• West Harlem Piers (Henry Hudson Pkwy. between St. Clair Place and West 135 Street) – The West Harlem Waterfront Park is a landscaped transformation of the historic Manhattanville shoreline. For thousands of years, the natural topography of this site formed a valley and small sheltered cove off the Hudson River, also known as the North River. This solitary break between the bluffs of today’s Morningside Heights and Washington Heights provided the only direct river access to the area’s earliest native residents as well as a convenient inroad to the area’s early 17^th-century non-native arrivals.
  • Source:  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/west-harlem-piers

 

This post covers the New York New Jersey Rail, LLC and related terminals.

South Brooklyn Marine Terminal

• The South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) is an intermodal shipping, warehousing, and manufacturing complex on the Upper New York Bay in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn in the Port of New York and New Jersey. A recycling and waster transfer facility managed by Sims Metal Management and an auto terminal are major tenants.

The New York and South Brooklyn Ferry operated a ferry from the Battery Maritime Building (formerly known as Municipal Ferry Pier) to the South Brooklyn 39th Street Ferry Terminal, where rail transfer was possible until 1935.

Adjacent to the Bush Terminal it is served New York New Jersey Rail (owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) car float operations and transloading activities via the 65th Street Yard which also connects to the Bay Ridge Branch, operated by the New York Connecting Railroad. Rail infrastructure improvements completed in 2012 connected the yard to SBMT along 1st Avenue as well a new break-bulk rail spur along the 39th Street shed, two new rail sidings for auto rack transloading, and a new rail connection to the SIMS facility at the 29th Street Pier.

SBMT is connected along the South Brooklyn Railway (ROW) to 36th–38th Street Yard. In 2012, the interchange with New York New Jersey Rail, LLC at Second Avenue was refurbished and a new ramp was installed at the 38th Street Yard at Fourth Avenue to allow receipt of new R156 locomotives and other subway rolling stock that are delivered on flat cars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Brooklyn_Marine_Terminal

Red Hook WaterStories

• Welcome to 400+ years of Red Hook history!  Here are many forgotten stories from our evocative neighborhood, and NYC’s maritime story in microcosm.  Explore:
  • A digital museum about our waterfront past and present
  • Red Hook retail, arts, non-profits, schools, recreation
  • Resiliency and flood prep info

  It’s a resource for locals, tourists, history buffs, urban-planners, educators, investors, flaneurs. Explore via menus, the search window or the interactive map. On the map, click the colored, numbered dots to zoom in to multiple items in that location. Then click on a pin to explore that item. Anchor icons mean sites of major importance.

https://redhookwaterstories.org

Red Hook Container Terminal

• The Red Hook Marine Terminal is an intermodal freight transport facility that includes a container terminal located on the Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The maritime facility in Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York handles container ships and bulk cargo. There are six active container cranes along 2,080 feet berth, 3,140 feet of breakbulk berth space, two major bulk-handling yards, and approximately 400,000 square feet of warehouse.  In October 2011 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey took over operations at the site. In 2011, the terminal handled 110,000 container.  Red Hook Container Terminal LLC operates the terminal on the Port Authority’s behalf. Nearly all labor on the terminal is supplied by Local 1814 of the International Longshoremans Association union.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hook_Container_Terminal

Valentino Pier

Ferris St. between Coffey Street and Van Dyke Street, Brooklyn

Now surrounded by industrial, residential, and historic buildings, Valentino Pier was once the site of an active shipping industry. In the 1600s, the Red Hook district was settled by the Dutch. As the land became more developed and the population grew, the shipping industry began to take form. With the growth of the New York Harbor and accompanying changes on the waterfront, Red Hook became one of the nation’s premier shipping centers in the 19th century. This pier is a reminder of the shipping industry that once occupied the waters of the Buttermilk Channel and the Upper New York Harbor.

This park was named in honor of firefighter and Parks lifeguard Louis J. Valentino, Jr. (1958 – 1996). Over the years, Valentino lived and studied in a number of Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Sacred Heart St. Stephens in Red Hook, Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, and St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. He then fulfilled his lifelong aspiration to become a firefighter, joining the New York City Fire Department in 1984. Valentino first served with Engine Company 281, where he battled fires for two years. He then moved on to Ladder Company 147, where he served until 1993, when he was accepted to the elite Rescue Company 2 in Crown Heights—joining the ranks of the city’s most experienced and versatile firefighters. Valentino was twice cited for his bravery, in 1987 and 1990.

On February 5, 1996, Valentino lost his life while searching for wounded firefighters in a three-alarm blaze in an illegal Flatlands garage. Louis Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier preserves the memory of a man who demonstrated selfless devotion to fighting fires and saving lives.

Louis Valentino, Jr. Park and Pier was originally built in 1996 by the City’s Economic Development Corporation before becoming a city park in 1999. From the pier can be seen the Statue of Liberty, Governor’s Island, Manhattan’s skyline, Staten Island, and the New York Harbor. Other parks and attractions nearby include Red Hook Recreation Area/Red Hook Pool, The Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge, and Beard Street Pier.

Source:  http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/valentino-pier

Index to this Post:

• Bethlehem Steel Company, Staten Island, New York
• Brooklyn Army Terminal
• Brooklyn Navy Yard
• Bush Terminal/Industry City
• Hoboken Shipyard
• Marine Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY)
• Naval Station New York

Palisades Interstate Park

Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century. The Palisades are the cliffs on the west bank of the Hudson River across from and continuing north of Manhattan island. The Commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each Governor, who serve staggered five-year terms.

In 1912, George W. Perkins was appointed chairman of the newly formed Commission by governor Roosevelt. He hired Major William A. Welch as assistant engineer, and in 1914 named him chief engineer and general manager. Under Welch’s leadership, the Palisades Interstate Park grew from the initial 10,000 acre (40 km²) Bear Mountain State Park to the more than 40,000 acre (162 km²) Harriman State Park. By 1919 nearly a million people a year were coming to the park.

When work started on the Park there were no existing models or precedents for an endeavor of its nature and scope. Welch organized a massive reforestation program, built 23 new lakes, 100 miles (160 km) of scenic drives and 103 children’s camps, where 65,000 urban children enjoyed the outdoors each summer. He helped found the Palisades Interstate Park Trail Conference and served as chairman of the Appalachian Trail Conference.

The Palisades park system has been expanded over the years; it now includes 24 parks and eight historic sites, covering over 100,000 acres (405 km²) along more than 20 miles (32 km) of Hudson River shoreline and beyond: the Commission also oversees Minnewaska State Park Preserve. The commission also operates the Palisades Interstate Parkway, built between 1947 and 1958.

The Palisades Interstate Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The area included in the landmarking is the Palisades Park in New Jersey, the Palisades Park in New York State, and the Tallman Mountain State Park in New York State.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Interstate_Park

 

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New York District has played a major role in the navigation, development and maintenance of water resource activities in the New York and New Jersey Harbor Estuary for more than 200 years. From maintenance and channel dredging to drift removal and environmental restoration, the New York District has been involved in many facets of port improvement plans.

https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/New-York-New-Jersey-Harbor

• 

  Looking northeast at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal with QM2 in port, from a ferry rounding Red Hook, Brooklyn on a sunny afternoon

  Located in the westernmost portion of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Atlantic Basin is formed by Brooklyn Piers 10, 11 and 12 and sits on the Buttermilk Channel in the Upper New York Bay across from Governors Island. The Atlantic Basin Berthing Site is bordered by Buttermilk Channel to the west, Imlay Street to the east, Red Hook Container Terminal to the north and the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to the south.

Source:  http://docknyc.com/sites/atlantic-basin

• The Atlantic Basin Iron Works was an ironworks that operated in Brooklyn, New York, in the early to mid-20th century. It built U.S. Navy warships during World War I and II.  Founded before 1910,the yard had its headquarters at 18-20 Summit Street.Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Basin_Iron_Works

Ferries

• The following ferries once crossed the North River (Hudson River) between New York City and New Jersey. There was no ferry service between 1967 and 1989, when it was restarted by New York Waterway.
  • List and Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ferries_across_the_Hudson_River_to_New_York_City

Map of the Hudson River ferries to Lower Manhattan, 1879

Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ferries_across_the_Hudson_River_to_New_York_City

• American Merchant Mariners’ Memorial –  Situated off-shore from the north end of Battery Park and just south of Pier A, the
  

  Source: http://briggl.com/images/040604/DSCN0162.jpg

  monument stands on a rebuilt stone breakwater in the harbor. The bronze figural group and boat are based on an actual historical event; during World War II, a Nazi U-boat attacked a merchant marine vessel, and while the mariners clung to their sinking vessel, the Germans photographed their victims.

  • Source:  https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/highlights/9745

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridges_and_tunnels_in_New_York_City

George Washington Bridge

Governor's Island from air

http://www.nps.gov/gois/index.htm

Battery Park City – Map

http://www.batteryparkcity.org/page/index_battery.html

Battery Park City is a 92-acre (0.4 km²) planned community at the southwestern tip of lower Manhattan in New York City, United States. The land upon which it stands was created on the Hudson River using 1.2 million cubic yards (917,000 m³) of soil and rocks excavated during the construction of the World Trade Center and certain other construction projects, as well as from sand dredged from New York Harbor off Staten Island.  The neighborhood, which is the site of the World Financial Center along with numerous housing, commercial and retail buildings, is named for adjacent Battery Park.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Park_City

Ferry Terminals

• Battery Maritime Building
  • http://batterymaritimebuilding.com
  • The Battery Maritime Building is a ferry terminal at 11 South Street near South Ferry at the tip of Manhattan, and is used for excursion tips as well as the seaonal ferry to Governor’s Island.The Beaux-Arts landmark building was completed in 1909 and used by ferries traveling to 39th Street in Brooklyn. Designed by the firm Walker and Morris, it used a variety of architectural metals, including cast iron, rolled steel, and stamped zinc and copper. It was originally paired with a twin, the Staten Island Terminal. The Brooklyn ferry service shut down in 1938, and since then the 140,000 sq. ft.building has seen various city tenants.
    • Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Maritime_Building

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_riverside_park/vt_rs_12_riverside_park_south.html

See also North River Wastewater Treatment Plant

Riverbank State Park as seen from Guttenberg, NJ

See also Riverbank State Park