seating are what make evening events possible here. A dark underpass with temporary barriers can hold a weekend flea market. A finished, lit plaza can hold a DJ set at 9 p.m. in October.
The Archway also has something the waterfront piers lack, which is a bar. The BID describes the Dumbo Archway Bar as a seasonal operation run by the team behind Brooklyn Flea, serving beer, wine and cocktails. The BID's listings for the Projection Walk, Dumboween and the tree lighting each include drinks from the bar.
October 1 Showed How the Season Would Run
The BID and Art in Dumbo opened the art season with the first Dumbo Projection Walk on Thursday, October 1. A dozen outdoor video projections ran from dusk to 10 p.m., with more than a dozen stops along a route from St. Ann's Warehouse to the galleries on Jay Street. Nineteen galleries stayed open from 6 to 8 p.m. as part of the First Thursday tradition. In the Archway, Nickodemus and friends played an all-vinyl set with live saxophone and percussion from 6 to 10 p.m. The opening piece on the BID's projection list was Explorers (2026) by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo.
The BID's description shows how the evening was laid out. The walk ran along the waterfront and the cobblestones, but the party was in the Archway, and at 8 p.m. it turned into an after-party with the first 100 drinks on Team Dumbo. The art was spread across the neighborhood, and the bar, the DJ and the after-party were under the bridge.
The rest of the fall calendar is set up the same way.
The Arch Calendar, October Through December
| Date | What | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every Saturday and Sunday | Brooklyn Flea | Dumbo Archway, 80 Pearl Street | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Week before Halloween through October 31 | Manhattan Bridge projections by Motomichi | Plaza side and Adams Street side of the bridge | Dusk to 11 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 31 | Howl-O-Ween dog costume contest | Car-free Washington Street | 2 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 31 | March to the Arch, then the Archway Party | Starts on Washington Street between Front and Water | 3 p.m. march; party 3:30 to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 31 | Trick-or-treating at 60+ small businesses | Neighborhood-wide | 3 to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 31 | NYC DOT Trick-or-Streets | Pearl Street Plaza | Hours set by DOT |
| Thursday, December 3 | Holiday Tree Lighting | Dumbo Archway + Plaza | 4 to 7 p.m.; tree lit at 5:30 |
The projection start date needs checking before you plan around it. The BID's Dumboween page says the Motomichi projections begin "Friday, October 24," but October 24, 2026, is a Saturday. That line may be left over from last year. Brooklyn Bridge Parents' 2026 Halloween guide lists nightly projections starting October 23. Both sources agree on the location. The projections cover the Plaza side and the Adams Street side of the bridge, so they face the new plaza directly.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the BID moved the March to the Arch up to 3 p.m. The route runs through Brooklyn Bridge Park and ends at the Archway, led by a brass band and puppets. The Archway Party includes crafts with Creatively Wild Art Studio, a free photo booth, live music and candy, with drinks sold at The Archway Bar. Participating businesses mark their windows with a pumpkin sign for the 3 to 6 p.m. trick-or-treating. The BID is also running a photo contest for costumed groups photographed in Dumbo on October 29, 30 or 31 and tagged #dumboween2026.
The December 3 tree lighting includes a countdown led by Alexandria Sica, holiday covers from Curtis J. Social and the Dumbo house band, and performances by students from PS307 and Dock Street Middle School. Celestine, Dawn's 'Til Dusk, Ivy Stark Mexology, Jacques Torres Chocolate and the Dumbo Starbucks are donating hot cocoa and treats. Mulled cider will be sold at The Archway Bar, and Augenblick Studios, an animation studio based in Dumbo, made the holiday projections. Bring an unwrapped toy for the 84th Precinct's Operation Sleigh Ride, or packaged non-perishables for the Vinegar Hill Pantry.
A few dates in this period are not yet confirmed. Brooklyn Flea's homepage says the Dumbo market runs "through December 21st," and the BID's holiday page lists an Archway and Plaza holiday market from November 15 through December 21. Neither page gives a year, and the BID page still refers to 2025. Treat those holiday dates as tentative until 2026 listings appear. The BID's Live at the Archway concert series, which started in 2015, is scheduled to return in 2027 and is not on this year's calendar.
Two Changes Still Coming to the Blocks Around the Bridge
Two projects that haven't finished yet are planned for the streets around the Archway.
The first is a restaurant at 53 Pearl Street. In March, Crain's New York and Hoodline reported that Brooklyn chef John Coppola plans to open Dumbo Diner, an all-day restaurant, in about 3,000 square feet on the ground floor of a building that housed John Masury's paint factory in the late 19th century. The target was fall 2026. Hoodline noted that no firm opening date had been released at that point. I could not find a later announcement of an opening, so check before you go. Once it opens, Pearl Street would have an all-day restaurant on the same street as the Archway.
The second is a street change. On October 2, the Brooklyn Eagle reported that NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn kicked off "Biketober" by announcing that work on the bike lanes approaching the Brooklyn Bridge starts next week. In Dumbo, the plan adds a protected bike lane on Adams Street from Sands to York, a standard lane on the block from York to Front, and an upgraded lane on Sands Street from Jay to Adams. The Eagle article gives no specific start day and no timeline for finishing. That stretch of Adams Street runs alongside the side of the bridge where the Halloween projections are scheduled.
Some fixtures near the bridge will stay through winter. Public Art Fund's Guardian Spirit sculptures remain at Pier 1 and at Washington Street and Plymouth Street through March 2027. Washington Street's weekend Open Street, between Water and Front, runs Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Halloween, that block is where the March to the Arch starts and where Howl-O-Ween is judged.
Changes like these, a lit plaza, a new restaurant at 53 Pearl and a protected lane on Adams Street, affect how a building near the bridge feels to live in from season to season. If you own near the Archway and want to know how these changes might affect your building, I'm glad to go through it with you. Lena Simpson offers a private review of what's changing on your block. Request a Personalized Consultation.
