Last week they announced that everyone had to get off the ferry in SI. Security was going ensure that everybody did. We got off, walked out the exit and right back in.
Yeah, I guess you do technically have to get off the ferry. I guess what the puppet in the video really means is don’t stay on Staten Island.
Although I did notice that there’s a minor league ballpark with an amazing view of the harbor right next to the ferry dock. Not an option for this time of year, but might be a fun excursion for some.
Aaaand we have returned. Thank you all for your input. We rode the Staten Island Ferry (it does give excellent SoL views) and walked the Brooklyn Bridge in the Manhattan direction. We had to take a subway from our Brooklyn hotel into Manhattan to get a connection to the train that would take us back to the Brooklyn end of the bridge so we could walk back into Manhattan, but that is the direction with all the views, so I recommend that plan. The views were definitely good for both things.
I was hopeful when we saw a sign in Grand Central for “Observation Deck” but that turned out to be the Vanderbilt One $39 “Experience” (which was closed that day anyway) so that was a bust.
We spent a bit of time on the highline, but it was largely underwhelming. The views are middling and it’s absurdly crowded. If I were one of the locals that used to enjoy it before it became an official park I would be pissed.
We also violated every single COVID boundary our family has been hanging on to, but that’s another story.
Sounds like a lovely visit!
To be fair, no one was really enjoying the High Line before it became an official park - it was a disused railway line that was closed to the public. (There are certainly locals who think turning the High Line into a public park damaged the surrounding neighborhood’s “character,” but that’s another story.)
I’m sure I read an article in the pre-park days about locals who had found ways to access it (it’s directly connected to several building right at window level for one thing) and enjoyed it both for its park-like properties and its transportation potential. But that was years ago so I could be remembering wrong.
If you’re willing to pay, I highly recommend The Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards. I’m not sure of the price, as I went to it for a business event last spring. The outdoor view from the overhang is probably the widest single view you can get. Plus, they have this glass floor that allows you see see straight down (although it’s just over the top of another building, so you just see that roof).
I’m sure you did - but I suspect that something different was meant by “enjoying” when it was just an unused rail line. It wasn’t really park-like , just weeds growing along the railroad tracks. I’m sure it was used much like some railroad tracks where I grew up were used - there were always holes cut in the fences because 1) Due to the ways various passenger and freight train tracks ran, you could either walk the equivalent of a couple of blocks to a nearby mall from my house using the tracks, or over 1.5 miles without trespassing and 2) It was a good place to go if you were a teenager didn’t want to get caught doing something.