The Manhattan Skyline Is Best Seen from Outside
Having lived on Manhattan’s West Side since my 18th birthday, when I arrived as a college student, I have always wanted to cross the Hudson River to see my neighborhood from the other side. The sometimes blinding lights of the Jersey side have mocked and beckoned me. What would I find there? How different would it be from the dense urban fabric that I call home?
For years thought about it and procrastinated. Finally, after the latest groundswell of curiosity built for months, I decided to take my leap into the unknown. I should add that, with my having grown up in Jersey, it is not exactly unknown. But I’m a Central Jersey kid and North Jersey might as well be another country, one I occasionally explore with a friend in Hackensack.
The first bus route I planned would have taken me across the George Washington Bridge, down River Road, through Fort Lee and Edgewater. But Google suggested that heading downtown to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and grabbing the NJ Transit 158 bus though the Lincoln Tunnel would be a better option. That would take me through Union, West New York, and Guttenberg. It seemed simple enough until I got to the bus terminal, where I was misinformed about the gate by both the ticket seller and a well-meaning fellow rider. Couldn’t find the information on the badly designed NJ Transit app either.
I was bummed out and considered bailing, despite the already purchased bus ticket in my pocket. But back at the ticket counter, the big boards gave me the correct gate number and I was on my way. The gates at Port Authority remain as grim as they’ve been since the 1970s.
Still, the first glimpse of Manhattan from the bus window was up to long-held expectation, and my spirits began to lift.
I got off at the corner of River Road and Old River Road in Fairview and thought, so this is what it looks like on the other side!
River Road, despite its scenic name, is more like Automotive Road.
But as I headed away from the shelterless bus stop, down Main Street toward the river, a cozy little restaurant and retail enclave revealed itself. There were a lot more restaurants than I’d come to expect from Google Maps, despite obsessive searches and a lot of map-zooming.
And there it was: my view of the Upper West Side from the Jersey shore. With a little squinting, and a working knowledge of the taller buildings in my neighborhood, I was able to locate my building — somewhere in here.
I was not, however, able to access the end of this pier, which would have taken me a few dozen feet closer to home. It was attached to a private development. It is sad to see riverfront access limited to a privileged few, like Gramercy Park in Manhattan, reserved for residents with keys.
I continued on my way along parts of the promenade. It is not blocked altogether, nor is it quite continuous. If I explore here in the future, it’ll probably be a little bit at a time.
A look back at the pier from which I was barred by the stinking rich. I’m guessing these buildings and piers are the source of the blinding bright cool-white lights that disfigure the Jersey shoreline when viewed from my kitchen window.
Despite my mixed feelings as a militant pedestrian exploring a strange land, Jersey is still the land of my birth, and I was moved by an idyllic vista or two. Here, finally, was home seen from a different POV.
At this point I had a couple of restaurants in mind and hadn’t decided where to eat. But when my final destination hoved into view, I knew I’d be eating at the end of this pier — and this time I wouldn’t be barred.
Moderate use of the Samsung A14’s panorama mode got it all into one shot, above. Immoderate pano use got more of the scene into the shot below.
Welcome to Pier 115, your basic American restaurant.
Here’s the pier from whence I came, with a view of buildings that probably were constructed since 1981 when I moved into my much older 1914-vintage building on the other side of the river.
I walked down the long shoebox structure sitting on the pier. The interior was pleasing, futuristic, and maybe a little weird.
I started at the table at lower right, but while waiting for my lemon water, I moved to the waterside booth. Normally this might be rude, but it was a special occasion, and the place was mostly empty on this weekday afternoon.
View from my new table. This is how you should see Manhattan. It was as beautiful as I had hoped. An American flag waved in the sky as water lapped against the pier from below and gulls reeled overhead. You can’t see the cars passing down the Henry Hudson Parkway on the opposite shore — a phone cam can do only so much. But I remember them, and in lieu of the menacing thrum I hear from my side of the river, they were a more silent and benign presence from this side.
These beer-keg facilities in the gents were unique in my experience.
Waterfront menu prices being what they were, I opted for a simple salmon burger. The roll looks like it’s been spanked. Served with choice of greens or fries.
Service was friendly and efficient, the salmon fresh and prepared with a strong note of lemon.
Like a lot of waterfront restaurants I’ve visited recently, Pier 115 avoids bright indoor light that would distract you from the view and its natural light. So this shot looks a little dark. Trust me, the ambience in real life was invigorating.
White poinsettias graced the Xmas tree in the lobby, as I noticed on the way out.
One thing I loved about this long-awaited visit to the Jersey side of the Hudson is that the city fathers of these riverfront towns have had the wisdom not to build a high-capacity highway right along the waterfront, like the one Robert Moses inflicted on my neighborhood. So it is quiet and even moderately walkable here. Now that I know how to navigate the bus to River Road, I think this may not be my last trip. Perhaps when I finish the Staten Island Restaurant Tour, I will embark on a sequel. The Hudson River Restaurant Tour? The North Jersey Restaurant Tour? I remain as in love with the majestic Hudson as I have been since I first set eyes on it as a college freshman, nearly a half-century ago. It is one of the things that has kept me in New York City, and now it is offering a new way to explore the metro area and the world around me.
