The anchor-outs: San Francisco's bohemian boat dwellers fight for their way of life

[PJMcK]

3. The 79th Street Boat Basin in NYC

For many years, there has been a marina on Manhattan’s West Side in the Hudson River. Many of the boats there were live-aboards and some of them were in pretty rough shape. Regardless, it was a colorful Bohemian life style even if things could be difficult: Cold winters where one has to transport the propane tanks off Manhattan Island to get them re-filled; grocery stores are many blocks away; no easy parking; questionable legal status, etc.

A friend of mine had a 45-foot houseboat that he and his girlfriend shared. They removed the engine to gain storage space. The growth on the bottom of his boat was so thick that he thought he was attached to the river bed! That’s not really the kind of boating I like to do but to each their own.

The City recently condemned the marina and all the boats have to be gone by tomorrow. For the next two years, the marina will be rebuilt and modernized. It’ll probably be very expensive when completed, (it had been very reasonably priced and a mooring cost about $225 per month). The adjacent neighborhood is pretty upscale and expensive, (a friend pays $1,000 per month for indoor parking!). I’m sure that factors into the decision to rebuild.