PHOTOS: New Pier 76 In Hell's Kitchen Finally Opens To Public

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Officials formally opened the new Pier 76 open space on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the yearslong effort to eventually build a park on the site that until recently housed the NYPD tow pound.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo cut the ceremonial ribbon Wednesday afternoon, joined by other elected officials and leaders of the Hudson River Park Trust — the nonprofit that will take control of the pier and design a longer-term use for it.

It is now open to the public daily, during the same hours as the rest of Hudson River Park.

Since March, the state has worked rapidly to convert the five-acre pier, which stretches into the Hudson River at West 36th street, into an interim open space. Crews tore down the ungainly metal shed that had topped the pier for decades, leaving only a skeleton of beams and an asphalt floor.

Pier 76 had been at the center of a 23-year battle between the city and state, ever since the 1998 state law that established Hudson River Park called for the city to "use best efforts" to relocate the tow pound. After the state upped the pressure on the city last year, the NYPD finally packed up and left Pier 76 on Jan. 31.

"What this Pier 76 says is, yes, you can reimagine what you want to see, and you can do it," Cuomo said in a speech before the ribbon-cutting.

The mood on the pier was celebratory, though Cuomo refused to take questions from reporters, as he has done for months while fending off an impeachment inquiry stemming from allegations of sexual harassment and his administration's handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.

The new pier is a wide-open space that still bears an obvious resemblance to a parking lot, though concrete benches and planters have been scattered around it. Park trust leaders suggested last fall that the interim space hold outdoor concerts, food festivals or public artworks, but it is not yet clear whether any such uses are planned.

Wednesday's ceremony took place hours before Pier 76 was set to hold an opening-night screening of "In The Heights" as part of this year's Tribeca Film Festival. (The screening area takes up the northern end of the pier, leaving the rest open to the public.)

At 725 feet long and 300 feet wide, Pier 76 is larger than a typical city block, and now ranks among the largest of Hudson River Park's network of waterfront open spaces.

Once construction begins on a permanent transformation of the pier, the park trust plans to lease out part of the property for private use, including a possible office building, in order to raise revenue for annual upkeep.

Related Pier 76 coverage:

• West Side's New Pier 76 Park To Open This Summer, Cuomo Says
• NYPD Vacates Hell's Kitchen Tow Pound, Opening Up Pier 76
• 'Amazing': Cuomo Celebrates Hell's Kitchen Tow Pound Departure
• What Does The Future Hold For Hell's Kitchen's Pier 76?