The Seaport

If only I could buy or rent an apartment here to live, I would in a heartbeat...

I find the South Street Seaport as one of the few most relaxing and less stressful places in Manhattan. It is often less traffic. During the summer, it is often windy here. There goes the Pier 17 mall where the stores aren't like the ones on Fifth Avenue or the like because the prices are more reasonable and a bit cheaper.

Compare to Times Square or Midtown, the Seaport is less crowded because it is located down south of Manhattan. The only downer here is the parking! Ugh, my gosh where the hell can I park for free?!

Who cares, I prefer to walk...

I've never considered South Street Seaport a tourist trap. Is it though?

South Street Seaport is just one of those places I HAVE to go to when I'm in Downtown and just feel like watching dirty ol' waves and boats pass by, the Brooklyn Bridge right on your left. No one will bother you, no one will call you (horrible reception there). Plenty of seats to sit on and just basically clear your head. There's also some free events in the summer like concerts and food events.

However, the mall is horrible. It's clean but since some independent shops think that just because they are right on the East River, they can overprice some items. Also, a horrible food court. The only vendors that bring about are Nathan's and Subway; the food just isn't good at all. I suggest (if you're willing to) the seafood bars and restaurants above the Water/Pearl St. stretch because any kind of food here is costly.

The South Street Seaport has been my first NYC home in my heart. When I was overseas in the military and came back to NYC, I spent July 4th here when the Statue of Liberty had a facelift in 1986. Here is my list of all time favs about South Street Seaport:

*My kid brother, God rest his soul got his first place in Brooklyn Heights, we used to come here as kids because of the view and dream big dreams.
*I used to bring dates here because its romantical
*BODIES - The Exhibition
*On a date with my wife in the 90s, We went on a brunch/Jazz cruise and I saw Lonnie Liston Smith, my favorite jazz musician in the world
*Carolines!
*Great place for July 4th
*The movie Black Rain had a motorcycle chase scene here under the bridge
*Fulton St Fish market back in the day was here in its gangsta glory

I don't hang out here much, My son likes a graffiti store in the mall so I'll swing by every once in a while. If your a tourist, make this your first place to see. Great views of NYC and lots of NYC history. Enjoy it folks!

For my 300th review, I proud to discuss a lovely example of NYC's resiliency. The South Street Seaport, located way downtown, was all but ground zero during Hurricane Sandy. Not to mention being a stone's throw from the Towers. But it keeps bouncing back and getting better than ever.

The Seaport is (kinda) newly renovated and soooo much nicer than it used to be. There's lots of stores, like Abercrombie and Coach, lots of restaurants and sometimes Smorgusburg is here! Criticisms of the Seaport might be that it's touristy and expensive but what the Hell isn't?

The open seating promenade area is so much fun to sit and people watch or meet a friend for lunch on a business day. They also sell alcohol to make for fun outdoor promenade dranking. There's a couple fun bars just a block away to keep the party going.

No longer exclusively a port to welcome ships carrying cargo, the Seaport has a rich history and evolution. Come, enjoy and take some amazing photos.

I wandered over to South Street Seaport early one morning in search of the TKTS office. It reminded me of being at Pier 39 in San Francisco before the shops open, but much more high end. They have some fancy upscale restaurants and some expensive looking shops in this area. And it's nice and clean too!

I didn't get to spend too much time in this area, but it time permitted, it would have been a nice stroll on a lazy sunny NYC afternoon for window shopping and what not.

And there's a great view of the Brooklyn Bridge from here too!

The South Street Seaport is a cool place to visit if you're in NYC in the downtown area. It's not a main shopping or eating destination per se (although you can get a decent drink). However, contrary to some reviews, I definitely think this is a worthy destination, especially given recent renovations post Hurricane Sandy. The seaport has had a facelift over the years, with some additions of new shops and restaurants. Many locals call it touristy and that's probably a fair description, but it's New York...tourists are everywhere, all of the time.

Personally, I like the seaport for the views of East River, Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. There's a bit of nostalgia as well because I used to come here years ago and have fond memories. Depending on the time of day and the season, if you visit during off times it's not as crowded. This is also a great place to watch the 4th of July fireworks, which occur right over East River! Check it out...take a stroll and hope you enjoy. Happy travels!!!

Whoever designed the bar table in the open space at South Street Seaport is a genius, deserving the Nobel Laureate in urban designing... It's my favorite bar table in the city. When I am sitting on there, I have the broad view of east river, gorgeous skyline of Brooklyn Height, with enjoyable breeze and sunshine. It instantly turned my frustration of being 10 seconds late for the Ikea ferry into a bliss...
Oh, whoever designed the tall watch tower in Brooklyn Height is also a genius - I didn't miss the next ferry.

South Street Seaport is certainly touristy which is why it doesn't overly appeal to me! It beckons why I went at roughly 830am on Saturday morning! I'd certainly rather have the more local food scene, and not that interested in the touristy gift shops. The views and history of the area are well worth your visit though, and should certainly guide you here.....early in the morning before the crowds show up!

I can't believe I haven't reviewed the south street seaport. This used to be one of my favorite places to visit in the summer. I used to attend the after work events here where they played different types of music and people danced or just chilled by the water. There's an array of restaurants that you can check out or bring your own brown bag and enjoy lunch/dinner sitting but the water with views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.

The last time I was there I was surprised at how developed it was since Hurricane Sandy. They have a newer modern mall with typical stores you see in other malls. However, shopping is shopping and I love to shop. You can find all types of street entertainment, there are a few museums. Years ago I checked out Bodies exhibition with my godson and it was pretty interesting.

There's always something to do, see or just being in the experience of people and the beautiful surroundings make this place a must see in NYC for the first time or must see again and again to observe something different.

I'm normally an optimist, but in this case Seaport makes me optimistically pessimistic. South Street Seaport has been a mainstay of FiDi for as long as I've been born. Between the shops, the restaurants, and of course the Mall on Pier 17, the draw, at least for tourists are typically the boats docked here.

Sure, I've been here since my childhood, but there isn't a single (native) New Yorker you can ask that can tell you Seaport is one of their destinations. That's sad given that there's so much potential. In the years GGP ran the mall into the ground, development had been stagnant, and truly a failure under their watch. Who can blame them? They were bankrupt. With Howard Hughes taking the reigns, new leadership will help drive redevelopment efforts to make Seaport actually cool to visit, not just for tourists, but residents.

I'm actually more surprised there's no talk of a food hall here. It's proximity to Wall St is too close to ignore.

That being said, you can still take in the great views of the city, New York harbor, and the Brooklyn Bridge from this vantage point.

This review marks my 400th review!

I felt like finishing off my 400th review on this snowy night, while I watch the snow gather outside my window. Looking at the fallen snow covering all tire tracks and foot steps on the street is such a magnificent sight.

I'm not sure why this is one of my favorite city spots, but it's liked enough by me that it has made the 400th spot.

Maybe it's the cobblestone streets...
Maybe it's a tourist trap and sometimes I like to pretend I'm one of them just for fun...
Maybe it's the Summer events...
Maybe it's the street performers...
Maybe it's the Christmas Carolers...
Maybe it's the little shops I can window shop at, but have no interest in buying anything there...
Maybe perhaps it's next to the water...
Maybe because I like to sit there and watch the sunset...
Maybe because I can watch helicopters take off and land from afar...
Maybe it's a place where there's so much going on at once, yet I can still people watch...
Maybe because I find this area romantic...
Maybe it's a place where I can come back repeatedly with my camera and still be able to take some new shots each time...
Maybe because I really like it when night falls and the lights on the bridges shines brightly and glisten over the East River...

This is my long story short of South Street Seaport.