Peck Slip, New York City

Dating back to when the first Dutch immigrants populated what was then New Amsterdam, these slips actually formed some of the only non-man-made parts of the marshy East River waterfront. In what would have been typical fashion, the Dutch settlers actually built up the land on the shore when the tide went out. They created an extensive polder that became the easternmost coast of lower Manhattan, and left only the narrow slips as evidence of the ocean that at one time covered the whole waterfront.

These narrow landfills not surprisingly became somewhat ambiguous land, existing between urban territories, and have re-surfaced in our urban consciousness most recently as the site of contention between residents and a forthcoming high-rise development that will replace the local Pathmark store. Pike Slip was notably the first location of Pathmark in Manhattan but is slated to close before the end of the year (though the company retains the right of operation in the new development). Of particular concern is the access to affordable food for the neighborhood. Equally incongruous to the current social and built fabric is the presence of luxury developer Extell (the same developers as One57 in Midtown) on the property.

According to an 1825 publication called The Picture of New York, or The Stranger’s Guide to the Commercial Metropolis of the United States, written by E.M. Blunt, twelve slips were once in operation on the East River–although another publication from the same time period adds George, Catherine, and Charlotte Slips to Blunt’s list:

• James Slip, at the bottom of James St.
• Market Slip, at the bottom of Market St.
• Pike Slip, at the bottom of Pike St.
• Rutgers Slip, at the bottom of Rutgers St.
• Whitehall Slip adjoining the Battery, at the bottom of Whitehall St.
• Exchange Slip, at the bottom of Broad St.
• Old Slip, at the bottom of William St.
• Coffee House Slip, at the bottom of Wall St.
• Fly Market Slip, at the bottom of Maiden Lane
• Burling Slip, at the bottom of John St.
• Peck’s Slip, at the bottom of Ferry St.
• Coenties Slip, at Coenties Alley, near Broad St.

Most of these slips were eventually filled in by 1898, but only some of them remain distinguishable today, functioning as parks, public malls and roads. Pike Slip is by far the largest of these, but the other slips have an equally interesting history.

Peck’s Slip, for example, which occupies the area between present-day Water and South streets, served as an active docking place for boats until 1810, and even served as a temporary hideout for George Washington and his troops in April 1776 when they fled from the Battle of Long Island. Then, in 1838, the first steam-powered vessel to make a transatlantic voyage, the S.S. Great Western, docked in Peck’s Slip to the cheers of a quickly growing crowd of onlookers.

However, you might better recognize the space as the former parking lot for the Fulton Fish Market, which was moved to the Bronx in 2005. According to city Parks and Rec, construction on Pecks Slip Park will start in 2013. However, the area is already pretty active within the community; just last November, the first annual Peck Slip Pickle Festival took place at the New Amsterdam Market, further up the slip.