Hours
TankerTime is 7 days a week, 10am to at least 6pm (depending on how late the crew works in the office), unless a special alert is posted here. Look for the return of our popular Second Sundays TankerTime with Mediterranean music to occur May through September, 7-11pm.
PortSide NewYork's home is the ship MARY A. WHALEN. She is an oil tanker, so we have activities branded with the word “tanker.” See our webpage Calendar for scheduled events.
TankerTime = enjoy the deck with tables, chairs, hammocks. Coming soon: a free library and return of the ArtTable. M-F, 10am to 6pm and on weekends when we are in. Since the pandemic, we have less funding and crew to staff weekend TankerTime. If we are not in during the weekend, we will post that update here. Please volunteer to help staff weekend #TankerTime.
TankerFlicks = when we screen movies on deck
TankerTunes = concerts and music jams
TankerTours = tours of the ship including the interior
The MARY is home to world-famous ship cat Chiclet, so please keep dogs on a leash. BYOB and food. We do not have a restaurant (yet).
Where we are
The MARY is docked on Pier 11, Atlantic Basin next to Red Hook/Atlantic Basin NYC ferry stop, near the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Enter Atlantic Basin by bike or foot at the corner of Pioneer and Conover Streets, and by car at the corner of Bowne and Imlay Streets. The closest street address is 159 Pioneer Street. Some shippers call this addrss “Pier behind the warehouse, 74 Bowne Street”
Warning to drivers who use wayfinding apps: We do NOT recommend using them once you reach Red Hook because they often don’t understand that the Atlantic Basin/Brooklyn Cruise Terminal facility is separated from city streets by a chain link fence and large warehouses and has only ONE entrance for vehicles (at Bowne and Imlay) open every day. You WILL probably end up driving around Red Hook in circles if you use GPS after Hamilton Avenue. Use our written directions below.
40°40'50.0"N 74°00'45.0"W (google map)
How to get here
Take the NYC Ferry right to us.
Citibike dock "Pioneer St & Van Brunt St" is half a block away.
We are next to the Brooklyn Greenway at Pioneer and Conover Streets.
We are a block and a half from Van Brunt Street where the B61 bus stops. Go to our Red Hook WaterStories website and click the map, then click the map layer "MTA bus stations" to see where we are relative to the bus stations.
Cab/car service/Uber drivers usually can't figure out how to get into Atlantic Basin, so head to 159 Pioneer Street, the address for Pioneer Works. With your back to Pioneer Works, look to your left. You will see PortSide signs on the chain link fence around Atlantic Basin terminal, and a pedestrian gate, with the ship visible behind it. If you really want to drive straight to the ship, tell your driver to follow signs for the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal from Imlay and Bowne Streets. Once inside Atlantic Basin (marked Brooklyn Cruise Terminal), the roadway turns left, drive past the 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack.
By Water
The NYC Ferry stop for Red Hook Atlantic Basin is parallel to our ship MARY A. WHALEN.
From New York Water Taxi at IKEA is a long walk (left on Beard, right on Van Brunt, left on Pioneer) or you can take the B61 bus to the Pioneer Street stop.
Subway & Bus:
Take the A train to Jay Street Borough hall. Exit the subway station, walk two blocks south on Jay St, across Fulton, to the bus stop on the left (east) side of the street at the Smith St and Livingston Street stop and take the B61 bus heading to Red Hook.
Take the 2,3,4,5 or R to the Borough Hall station. Exit onto Joralemon Street, walk past the Brooklyn Law School to and turn right onto Boerum Place, to the B61 bus shelter.
Get off the B61 bus at Van Brunt and Verona Streets. Continue south on Van Brunt, take a right on Pioneer and enter the gate in the chain link fence at the corner of Conover Street.
Subway & Bike:
Take F to Carroll Street. Exit at the front of train exit if you were coming from Manhattan, rear of train exit if you were coming from Brooklyn. Exit the station and go down 2nd Place (not 2nd Street). Go 2 blocks to Clinton Street, take a right. Go five blocks and turn left onto Sackett Street. Go four blocks until it dead-ends onto Van Brunt Street. Take a left. Go to the second light at Bowne Street and take a right, go one block and cross Imlay Street and enter a narrow gate. from Imlay and Bowne Streets. Once inside Atlantic Basin (marked Brooklyn Cruise Terminal), the roadway turns left, drive past the 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack. The shortest bike route from the F is down Hamilton Avenue, but that has heavy traffic entering and exiting the BQE. We recommend the Sackett Street entrance to Red Hook as the safest.
Subway & Walk - Two Routes:
1) Going more through Red Hook:
Take F/G to Smith & 9th Street stop. Take a right out of the station to Smith St. Cross Smith, turn left and walk one short block to Garnet Street. Follow that across Hamilton Avenue (under the BQE) where it turns into Mill Street. Walk through NYCHA public housing. Enter Coffey Park at Dwight St. and continue straight across the park to exit at Pioneer Street. Walk down Pioneer Street two blocks to the corner of Pioneer and Conover Street and enter a small pedestrian gate in the chain link fence there. The ship is ahead of you and slightly to your right.
2) Going more through Carroll Gardens:
It's about a 30 minute walk from the F or G at to Carroll St. There is a pedestrian bridge on Summit Street over the BQE that isn't featured on some maps. Exit the front of the train (if you were coming from Manhattan or Queens). From the station, take a right on 2nd Place, walk 3 blocks to Henry Street. Right on Henry, left on Summit Street (which is the extension of First Place). Cross the BQE via the pedestrian bridge that is slightly to your right at the end of the first block. Walk down Summit Street two blocks to Van Brunt. Take a left and go to the fourth block on the right (there are more on the left), Pioneer Street. Take a right at Pioneer, go one block and and enter a small pedestrian gate in the chain link fence there. The ship is ahead of you and slightly to your right.
By Car
Warning - we do NOT recommend using GPS or Google maps once in Red Hook because they often don’t understand that the Atlantic Basin/Brooklyn Cruise Terminal facility is closed off from the city streets by a chain link fence and large warehouses and there are few entrances and only one 24/7 entrance for vehicles. Use our directions below.
CAR via Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan (Driving is 15 minutes from City Hall)
Take Brooklyn Bridge to Cadman Plaza exit, right at bottom of ramp, follow road as it turns down to the river, as if you were going to the River Cafe. Just before the river, take a left onto Furman St. Take Furman until you cross Atlantic Avenue where the road takes a bend and is renamed Columbia. Take Columbia about 6 more blocks to the 3rd light at DeGraw Street and take right. One block later, you will be forced left onto Van Brunt Street. The second light is Bowne Street. Take a right at Bowne, go one short block and cross Imlay Street and enter a narrow gate, marked “Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.” This is also the Atlantic Basin facility. The roadway turns left, and drive past a 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack
CAR via BQE from Queens/New England/North Shore Long Island
Exit at Atlantic Avenue, the exit after Brooklyn Bridge. Left at end of ramp onto Columbia. Take Columbia about 6 more blocks to the 3rd light at Degraw Street and take right. One block later, you will be forced left onto Van Brunt Street The second light is Bowne Street. Take a right at Bowne, go one short block and cross Imlay Street and enter a narrow gate, marked “Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.” This is also the Atlantic Basin facility. The roadway turns left, and drive past a 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack
CAR via Brooklyn Battery Tunnel from Manhattan:
Get on right side of tunnel, exit towards right at Hamilton Avenue. (You are basically getting out of the tunnel alongside the elevated BQE and turning left under it and left again to drive back in direction of Manhattan.) Stay in left lane once on Hamilton Avenue and at the first light (Clinton Street) take a left under the BQE. Take a left again (but not into the left-most lane as that will put you back into the tunnel) and follow Hamilton Avenue to the end to a T-junction with Van Brunt Street at the Tesla building. Take a left on Van Brunt, go one block to the next light at Bowne Street. Take a right at Bowne, go one short block and cross Imlay Street and enter a narrow gate, marked “Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.” This is also the Atlantic Basin facility. The roadway turns left, and drive past a 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack
CAR from BQE/Belt Parkway coming from Staten Island:
Exit Hamilton Avenue exit, stay way right on the ramp so that you don't get stuck in flow of cars going into the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The ramp dumps you onto Hamilton Avenue, stay in the center of traffic flow there. Take Hamilton Avenue about 2 blocks after the tunnel entrance to a T-junction with Van Brunt Street at the entrance to the Red Hook Container Terminal. Take a left on Van Brunt, go one block to the next light at Bowne Street. Take a right at Bowne, go one short block and cross Imlay Street and enter a narrow gate, marked “Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.” This is also the Atlantic Basin facility. The roadway turns left, and drive past a 3-block long warehouse on your right where lots of trucks and buses are parked. Turn right at the end of that long Pier 11 warehouse, and you will see our ship, red with white trim and a buff smokestack.
