A Secret Park: Elevated Acre

Just recently I discovered a hidden plaza in lower Manhattan with a beautiful view of the East River and no crowds to speak of. If you're interested, I'd be happy to share its location with you... for just 3 easy payments of $19.95. Here's an idea of the views you can expect to enjoy:

On second thought, I guess I'll just tell you for free, since I gave away the name in the post's title anyway. And because I'm a nice guy, of course.  

This place is called Elevated Acre and its entrance is on Water Street between Old Slip and Broad Street. When facing the East River, it is near the South Street Seaport to the left and the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal to the right. 

Arriving to the area from the north, at the corner of Old Slip and Water Street is a small park where you can see one of the edges of Elevated Acre. It is at the shorter part of the Emblem Health building and with an aqua-colored glass structure connected to it:

Here is a view from that edge of Elevated Acre, looking back to this street area:

I like the look of that gold-flecked building in the distance.

There is a sign at the Old Slip and Water corner that has some interesting history about the area:

After damage from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the Police Museum moved to a new location. It is now closed altogether, though. 

The First Precinct Building is next to the park area on Old Slip, closer to the water. Here are some looks from Elevated Acre:

And here's a street view of the park, the First Precinct Building, and the edge of Elevated Acre:

Walking past the corner and continuing on Water Street, there is the previously mentioned Emblem Health building, then a building that is home to Standard & Poor's. 

But hold on. Easy, there. There's something in between those two buildings.

It appears to be some stairs and a bit of daylight, without much fanfare to speak of. 

The escalators are covered, at least for now, so it's stairs or bust. You've gotta want it, folks.

I made it up the stairs and caught some first glimpses:

I also looked back, because it's important to remember where you came from.

You may have noticed part of a slanted side of a building. That's one of the tall sides of the Emblem Health building. 

The reddish roof across the street is the First Precinct Building. 

The field is artificial turf but still very nice.

Approaching the edge in front of the water does reveal some terrific views, including those shown earlier. Here's a panorama shot I took:

Along with the panorama effect giving a broader view, it also makes the moving cars in the middle on the FDR Drive look funny, which I enjoyed.

To the left is the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge behind it, and some of Brooklyn.

To the right, along with the Staten Island Ferry, is Governors Island.

And in the distance you can see part of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn. 

In the above photo you might have noticed some helicopters, which brings us to Elevated Acre's downside. A dark, ugly side. Unfortunately there is a heliport very nearby, the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, and when helicopters are taking off and landing there, which is pretty often, it gets very loud. There are lulls in between, but overall the helicopter noise does take away from the park's possibilities for relaxation.

I looked into the hours of operation for the heliport and park, and there is a lot of overlap. There are mostly only a few evening hours here and there when the park is open but not the heliport. By the way, Elevated Acre's hours are 8AM to 1AM during the week and 8AM to 6PM on the weekend. 

It's interesting how the noise issue doesn't come from the highway right in front of Elevated Acre, which is actually pretty quiet since there aren't many honking horns like on normal Manhattan streets. 

Even with the bursts of loud helicopter noise, this park is still very enjoyable to visit. I went on one of the first truly warm days in March. The temperature was in the 70's and when I sat on a bench a bird was busily chirping away nearby, perhaps as happy as me about the early spring weather. Eventually the bird hopped onto the bench for a moment:

Here's another shot that includes that big aqua glass structure:

It seems like a bit of an out-of-place obstruction, but when I walked closer to it I saw many light bulbs on its inside, so perhaps it lights up at night and looks very nice. 

By the way, if you already knew about Elevated Acre then I apologize for going on about how secret it is, but I've never heard of it and it doesn't generally seem well known, especially since there were only one or two dozen people there on an early warm day in March. Or maybe more people know about it and are driven away by the helicopter noise. That seems unlikely, though, since it's still a very nice place. 

I did discover a second access point to the park, which is perhaps even more random than the Water Street entrance and therefore doesn't really detract from its hidden nature. When facing the water, the right edge leads to stairs that eventually go down to South Street.

Here's a view from this general area, looking to the Water Street entrance:

Another look at some of the park:

It'll probably be even nicer in a couple of months when everything is in bloom. 

After my very enjoyable visit to Elevated Acre, I looked around back on Water Street to see what else was nearby, but it was hard to get too excited for anything else after such a cool discovery. 

There is a barbershop, a Hallmark store, a pizza place, and a deli. No offense to any of them, but I think that Elevated Acre is the star of this block. Here are some photos, though:

Near the barbershop area is a big clock that is sort of built into part of one of the buildings. I assumed it didn't work but it actually kept correct time, which was exciting. Not as exciting as discovering a hidden park, but still.

Well, I think that's all for now. Here's one more panoramic photo. Check out Elevated Acre if you're in the area.