THE DESTINATION
The newly opened Pier 42, which doesn’t feel like a pier at all, stretches from Montgomery Street in Two Bridges — between the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges — to Corlears Hook Park.

THE JOURNEY
This was a real odyssey. It was worth it in the end, but I was cursing the construction, the ZERO signage for the park and the four NYPD officers I asked and who pointed me in the opposite direction, even though they were actually standing at the entrance. I biked over from the Seaport; the more efficient way is to go through Chinatown to the Pike Slip bike path and then to South Street, where you have to ride in the street because of the traffic. When you see the sign for Pier 36, at the intersection with Montgomery, go right and the park starts there. You can also go through Corlears Hook Park and over the footpath to the ferry dock — ignore the signs that say ferry dock only.

For any other form of transport, navigate to Pier 36 and make a left.

THE DETAILS
There’s everything in this park: tennis courts, a huge field, half basketball courts, picnic areas, bathrooms, two smallish playgrounds, sprinklers, walking paths, and great East River views (and breezes).

The playgrounds are standard issue, so not the most thrilling but a new playground is always fun. The tennis courts are FCFS, and there are some great spots for sunning (not a ton of shade) or lounging.

THE BACKGROUND
The Pier 42 Upland Park and Pier projects were a partnership between NYCEDC, the Parks Department and the LMDC that started back in 2012. Pier 42 had been the site of an underused parking lot and an abandoned warehouse pier no longer being used by the city. The master plan was completed in 2014 and the park opened this month — a decade later.

The park ends when you reach the water side of Corlears Hook Park, which is completely under construction as part of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, which has the entire riverfront park dug up through 25th Street. So this should be a welcome destination for the Eastsiders who lost their parks for the duration of the construction.

PITSTOP
You are about a mile north of Pier 17 — but I would use this as an excuse to try to get into the Golden Diner. Saluggi’s East is a 20-minute walk up Montgomery to Grand.