Pier 45

Still known to many as the Christopher Street Pier, this is an 850ft-long finger of concrete, spiffily renovated with a grass lawn, flowerbeds, a comfort station, an outdoor cafe, tented shade shelters and a stop for the New York Water Taxi as part of the ongoing Hudson River Park project. And it’s a magnet for downtowners of all stripes, from local families with toddlers in daylight to mobs of young gay kids who flock here at night from all over the city (and beyond) because of the pier’s long-­established history as a gay cruising hangout. That’s been the source of ongoing conflict in the neighborhood, where moneyed West Village residents say that the clutches of youths who stream there along Christopher St are disorderly and disrespectful late into the night. The kids say they’ve got nowhere else to go, and deserve a claim to the pier just like anyone else. It’s unclear how it’ll all work out, but one thing’s for sure: the spot offers sweeping views of the Hudson and cool, relieving breezes in the thick of summer.