Halletts Point esplanade in Astoria opens, reconnecting community to East River waterfront

When The Durst Organization broke ground on its massive Halletts Point project in Astoria on a cold winter day in January 2016, the speeches were delivered inside a massive brick warehouse that had cut off public access to a stretch of East River waterfront for generations. That warehouse is long gone, demolished and then replaced by two high-rise residential towers, 20 and 30 Halletts Point, which launched leasing earlier this year, and a 58,000-square-foot waterfront esplanade that opened to the public this month.

With spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, a playground, picnic area and a variety of seating, the waterfront space is at the heart of the development and marks a key step in reconnecting the Astoria community to the waterfront from 27th Avenue north to Whitey Ford