Recent visits to Steeplechase Pier in Coney Island and the brand-new Little Island in Hudson River Park reminded me that I hadn't talked about another notable new development along the Hudson: Pier 26.
This ecological park, jutting far out into the river off Hudson River Park, opened in September 2020. It endeavors to give an inkling of the natural ecology of the riverbank as Henry Hudson would have encountered it 400 years ago, before European settlement and centuries of industrial development turned the lower banks of the great estuary into a mostly artificial environment.
A walk down the pier takes you through five ecological zones: woodland forest, coastal grassland, maritime scrub, rocky tidal zone, and the river itself.
These environments are not reproduced, but suggested with native plants and infrastructure.
For example, planting a full-fledged woodland forest might not have been practical, but there are some nice young trees among the multitudinous vegetation.
The pier is designed for active visits, leisurely walks – and just plain leisure.
The Tide Deck at the far end of the pier was designed to flood with the daily tide. (Remember, the Hudson River is actually an estuary, not a river.) So you can only visit it on a guided tour.
But you can walk over it and look down.
A look south offers a familiar sight:
Across the river to the west rises the skyline of Jersey City. Most of these buildings didn't exist when I lived there in the 1980s.
When you're finished exploring Pier 26, you could relax at another new New York City attraction, City Vineyard. I haven't been there, but I have fond memories of its late cousin, the old location of NYC's City Winery. (At the new one, live music is back, unlike when I took these photos back in October 2020.)
Or take a walk down my favorite part of Hudson River Park, the sort-of-hidden Tribeca Native Boardwalk, which winds among gardens of native plants. Can you spot the humans secluding themselves in the next two images?
Educational goals aside, Pier 26 is handsomely laid out and landscaped, a beautiful addition to Hudson River Park.
All photos © Critical Lens Media
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