The NYC Ferry has turned Red Hook into a summer daycation destination. Weekend ridership to Atlantic Basin approached nearly a thousand people per day last summer — almost triple the route’s first season after it launched in 2017 — and the crowds keep growing. Day-trippers spill off the boat onto Van Brunt Street for a day that feels like a funky seaside town without leaving the five boroughs.
- Getting there: NYC Ferry from Murray Hill, East Village, or Wall Street to the Atlantic Basin stop in Red Hook
- Van Brunt Street: the main drag from the dock — boutiques, sidewalk-chalked vintage pop-ups, and Red Hook Tavern (famous burger, expect a line down the block)
- Pinball museum: unlocked vintage machines you can play for a suggested donation
- Brooklyn Crab: triple-decker crab shack, often overflowing into the street on weekends
- Hometown BBQ: the smokehouse staple, with a line out the door
- Strong Rope Brewery: waterfront patio with Statue of Liberty views — locals call the sunset one of the best in the city; it shares the property with a cidery and winery
- Sunny’s Bar: the 1890s saloon at the end of the peninsula, often the last stop of the night, with a bluegrass band in the backroom
The crowds aren’t just a tourist scene — the ferry is a lifeline for a neighborhood with no subway stop, one that survived Hurricane Sandy and two major fires in the past year. Locals admit the summers can be overwhelming, but the economy depends on them. Seasonality is extreme: winters are dead quiet, so summer is the time to go.