August 13, 2026 Construction, Restaurant/Bar News
Mezze on the River, the waterfront restaurant in Gateway, just south of North Cove Marina, is closing permanently due to Battery Park City’s planned construction project along the bulkhead, a project that will last in that section for the next two and a half years. Their last day will be September 7. Thanks to J. for the heads up.
“With heavy hearts, we’re sharing that Mezze on the River will close due to upcoming Battery Park City waterfront construction. We’re deeply grateful for every memory we’ve made together,” the restaurant wrote on its website. “Join us as we celebrate our final month together.”
The restaurant is still run by Merchants Hospitality; it was Merchants River House originally, opening there in 2011, but was rebranded and reopened as Mezze on the River in June 2022.
I have not been tracking that section of the construction in Battery Park City as closely as areas farther north. (See the most recent post here about the work along Stuy.) The restaurant is located in the “South Esplanade” construction area, which stretches from the south side of North Cove to the top of South Cove.
Estimated construction duration for the South Esplanade total is 50 months; work started this spring on this section and will last for two and a half years. Access to the esplanade is already limited; a pedestrian pathway between the North Cove Marina and Brookfield Place is no longer available.
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Another in a lengthening list of disastrous impacts from this massive boondoggle of a project. PJ Clarke’s and the Liberty Bistro will be next. (You have to wonder why erect a huge wooden wall to block the view when you have already destroyed the Esplanade – accelerate the inevitable?)
BPC will be a mess for the next decade. All for a project that will likely never be needed for generations (REMEMBER – BPC DID NOT FLOOD DURING SANDY!) and if it is needed, will be woefully inadequate and just drive floodwaters north to Tribeca.
Decisions made by bureaucrats who live hundreds of miles away to line the pockets of suburban contractors who have never spent a non-working day in the city. BPC has always been over-taxed, underrepresented and milked for money (hundreds of millions of PILOT fees get siphoned each year for the general fund).
Disgusting and shameful. This is going to be the end of BPC for a while. Expect a major commercial default in 18 months.