Water Taxi Beach was an artificial temporary beach operated from 2005 to 2010 on a wharf on the East River in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. It was operated by the New York Water Taxi Company and was open to the public for free during the summer months. The beach was also rented for private parties. In concept, Water Taxi Beach was similar to Paris Beach in Paris, France. [1] The beach was operated by Harry Hawk and Tony Rosciglione and partners who ran the beach owned by NY Water Taxi, now Harbor Experience Companies. It was part of a public-private partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. [2]
The beach concept was created in 2005 as an experiment in community and economic development by New York Water Taxi to attract Manhattanites to Long Island City and to make weekend ferries serving the new residential high-rises near the beach financially viable. The success of the beach led New York Water Taxi to propose a similar project at the Atlantic Basin in Red Hook, Brooklyn. [3] In 2005, the company started planning service to Governors Island, [4] started service on June 2, 2008, [5] and opened a Water Taxi beach there [6] on July 10, 2009. A beach was also opened at the South Street Seaport on Memorial Day Weekend, 2009. [7] [8]
The restaurant Harry's at Water Taxi Beach served barbecue-type foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, wine, and tropical drinks. There was also a full catering menu. In May 2008, Harry's won first place in a contest to determine which restaurant had the best burger in the boroughs. [9] Since 2007, Water Taxi Beach was one of the main sites of the annual NYC Food Film Festival. [10]
In March 2008, additional sand was added to the property, expanding its size to about 44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) [11] and making room for three new beach volleyball courts.
Water Taxi Beach was built and located on property owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 2009, the property was acquired by New York City and became under the control of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The land was located next to the Queens West development and slated to be redeveloped with residential housing and a waterfront park. [12] Accordingly, the beach closed for construction works related to the development of Hunters Point South, after the 2010 season. [13] The property is now part of Hunters Point South Park, which opened in 2013 and includes an urban beach near the former site of Water Taxi Beach. [14] [15]
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City in the United States. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, to the south.
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, within the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district. It is part of Manhattan Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, and is next to the East River to the southeast and the Two Bridges neighborhood to the northeast.
Red Hook is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn, New York City, United States, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. It is located on a peninsula projecting into the Upper New York Bay and is bounded by the Gowanus Expressway and the Carroll Gardens neighborhood on the northeast, Gowanus Canal on the east, and the Upper New York Bay on the west and south. A prosperous shipping and port area in the early 20th century, the area declined in the latter part of the century. Today it is home to the Red Hook Houses, the largest housing project in Brooklyn.
The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east.
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a public-benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York City, diversifying the city's economic sectors, and delivering sustainable infrastructure.
New York Water Taxi (NYWT) is a water taxi service based in New York City. It offers sightseeing, charter, and commuter services mainly to points along the East River and Hudson River. It is one of several private operators of ferries, sightseeing boats, and water taxis in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is estimated that 100,000 people ride New York ferries every day.
Gantry Plaza State Park is a 12-acre (4.9 ha) state park on the East River in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. The park is located in a former dockyard and manufacturing district, and includes remnants of facilities from the area's past. The most prominent feature of the park is a collection of gantries with car float transfer bridges, which in turn were served by barges that carried freight railcars between Queens and Manhattan.
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a 25-mile (40 km) radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
Hudson River Park is a waterfront park on the North River that extends from 59th Street south to Battery Park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park, a component of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, stretches 4.5 miles (7.2 km) and comprises 550 acres (220 ha), making it the second-largest park in Manhattan after the 843-acre (341 ha) Central Park.
Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85-acre (34 ha) park on the Brooklyn side of the East River in New York City. Designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park is located on a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) plot of land from Atlantic Avenue in the south, under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and past the Brooklyn Bridge, to Jay Street north of the Manhattan Bridge. From north to south, the park includes the preexisting Empire–Fulton Ferry and Main Street Parks; the historic Fulton Ferry Landing; and Piers 1–6, which contain various playgrounds and residential developments. The park also includes Empire Stores and the Tobacco Warehouse, two 19th-century structures, and is a part of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a series of parks and bike paths around Brooklyn.
Duke Riley is an American artist. Riley earned a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a MFA in Sculpture from the Pratt Institute. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. He is noted for a body of work incorporating the seafarer's craft with nautical history, as well as the host of a series of illegal clambakes on the Brooklyn waterfront for the New York artistic community. Riley told the Village Voice that he has "always been interested in the space where water meets land in the urban landscape."
The Evergreen Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) that ran in Brooklyn and part of Queens in New York City. The line, at its fullest extent, ran between Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. The line consisted of two leased portions. The first portion, between Greenpoint and Jefferson Street, was leased from the Glendale and East River Railroad. The second portion, from Jefferson Street to Ridgewood, was leased from the Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad Company, and was known as the Evergreen Branch, a name later extended to the rest of the line.
Hunter's Point South is a mixed-use development situated on approximately 30 acres of prime waterfront property in 30 acres (120,000 m2) in Long Island City, the westernmost neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Up to 5,000 housing units, 60 percent of which will be affordable to middle class, are expected to be developed on the site. As of Spring 2017, the project had attracted $2 billion from private investors.
The East 34th Street Ferry Landing provides slips to ferries and excursion boats in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located on the East River in New York City east of the FDR Drive just north of East 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The facility, owned by the city, received Federal Highway Administration funding for improvements for docking facilities and upgrading the adjacent East River Greenway in 2008. A new terminal was built and completed in 2012.
The East River Greenway is an approximately 9.44-mile-long (15.19 km) foreshoreway for walking or cycling on the east side of the island of Manhattan on the East River. It is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is separated from motor traffic, and many sections also separate pedestrians from cyclists. The greenway is parallel to the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive for a majority of its length.
Pier 11/Wall Street is a pier providing slips to ferries and excursion boats on the East River in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located east of South Street and FDR Drive just south of Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The ferry terminal has five landings, each with two berths, and is used by four privately owned companies.
Anable Basin is a 500-foot-long (150 m) artificial inlet of the East River located in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. It was carved in 1868 to serve the large concentrations of industrial firms in the neighborhood.
Queens West is a district and redevelopment project along the East River in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The project, located on Hunter's Point south of the Anable Basin, is a joint project sponsored by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESD). The Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC), a subsidiary of ESD, was established in 1992 to facilitate implementation of the approved development plan.
Spring Creek Park is a public park along the Jamaica Bay shoreline between the neighborhoods of Howard Beach, Queens, and Spring Creek, Brooklyn, in New York City. Created on landfilled former marshland, the park is mostly an undeveloped nature preserve, with only small portions accessible to the public for recreation.
Water's Edge was a restaurant on barges moored in the East River on the Long Island City waterfront in Queens, New York that operated from 1983 to 2015. Located at the foot of 44th Drive between Anable Basin and the Queensboro Bridge, the restaurant had a panoramic view of the Midtown Manhattan skyline and was a popular wedding venue.