Village View Trivia

The Case of the Disappearing Ferry Dock

Text and photos By Brian J Pape, AIA, LEED-AP

As recently as August of this year, the Christopher Street ferry dock was getting some maintenance attention, after several years of sitting lopsided in the water, no longer receiving passenger ferries at Pier 45. It gave one hope that the ferry service might be returning soon. Our readers might remember that Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 had a major impact on the shorelines of NYC. One result was that the ferry dock at Christopher Street was lifted up over the anchoring piles, causing it to float almost freely in the water. That was remedied by a much larger barge than the one shown, lifting it back up onto the pilings. However, the dock never did seem to regain its level bearings after that, and it sat lopsided inside the pilings, as seen somewhat in the photo above looking west at it from the Christopher Street fountain. Today, if you go by there to see the dock, what will you find? Answer below.

TRIVIA ANSWER:

This was the sad situation in recent months, even after a barge was dispatched to fix the problem. The gangway connecting Pier 45 to the ferry landing is still there, but it leads to nothing but the salty seawater. Today, the forlorn pilings seem to be deserted by its dock. The gangway is completely gone, and you will only see the tops of the dock railings at low tide, since the dock is probably sitting on the riverbed, no longer floating at all. It’s a sad ending to a long journey for this ferry service dock. Perhaps it will spawn an oyster bed?