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Sandy beachgoers soaked up the sun in Manhattan on Tuesday — yes, you heard that right.
People in Manhattan no longer have to trek to the Rockaways or Coney Island to dip their toes in the sand thanks to this week’s opening of the borough’s first beach, a welcoming sandy stretch at the Gansevoort Peninsula in Hudson River Park west of the Meatpacking District.
Bathing suits and bare chests were on full display Tuesday at the new beach, which was designed by the same firm behind Manhattan’s now-famous High Line park and features 1,200 tons of sand, blue beach chairs with umbrellas, tables and benches by the water and open green, grassy park spaces.
Corporate gurus and finance bros alike stopped by for lunchtime business meetings — with a side of stunning views and a nice breeze.
“I think it’s really nice to have a space where you can have people lounging, you can have people lying down in the sun and the grass and then you can have people like us sit at a table,” said John O’Hanley, a Meatpacking District designer who grabbed lunch at the beach with colleagues Devin Costello and Bliss Weathers.
“The view is insane,” he said.
“We’re stuck in the Meatpacking District … where our lunch spots are like metal tables and umbrellas, not with this view,” he said, adding the park’s non-touristy “energy is refreshing.”
Costello enjoyed the oasis so much, she said she’d return even in non-beach weather.
“We would be out here in the winter, we’d be down to do that,” she said.
“We’re all designers and we all work for design companies so we appreciate good design and thoughtful design…which is what this is,” Costello said.
Weathers added, “I feel like in New York whatever brings you closest to the water is nice, but you’re usually 30 stories up looking at the view.
“This beach brings us as close as possible.”
Corinne Johnson, who works for Mount Sinai Medical System but was currently on a medical leave for mental health purposes, was at the hot spot, too.
“I saw that this opened up, and I’m trying to be more present and intentional about the life I wanna live,” Johnson said.
“I got really excited that Manhattan has a beach. Just watching how the sun is reflecting on the waves of the water is so beautiful,” she said.
Lauren Seikaly and Michael Gallagher said they originally planned to take their business meeting at 1:30 p.m. but redirected to the newly opened beach spot at noon for a change of scenery. They were seated right by the shore, just between the rocks and the sand, with a view of the New Jersey skyline.
“It is a gorgeous day, I had to dig out all of my summer clothes again because I put them all away two weeks ago when it was 15 degrees out,” Seikaly said. “It’s amazing, we’re very much enjoying the beach.
“We had a business lunch at 1:30, and he called me and said, ‘OK, the beach opened, so we should meet there at 12,’ and so here we are,” she said.
“I cannot get over this sand, I’m pouring it all over my body parts and I’m like … this beach is not going to stay clean for too long.”
Gallagher, a lawyer, added, “We’re having a business meeting right here — it’s the new office of Manhattan, everybody should be here.
“I used to go down to Pier 64, and this is much closer, much better, good scenery — I just hope it doesn’t get washed away,” he said. “This is the perfect place for law, small business and the beach.”
Taylor Yasui and Francis Wong were sunbathing in their swimsuits on a patch of grass, listening to music on a portable speaker.
“I saw a post on my city council representative’s Instagram that this beach just opened yesterday, and I was like — tomorrow’s going to be 80 degrees, we have to come here, whatever work I have can wait but this cannot,” Yasui said.
Wong said, “You have to make the most of the sun when it’s out, especially in New York.”
Swimming in the Hudson River was off limits, and Park Enforcement officers from the Parks Department were on hand to make sure everyone complied. But several kayakers were taking advantage of the beach’s non-motorized boat launch.
“We were the first people to kayak here, we were at the launch yesterday,” said Bitz Gernboeck who works at the Pier 26 Boathouse, where New Yorkers can access kayaks and paddle them upriver to the beach.
“It’s a volunteer program, and we put people on the water, you know, the public. … We’re the biggest boathouse and public program for free kayaking,” she said.
Monday’s ribbon cutting was attended by a sunglasses-clad Gov. Kathy Hochul — who made a major flub while discussing the history of parks in the boroughs.
“This is the largest park built in New York City since Central Park back in 1969, someone will correct me on that, but around that time,” Hochul said.
Actually, construction on Central Park famously began 111 years earlier in 1858, according to its conservatory. Since then, the city built four public parks larger than the Manhattan gem: Pelham Bay Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Flushing Meadows/Corona Park and Staten Island’s Greenbelt.
The riverside retreat is Manhattan’s first and only public beach, although unsanctioned patches of sandy beach exist by the South Street Seaport.
The large sandy beaches that covered the dredged landfill that now houses Battery Park City used to attract adventurous beach-going Manhattan residents until construction began in 1981, wild images published by the New York Times four years ago show.
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