Gantry Plaza State Park
A waterfront park in Long Island City looking straight across the East River at Midtown — arguably the best skyline view in New York, free, and fifteen minutes from Grand Central.
- What it costs
- Free.
- Best in
- Any season
- Where
- 4-09 47th Road, Long Island City, NY 11101
- Official site
- parks.ny.gov
Why the view is better from here
You are directly opposite Midtown, at close range, across open water. Brooklyn gives you Lower Manhattan; the Bronx and Queens interiors give you nothing. Here the Chrysler Building, the Empire State and the whole Midtown wall line up in front of you with the river in the foreground.
Sunset light hits the buildings straight on. It is the single most reliable skyline photograph in New York and it is free and empty compared with the bridge.
The gantries and the sign
The park keeps the two black steel gantries from the rail float terminal that stood here — the cranes that lifted rail cars on and off barges. They're preserved as sculpture and they frame the view.
The Pepsi-Cola sign, a 1940s neon sign salvaged from the bottling plant that used to be on this site, stands on the waterfront and is a designated city landmark.
The walk south
The park runs into Hunters Point South Park to the south, which is newer, larger, and has an elevated overlook and a long pier.
Together they give you about a mile of continuous free waterfront with the skyline the whole way. Allow an hour.
MoMA PS1 is a ten-minute walk inland if you want to make a half-day of it.
Getting there
The 7 to Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue — one stop from Grand Central, about 10 minutes, then a five-minute walk to the water. This is the shortest trip to a great view in the entire city.
The G to 21st Street also works.
The NYC Ferry East River route stops at Hunters Point South, right in the park.
Getting around once you're there
Flat, paved and step-free throughout, including the piers. Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue is not an accessible station; Court Square is, and is a longer walk.