LIC Docks

You are standing near a waterfront that once served as the logistical backbone of the entire region. In the nineteen twenties, this area was defined by massive steel structures called gantries. These towering cranes were essential for the Long Island Rail Road, which hauled freight cars directly onto barges right here at the water's edge to be shipped across the East River. The gantries acted as giant elevators, hoisting hundred-ton rail cars up or down to match the shifting tides and the height of the vessels, ensuring that goods moved seamlessly from the tracks to the river.