Brooklyn, New York

Louis Valentino Jr. Park and Pier

Take in a rare, face-to-face glimpse of Lady Liberty at this tucked away Red Hook park.

The Louis Valentino Jr. Park-and-Pier in Red Hook offers the closest front-facing view of the Statue of Liberty’s towering countenance from anywhere on land in New York.

The verdant waterfront park is named in memory of Brooklyn native Louis Valentino Jr. Valentino devoted his life to protecting New York inhabitants as a member of the New York City Fire Department. He passed on February 5, 1996 while searching for injured firefighters in a three-alarm fire.

The area combines a lovely grass field with a pier that offers fantastic panoramic views of the statue, Manhattan Harbor, and the Manhattan skyline. The waterfront also overlooks the Buttermilk channel, which during the 19th and 20th centuries was one of America’s busiest waterways.

The park is also home to masterful pieces of street art including giant toy blocks that welcome you to Red Hook and a majestic aquatic painting by Chris Soria reminiscent of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.”

The Park-and-Pier is a mostly unknown leisure spot in Brooklyn and is typically occupied by only by local picnickers, fishermen, and Red Hook boaters.