79th Street Boat Basin
[3] During the early years of New York City, the current site to Riverside Park was largely undeveloped, consisting of rocky outcroppings and steep bluffs along the Hudson River shoreline.
His design, which was accepted in 1875, included a winding drive for horses and sight-seeing, as well as pedestrian walkways, both accessible from the neighborhoods to the east.
[5] The park was completed by Olmsted's successor Calvert Vaux, but was soon surrounded by coal bins, shacks and garbage dumps.
[5] In the early 1920s, the architecture firm of McKim, Mead and White had submitted a proposal with an elevated traffic circle, covering the railroad tracks beneath.
Moses expanded it into a grand architectural multi-level entry and exit from the Henry Hudson Parkway, all under the name of the "79th Street Grade Crossing Elimination Structure".
[19] The city stopped issuing new year-round permits in 1994, seeking to make space available for seasonal boaters among the basin's 116 slips.
After complaints were received, the Parks Department agreed to an increase to 52 year-round spots, which start at a yearly fee of $5,000, based on the size of the boat.
[20][21] In June 2021, mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city would collaborate with FEMA to overhaul the marina and rotunda; all existing tenants were required to leave by November 1, 2021.
[24][2] Manhattan Community Board 7 objected to the original design by Architecture Research Office (ARO), which called for a boxy 7,550-square-foot (701 m2) boathouse structure.
[3][25] ARO subsequently modified the plans, drawing up blueprints for a 3,800-square-foot (350 m2) structure on stilts, which Community Board 7 ultimately approved.
[14] Rules and regulations covering the 79th Street Boat Basin also apply at the Sheepshead Bay Piers and the World's Fair Marina.
[28] The 79th Street Rotunda, planned and built by former parks commissioner Robert Moses during the construction of the Henry Hudson Parkway is a roundabout that sits next to the boat basin.
The rotunda was built to serve the double purpose of a transportation corridor and a recreational area; the two uses are visually separated into two vertical levels.
[31] The granite and fieldstone open rotunda surrounded by a vaulted Guastavino tiled arcade overlooks the marina.
[36] As well as ongoing uses, the rotunda hosted occasional theatrical performances and art exhibits and has previously provided shelter at night for the homeless.
The Parks Department's web page for the basin lists details for obtaining film permits among things to do at the marina.
[28] The 1986 film 9½ Weeks, starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke, includes scenes shot at the marina and inside a houseboat moored there.
