The waterfront around New York City has been undergoing a renaissance over the past few years. Urbanists can look back to the mid-2000s, when the Municipal Arts Society, around since the 1890s, spawned what became the Waterfront Alliance. Alliance efforts to rebuild the waterfront as a place for both people and for commerce coalesced with plans from a pair of city agencies: The New York Economic Development Corporation (NYEDC) and the Department of City Planning. The latter has advanced Vison 2020, a bold and comprehensive plan for more than 500 miles of waterfront.
The NYEDC, which already maintains a dozen ferry landings around New York, has spearheaded efforts to transport commuters by water, and is presently evaluating proposals for a citywide ferry service to launch in 2017.
The idea is to better integrate ferry transport into the city’s overall mass transit system – expanding access beyond traditional commuter routes such as the Staten Island Ferry. Importantly, recently announced plans for a revitalized LaGuardia Airport include a ferry link.
A few weekends back, the Waterfront Alliance organized a series of events billed as the City of Water Day, which drew me to Hudson River Park, a four-mile stretch along the West Side Highway in Manhattan. Activities were taking place across the five boroughs, but my penchant for barge spotting brought me to Pier 26 in the Tribeca neighborhood and Pier 66 in the Chelsea neighborhood, where kayaking and sailing events were taking place. At both locations, I was able to position myself to watch boaters and working harbor traffic on the Hudson, sometimes called the “North River.” In the 1800s, this part of the waterfront was filled with oyster barges.
Tugs, barges, and kayakers share the Hudson River. Photo: Barry ParkerAt Pier 26, plans are underway for a new restaurant, with City Winery (already operating a combination eatery/event space in Tribeca near the Holland Tunnel) successfully bidding to run the concession. In the meantime, the Grand Banks restaurant aboard the Sherman Zwicker, a historic schooner tied up around the corner at Pier 25, offers a fabulous spot for watching vessels and the well-heeled crowd. Diners can enjoy delicious oysters, mainly from the North Atlantic, and wash them down with beer or bespoke “nautical cocktails.”
Further uptown, just north of the well-known Chelsea Piers, visitors have a choice of multiple views at Pier 66 Maritime Bar and Grill. The eating area – a two-story expansive deck — is actually onboard an old barge — an Erie Lackawanna railcar float to be precise. Two historic vessels, the lightship Frying Pan and fireboat John J. Harvey, are tied up alongside. There is a lively after work crowd here, not far from the Highline – an old railroad spur (once linked by Erie Lackawanna car floats to New Jersey and beyond) that’s now a public park.
