How to Spend 3 Hours in New York: NYC Ferry to Greenpoint
Updated October 3, 2026
Three hours in New York gets you across the East River by ferry to Greenpoint for a skyline pier, a Polish lunch at Karczma and a donut at Peter Pan.
Greenpoint is the northernmost corner of Brooklyn, a low-rise neighborhood of brick row houses where Polish bakeries, butchers and churches still line the main streets. The best way in is by water. A short NYC Ferry hop from the east side of Midtown skims under the skyline and lands you a few blocks from a pier that looks straight back at Midtown. From there it's an easy, level walk inland to a farmhouse-style Polish restaurant and a donut counter that's fed the neighborhood for decades. Check the ferry schedule first, since not every East River boat calls at Greenpoint, and use the G train as the backup home. Carrying a bag? As of October 2026, Bounce shops near the ferry landing take luggage from $2.90 a day.
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The 3 hour plan, stop by stop
Stops and travel: 1 hr 26 min to 2 hr 6 min of 3 hours
Where Greenpoint Avenue meets the East River, ferries ran to Manhattan from 1853 until 1933, and the city then gave the site to its public radio station. From 1937 to 1990 two towers more than three hundred feet tall broadcast WNYC's AM signal from here, after Mayor La Guardia moved the transmitter away from Manhattan's interfering skyscrapers. The towers came down after the station left. The park opened in 2012 with a lawn, a tidal wetland in the old ferry slip, the small Art Deco transmitter building and a fishing pier facing Midtown.
Tip: Walk to the end of the pier for a wide view of the Midtown skyline, from the Chrysler Building to the United Nations, across the water.
- Time here
- 15 to 25 min
- Website
- nycgovparks.org
NaviTime to head out from WNYC Transmitter Park for Karczma. It's an 8 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
Built to look like a rustic farmhouse from the Polish countryside, with wooden beams and servers in traditional dress, Karczma has fed Greenpoint for well over a decade under owners Urszula and Sławek Letowski. Portions are big: pierogi stuffed with potato and cheese or meat, crisp potato pancakes, smoked kielbasa, hunter's stew of sauerkraut and pork, and sour rye soup, with Polish beer to wash it down.
Tip: Order a mixed plate of pierogi to share so you can taste several fillings in one sitting, then save room for dessert down the street.
- Time here
- 40 min to 1 hr
- Website
- karczmabrooklyn.com
NaviTime to head out from Karczma for Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop. It's an 8 minute walk if you leave now. Here's the link
This counter on Manhattan Avenue has served Greenpoint since the 1950s. Baker Christos Siafakas, who has worked in New York donut shops since the early 1970s, now runs it with his wife Donna and their family. Most recipes are the shop's originals, fried fresh through the day and sold from a long counter lined with swivel stools. Prices stay low, and the bestsellers are red velvet, apple crumb, Boston cream and sour cream glazed.
Tip: Take a swivel stool at the counter and order a coffee with your donut; the servers' mint green uniforms and pink caps are the look Zendaya's MJ wears in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
- Time here
- 15 to 25 min
- Website
- peterpandonuts.com
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