On a sultry afternoon recently, Regina Myer, president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, walked past profusions of swamp milkweed, rose mallows and cardinal flowers. Interspersed with lawns, the red and purple flora carpeted a new area of the park, which stretches for 1.3 miles along the East River. Until recently, Pier 6 near Atlantic Avenue had been largely barren. Now it evoked a Vermont meadow in midsummer.

“Pier 6 is a space where people can really relax and enjoy natural beauty, but atop a concrete deck in the middle of the East River,” Ms. Myer said. “It provides a landscape that you can almost get lost in.”

In recent months, Brooklyn Bridge Park has faced its share of travails, which at times seemed to eclipse the actual parkland. In May, the park corporation, which oversees the development of both the park’s public spaces and commercial real estate, settled a lawsuit brought by a community group, People for Green Space Foundation, over the development of two new residential towers that will include affordable housing. Other groups have complained about blocked views and increased traffic, and the park’s high-design Squibb Park Bridge has been closed for almost a year.