July-August 2010
The historic tug Cornell made several appearance alongside the Mary Whalen. She towed the 173’ Steamer Lilac over from Manhattan for City of Water Day when the Lilac offered ship tours and and two shipboard photo exhibitions by Gerry Weinstein, and David Goodman.  In August, Gazela, Philadelphia's flagship and the oldest wooden square-rigger still sailing in the USA, was brought to Atlantic Basin by PortSide. She came with daytime tours and two cabaret performances a night on the main deck.

Winter 2009-Spring 2010
PortSide  brings USA's largest passenger sailing vessel to Atlantic Basin
PortSide working with the NYC EDC, got a winter berth for two majestic schooners:  the Clipper City, a 158' long topsail schooner, and Shearwater, a 82-foot 1920's luxury schooner yacht.  Both vessels are operated by Manhattan By Sail. As part of the deal, PortSide distributed 550 free tickets to community sails on the Clipper City on Fri 4/30, Sat 4/1, Fri 5/7, Sat 5/8.

Harbor Day 2009
PortSide and NYC EDC co-sponsor Dutch Flat Bottom Fleet event
As part of the year-long Hudson Quadricentennial, festivities, some 400 visitors greeted the historic Dutch Flat Bottomed Fleet in Atlantic Basin on Sunday, September 13, 2009. Visitors swarmed the pier, the Flat Bottom boats, and boarded a surprise visitor in the form of the 150’ barquentine Peacemaker. 

Our friends from the Low Countries were a jolly lot, each boat had a team jersey in a vibrant color, some crew wore wooden clogs painted with their boat logos, and all often erupted into song to the sounds of their escort, the shopping-cart-sized Musikboot that tootled around the fleet with its creator Reinier Sijpkens playing the trumpet while grinding a player-organ. 

December 2008
PortSide throws Mary Whalen's 70th birthday party in Atlantic Basin
Some 500 people trooped through the Mary A. Whalen, ate birthday cake and chatted over the wood stove during the grey day. Visitors came by water; the historic tug Pegasus came from Jersey City and swung by Manhattan to pick up some guests.  The active-duty tug Janice Anne Reinauer joined the gang. The MV Manhattan swung through Atlantic Basin for a cheer and a wave, and several gigs from the Village Community Boathouse rowed over from Manhattan.

Some History

PortSide's vision for the BlueSpace was to create a place, a maritime hub, where many vessels come and go. Our shoreside programs are designed to have a synergistic relationship to this activity.

PortSide was planned to be a place with a ship, but we became a ship without a place.  PortSide did not get the space for which we did the 2005 business plan with funds from NYC's Department of Small Business Services.

This turned us into an itinerant ship, and creators of programs at various locations.

April 2009, NYC's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) sole-sourced PortSide to create a maritime hub and cultural center in Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. 

This will allow PortSide to fulfill the plans proposed in our 2005 plan, which were affirmed in April 2008 by the EDC Maritime Support Services Study that proposed that each borough have a maritime hub.

PortSide has been in Atlantic Basin lease negotiations with the EDC since April 2009.