The area previously had served as a contractor staging area for the last decade, supporting restoration of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The latest phase of "The Arches" opened on Monday, adding 15,000 square feet of public space to an area closed off for more than a decade

A public space in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge near Chinatown is reopening on Monday, roughly 15 years after it was closed off and used as a construction site.

A long-closed plot of land under the Brooklyn Bridge has reopened to the public after 15 years — restoring another slice of greenspace for one of the city’s most crowded neighborhoods. The 15,000-square-foot tract in Lower Manhattan is part of a wider area known as “The Arches,