Pier 45 at Hudson River Park

Pier 45, where you can see the “water’s soul” the giant head statue from Newport, Jersey City.

Stopped by this park because I had some free time and wanted to get some fresh air and this was the perfect place! Lots of bench seating but plenty of people were also just laying in the grass. Nice views of across the river and the surrounding area. There were also some tables and chairs but it was unclear if those were for customers of the food truck. Kind of loud from the traffic but significantly quieter than other parks I've been to in Manhattan! Don't forget to clean up after yourself to keep this park as clean at it was when you visited!

Pier 45 seems a nice to place to run. I walked from Christopher st and saw the water fountain there. The Pier has some tables and chairs under tress, so it seems a nice to place to hang out with friends. There is a mist station. So if you're a runner, the mist helps you to cool down. The bathroom is located near the West st.

very good place to relax， run， enjoy some nature in the city. You can walk all the way from downtown to upper west side.

It was 1:07 pm on the first Summer Saturday in New York City, the sun defrosting the city after a biblical winter. I put my Whole Foods tote bag down amidst a sea of women tanning at Pier 45, took off my black Banana Republic long sleeve t-shirt to use as my towel, and pulled out my book to signal to everyone that I’m simply nothing more than a bookworm. I felt like LeBron.

I had my wired apple headphones in with no music playing, as I’m first team all eavesdrop. I sat there, pulled my shorts up to make sure everyone could see my thigh tattoos, and began judging patrons for reading off of a kindle. Oh me? I’m just more of a physical book kind of guy.

I saw large groups of people playing cards, laughing, sipping wine, and having a genuinely good time. A rage began to fill within me. How do you even know 10 people that you would go to a park with on a nice summer day?

The rage morphed to jealousy, as I began dreaming of having enough friends to play Uno with. I ran through scenarios in my head, laughing at my imaginary friends as I put down an ice cold draw 4. “Wow Johnny! You might be the best Uno player alive. How did you get so good!?!”

Once this fantasy wore off, I began drumming up another one where a prime Eva Mendez was sitting next to me and said “Hi I’m so sorry to interrupt, but what book are you reading?”

I pretended to be caught off guard, paused my wired headphones, and responded “oh me? It’s called ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ by Toshikazu Kawaguchi… Yeah he’s a Japanese author, I got it when I was in Kyoto… Oh you haven’t been to Japan!?! That’s crazy haha it’s my favorite place in the world…”

But yeah, this is a nice place to chill and soak up some sun.

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