On a perfectly balmy mid-summer Saturday in July, I arrived at a very familiar place, where one of over 80 of this year’s City of Water Day events was taking place. On July 25, 2026, City of Water Day united communities across the harbor region through free kayaking, boating, education, and stewardship activities that celebrated the theme “Living with Water” and strengthened public connections to local waterways. After a monumental cardboard kayak race to kickoff the 19th annual region-wide day of celebrating the waters that connect us, I was ready and excited to take on whatever the day held for me.
On the west side of the border between two beautiful and iconic neighborhoods in upper Manhattan, Inwood and Washington Heights, lies Dyckman Marina. Overlooking the Hudson River with the Palisades as a stunning backdrop, Dyckman Marina has been serving the community for decades with dockage, waterfront access, local restaurants and more. It is a historic site that now hosts a variety of environmental organizations that provide invaluable on-water public and education programs to the local community. I grew up around the area and spent a lot of time on Dyckman street as a teen without ever knowing what was on the riverfront end of it. Only after beginning my career in outdoor education, while I was living in Washington Heights, did I ever step foot onto the marina for the first time. Now, it almost feels like a second home to me. I took a few steps onto the sandy waterfront, as I have done many times before now, and approached the first of many tables hosting activities that day.
“Well, it’s a beautiful day, and we’ve had a steady flow of people of all ages coming by,” Alicia Omar of Waterfront Program Partners said when I visited their table. “Some people have just been like, watching and curious, and other people have jumped in to help us build some oars and paddles, and it’s just been really nice, chatting with different groups of people.” Omar, with Patrick Nason, Program Director at Brooklyn Boat Works, had a wooden boat-building station set up, with passersby joining them to try their hand in shaping wood. “There is a lot of history with boat building up and down the Hudson River […] There used to be a lot of shipyards right in this area. Our goal is to revitalize boat building in general, but boat building in this area, and continuing to connect people to the water, to show them how valuable it is, and how relaxing it can be, too” Nason said.
Waterfront Program Partners, along with City Parks Foundation, NYC Parks, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts were the organizations/institutions tabling and providing community activities on the City of Water Day event at Dyckman Marina. With activities like knot tying, a microplastics and shorebirds demonstration, trivia, a FDNY fireboat display, woodworking and more, the event came together to be fun, educational and family-friendly.
Various tents and activities for all ages on the waterfront!
Alicia Omar at the boat-building station.
As I walked up to the marina, visiting for the first time this year, I probably should not have been surprised to see that the docks that I used to work and sail out of were completely gone. Yet it was a surprising sight! The gate that once opened onto a series of occupied floating docks was now a closed-off entrance that, if opened, would lead straight to the water. The reality of the site’s closure for reconstruction struck me very abruptly, and as I re-oriented myself to the space, I was met by many smiling faces enjoying the gorgeous day. I heard the shaving of wood, the chatter of friends, and the giggles of girl scout trivia. Of course, I stopped to answer some trivia questions in exchange for cookies… because who can say no to that? I spoke with Girl Scout Troop Leader Cassandre Collazo, who has resided in the Inwood area for over 50 years. “I’ve seen it go through a lot of changes, and the waterside has always had a special place in my heart.” A sentiment I can really relate to at this moment.
“We have a good relationship with Inwood Canoe Club”, Collazo says, mentioning that the Girl Scout troop she leads, Troop 3205, partners with them every year on Father’s Day for a ‘Dad and Daughter on the Water’ event. “Unfortunately, now that the renovation is coming up, we won’t have that”, she remarks.
Up until January of this year, Dyckman Marina was also home to many sailboats owned by Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS), who have provided accessible on-water programming to the Inwood/Washington Heights community for 10 years. Upon the closure of the marina, they relocated all of their programs to operate out of Pier 66, which greatly limits their programs accessibility not only to the local community, but to their adaptive sailing program participants as well. I spoke to the Chief of City-Wide Waterfront and Marina Operations at NYC Parks, Nate Grove, who explained to me that the marina is currently under reconstruction, as it has come to a point in its life where necessary renovations are due. He assured me that there is funding in place and the project is in development. “In the meantime, we’re anything but closed”, he says, as we look onto the scene of waterfront organizations engaging with the public. “A day like this really demonstrates that we can bring in the community while also maintaining an active site.”
Arthur Cortes, Chief Dockmaster at Dyckman Marina, lists a few of many current partnerships the marina has with organizations across the city: Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, Inwood Canoe Club, Harlem River Community Rowing, and more. He mentions that the boat ramp, which is the only place in Manhattan that one can launch a boat by trailer, along with the boat yard, kayak launch and storage are all still open to the community and their partners. Plans for reconstruction include pushing docks further out to accommodate deeper draft vessels, and the construction of a “community Eco Dock” to accommodate larger education vessels like the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, who has used this space in recent years to help deliver their award-winning Sailing Classroom and public programs to the community. “It’s really been incumbent on us as an agency to make sure that these sites are held in the public trust”, Grove says. According to the NYC Parks website, the current anticipated reopening of the site will be in 2028.
With a majority Latinx and BIPOC population, in a historically underserved, underrepresented community, Dyckman Marina is one of the most important accessible waterfront sites in Manhattan. The work that these waterfront organizations do to come together to serve the community is imperative to the health of our waterways, to our relationship and access to them.
“I just think it’s such a nice part of the river, you have the Palisades in the back, you have this nice hut here to be able to store some equipment, kayaks and things like that. But also, it’s a really lively community space, too. It’s diverse. There are a lot of different people coming through here, asking questions about how they can get on the water,” Nason said as he looked out onto the river. “Yeah, it’s one of the great little hidden spots in New York City.”
I grew up on the Hudson River- my family moved more than once between Harlem, Upper Manhattan, and Yonkers in my childhood. The river and its tributaries have always been home for me, and Dyckman Marina as one of very few access points to the water is a very important site for me, as it is for many others who grew up like me. The emotion people are expressing at the closure, even if for the betterment of the space, only points to how remarkably impactful the marina’s presence has been for them. I am hopeful that the renovation efforts result in an enhancement of the space for community use, in a smooth, safe, and efficient manner. I look forward to the day that these vital educational vessels can dock at this marina again, but until then, I hope to see more community events occur here- like this amazingly successful City of Water Day celebration!
Alicia Omar and Patrick Nason of Waterfront Program Partners. Photo Credit: Arthur Cortes
