Whenever I travel into the city, I want a skyline view. I think the Manhattan skyline is one of the most beautiful in the world, and it’s always best captured from another borough. In the Long Island Piers at Gantry Plaza State Park [4-09 47th Rd, Long Island City, NY 11101] give me just what I’m looking for, and a bit more.
You have the beautiful cityscape across the East River, always magnificent at the golden hour of sunset. There are piers to fish/walk out on, a playground, handball/basketball courts, and welcome patches of green. Interesting architecture is everywhere.
Most odd of all are those huge dark industrial looking mammoths, gantries.
They were used for loading and unloading rail car floats and barges. Try and imagine the riverfront covered in these hundreds of years ago. It’s a little park, with some little special attributes, perfect for taking it slow in the big city.