The new Pier 17 in the Seaport District has never been as visible as it is now (unless you’re Naomi Campbell). Let’s start from the west, as if you’ve just passed under the FDR. The middle section below is a road that curves to the left, between the Tin Building and Pier 17, and I assume those street lights are temporary. By the way, these photos all get much larger and more enjoyable if you click on them.)

A security guard almost immediately recognized me as a threat, so this next photo is the best I could get of Pier 17’s western entrance. I figured he’d yell at me if I walked right up to the edge of the fence, and surprisingly, I wasn’t in the mood for confrontation.

New wooden decking and benches extends quite a way along the pier.

There’s the road I mentioned earlier. The New York Times called the new building a “largely transparent four-story sea-green structure,” which seems a stretch.

I’m guessing that the darker part of the building is meant to reference a shipping container and/or the Tin Building. People had evidently grown to think the old mall’s maritime accents were cheesy, but at least it tried to fit in; not sure this building, designed by SHoP Architects, gives a shit. Note: In the third photo, you can sort of see vertical glass panels that I assume will have signage on them.

I was able to peek around the edge of the fence, for a shot of the pier’s midsection.

Also from the New York Times: “The new building […] will include patio restaurants from Jean-Georges Vongerichten and David Chang, as well as network studio space, a green room and a restroom with floor-to-ceiling windows looking onto the harbor [….] To top it all off, a one-and-a-half-acre performance and public space on the roof is under construction, set to open next summer. Designed for such events as fashion shows, movie screenings, concerts, tennis matches, art installations, the site will accommodate up to 4,000 people.” I think the best-case opening date is next summer. A rendering: