Manhattan unveils its first public beach along the Hudson River

The city welcomed its newest park Monday — and it’s Manhattan’s first public beach.

Gansevoort Peninsula located in Hudson River Park has a public beach, sports field, a beachfront landing for non-motorized boats like kayaks and 20 million oysters around the land. Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke at the opening and said Gansevoort is the largest park built in New York City since Central Park.

“This day, this place, reminds me why New Yorkers are so exceptional,” Hochul said. “To take a place that had been abandoned and overlooked and forgotten and turn it into a gathering place for people from around the world.“

The peninsula was previously a depot for the Department of Sanitation, according to the Hudson River Park Trust. It sits across from the Whitney Museum on Gansevoort Street and alongside the Hudson River Greenway. Surrounding the peninsula are views of the Statue of Liberty and One World Trade Center.

“These are the places that remind us what New York is all about, who we are as a people, especially when times when those values are tested like right now,” Hochul said.

Officials were insistent, however, that New Yorkers don’t jump into the Hudson River.

The entirety of the project from design to construction took four years to complete.

Jean Blair, 75, lives in the neighborhood across from Gansevoort Peninsula and said the newest addition to the Hudson River Piers was long awaited.

“We’ve wanted a beach for awhile,” Blair said. “It’s going to be a great place to relax and kick back. It’s a good change from the other piers.”

Blair also said walking her dogs alongside the river was dangerous when she first moved to Chelsea in 1983. But now, watching the entire West Side be redeveloped has been “magic,” she said.

Eric Stiller, 63, was equally as excited for the opening, particularly to be able to embark on kayaking trips along the Hudson more easily. Stiller said he used to bring folding kayaks from his father’s kayak shop in Union Square…