Brooklyn Boro

Icons of the North Brooklyn shoreline seen from the NYC Ferry

Eye On Real Estate

July 5, 2017 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle
So yeah, there are tourists on the ferry to Williamsburg, but Brooklynites are welcome too. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan
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Don’t let the tourists have all the fun.

Take that ferry ride from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Williamsburg. You know you want to.

It’s true that there are long lines of people waiting at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 for this particular NYC Ferry, especially on sunshiny summer days. The $2.75 fare makes this sightseeing voyage one of the cheapest forms of entertainment in all of New York City.

But you can fortify yourself for the wait with a cone from Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, located at the edge of the pier in a 1920s building that originally was the Fulton Ferry Fireboat House.

Once you’re on the ferry, iconic sights along the North Brooklyn shoreline will have you snapping photos like crazy.

As you leave the dock, of course you need to turn towards Lower Manhattan and get a picture of the World Trade Center.

Then before the ferry gets too far away, you’ll want to take a shot of the red-neon “Watchtower” sign over the former headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses at nearby 25-30 Columbia Heights. The religious organization’s name won’t be there much longer.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses recently filed an application for a permit to remove the letters from the sign. The complex now belongs to the Kushner Cos. — which was headed by Jared Kushner until he stepped aside to become senior advisor to his father-in-law, President Trump — and its investment partners.

Next, there’s the famous River Café on a barge at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

In quick succession, DUMBO landmarks appear, including Jane’s Carousel, the recently renovated 19th century coffee warehouses known as Empire Stores and the DUMBO Clocktower.

Moments after the ferry passes beneath the Manhattan Bridge, the Brooklyn Navy Yard comes into view. It’s hard to take great pictures of the historic shipyard unless you have a telephoto lens, so just take a breather for a minute.

The ferry docks in South Williamsburg, but don’t disembark. There’s more to see along the shoreline.

On the second segment of the trip, you can check out the progress that former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s company is making in constructing waterfront apartment tower 416 Kent Ave. At this point, the glass facade has been placed on the lower floors of the building.

Once the ferry sails beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, the Domino Sugar Refinery project appears. If it’s late in the afternoon, keep your sunglasses on — 325 Kent Ave., which is a new building in the development, has a zinc facade whose reflection shines in the East River.

After that, before the ferry pulls into the North Williamsburg dock, you get an eyeful of the Edge and Northside Piers apartment towers.

After you hop off the ferry, there’s a list as long as your arm of things to see and do in Billyburg.  

Why not have a cup of coffee at Du’s Donuts in the William Vale Hotel while you decide how to spend the rest of your day?

 

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