Reviving 44th Drive Pier

Despite excellent views of the Manhattan skyline, deterioration of 44th Drive Pier along the East River in Queens made it an unappealing waterfront spot. It was as if a curtain has been pulled to shield the amazing window facing the city. Aiming to recapture this public space, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation sponsored reconstruction of the pier. It has been a hit with both locals and tourists alike.

“This is beautiful. It’s a different perspective of New York City,” said John, a Kentuckian who visited the pier with his companion based off of a recommendation from the concierge at the local hotel where he was staying. “I’d like to take this back home to Louisville. The better view of the city itself is from across the river.”

The pier is a new selling point for hotels close to the pier, like the Wyndam Garden, the Z NYC Hotel, and the Ravel Hotel, who offer visitors to New York an actual view of the iconic skyline, which isn’t available to those staying downtown. It is also an added bonus for the residents of 4545 Center Boulevard, a high-end luxury condo building nearby.

The space is also a big draw for the Long Island City community. It will be a premier destination in the summer, and especially during the Fourth of July, when New York City puts on one of the country’s largest and most iconic fireworks displays. 44th Drive Pier will be a prime location to watch the action. But the holiday is just one item to the long list of benefits this project will bring to the surrounding community.

The pier now features a new railing, fencing, benches, and lamp posts. It’s an amenity for locals and residents, as well as patrons of Anable Basin Bar located just next to the pier. The space will likely draw people enjoying the views to the local watering hole and other neighborhood businesses.

Another innovative aspect of this project is the surface pattern on the pier’s deck. The deck is composed of an overlapping rectangular grid and overlapping segment bands with circular segment bands made from crushed glass. The visual texture of the glass contrasts with the adjacent concrete and contributes to the deck’s modern and unique aesthetic.

This project has recaptured a waterfront park, which had been poorly maintained and unused, and reestablished public access to the waterfront in an area in need of improvement. As a result of this reconstruction project, the pier was listed in the top five “Best Places with Scenic Views in Queens,” by the popular search-and-discovery social network Foursquare.

Continue reading this article on Urban Engineers’ Excellence blog by clicking here.