Water Taxi Beach was an artificial temporary beach operated from 2005 to 2010 on a wharf on the East River in the Hunters Point section of Long Island City, in the New York City borough of Queens. It was operated by the New York Water Taxi Company and was open to the public for free during the summer months. The beach was also rented for private parties. In concept, Water Taxi Beach is similar to Paris Beach in Paris, France. The beach was operated by Harry Hawk and Tony Rosciglione and partners who ran the beach owned by NY Water Taxi, now Harbor Experience Companies.
The restaurant Harry's at Water Taxi Beach serves barbecue-type foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, wine, and tropical drinks. There is also a full catering menu. In May 2008, Harry's won first place in a contest to determine which restaurant had the best burger in the boroughs
The beach concept was created in 2005 as an experiment in community and economic development by New York Water Taxi to attract Manhattanites to Long Island City and to make weekend ferries serving the new residential high-rises near the beach financially viable. The success of the beach has led New York Water Taxi to propose a similar project in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Since 2007 Water Taxi Beach has been one of the main sites of the annual NYC Food Film Festival.
In March 2008, additional sand was added to the property, expanding its size and making room for three new beach volleyball courts.
In 2005, the company started planning service to Governors Island in 2005, started service on June 2, 2008, and opened a Water Taxi beach there on July 10, 2009. A beach was also opened at the South Street Seaport on Memorial Day Weekend, 2009.
Read more about Water Taxi Beach: Property Ownership
Famous quotes containing the words water, taxi and/or beach:
“A spring,
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“I have done almost every human activity inside a taxi which does not require main drainage.”
—Alan Brien (b. 1925)
“The dominant and most deep-dyed trait of the journalist is his timorousness. Where the novelist fearlessly plunges into the water of self-exposure, the journalist stands trembling on the shore in his beach robe.... The journalist confines himself to the clean, gentlemanly work of exposing the griefs and shames of others.”
—Janet Malcolm (b. 1934)