Multiple attempts over decades to establish major motor racing in the New York metropolitan area had repeatedly failed, including proposals for Formula One venues at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and in New Jersey. Formula E's approach succeeded where others had not, partly because its all-electric format offered a solution to the chief objections: the absence of exhaust emissions and significantly reduced noise compared to conventional racing cars.
In March 2014 it was announced that Formula E was working with New York City authorities on a race. On 21 September 2016, FIA President Jean Todt, Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, and city officials formally announced the event, presenting the Red Hook location as the chosen site over alternatives including Governors Island, Central Park, and Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Governors Island was rejected as too costly; a Central Park layout would have required removing trees; and Liberty State Park lay outside the city limits.
Construction of the circuit began on 2 July 2017, just thirteen days before the first race. New York-based McLaren Engineering Group and D'Onofrio General Contractors Corp were contracted to build the layout within the cruise terminal. The work involved erecting temporary barriers, grandstands, pedestrian overpass bridges, and broadcasting cables, while existing infrastructure such as signs and kerbing was removed or modified. Much of the area was also repaved for the event. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on 12 July 2017.
The original 2017 circuit configuration measured 1.220 mi (1.963 km) in length with 13 corners. The layout followed the existing streets and parking areas of the terminal, with the main straight running along the north-south stretch of Bowne Street adjacent to Pier 11. Curving westward, the track paralleled Clinton Wharf toward the Buttermilk Channel coastline. Driver Felix Rosenqvist described the circuit before its inaugural running as comparable in technical character to the Circuit des Invalides in Paris.
Two grandstands served spectators: Grandstand 1 on the main straight in front of Pier 11, and the smaller Grandstand 2 just to the west. An eVillage entertainment area featured technology displays, electric and hybrid production vehicles, racing simulators, and a driver autograph session.
For the 2018 race, the circuit was extended to 1.475 mi (2.374 km), pushing farther north and west to Summit Street and Hamilton Avenue. At the end of the main straight on Bowne Street, the original right-hand hairpin was replaced by a four-turn complex — a left-hander followed by three right-handed turns — before rejoining the second straight. The changes were made to accommodate the second-generation Formula E car introduced in the 2018–19 season, which produced more downforce and power than the Spark-Renault SRT 01E it replaced.
The inaugural New York City ePrix was a double-header event held on 15–16 July 2017, drawing a crowd of spectators to the Red Hook waterfront. Sam Bird of DS Virgin Racing won both races, the first time in the event's history and again on the second day. The race returned for subsequent seasons but was eventually removed from the Formula E calendar, replaced for the 2023 season by a race in Portland, Oregon.
The Brooklyn Street Circuit brought major international motorsport to New York City for the first time in decades, succeeding where prior bids for Formula One and other series had failed. Its waterfront location gave the event a setting unmatched anywhere else on the Formula E calendar, with the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty visible from the racing surface. The circuit demonstrated that electric racing's reduced environmental footprint could unlock urban venues that had long been off-limits to conventional motorsport.