It has become my second home. I was there to greet them when they first relocated to Pier 84, towing their kayaks and paddle boards via kayak as they moved from their previous location at Pier 66 in 2014. I had been paddling folding sea kayaks up and down the Hudson for more than a decade by then but had grown tired of carrying them up to the 79th Street Boat Basin or to the 59th Street when it was completed. So, when MKC arrived at Pier 84, I immediately became friends with the owners and managers and they got used to me assembling and launching and landing my boats there, just two long blocks from my home here in Hell’s Kitchen. Eventually, they asked me to work as a guide, which I love! It has been three seasons now, all year round and I’ve created the history tours I’ve referenced above and get to share them with friends and strangers alike, which is a real pleasure for me, and they have been well received.
It is just a phenomenal place and atmosphere. We offer kayak and standup paddle board training from the basics through to more advanced skills. And once people are ready we take them on trips throughout the harbor, up to Yonkers and the Palisades, to several other spots along the Jersey side of the river, down to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island — even Red Hook Brooklyn and Coney Island — and the big enchilada are the multiple Manhattan circumnavigations we do every season.
There are plenty of events there as well and one of our managers has really greened up the exterior with beautiful plants and shrubs, from roses to tomatoes, and the interior is warm and inviting year-round.
