Hallets Cove Waterfront Restoration To Kick Off This Winter

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A long-floated effort to restore the Astoria waterfront at Hallets Cove is scheduled to begin this winter, local officials announced Monday.

Starting early next year, construction crews will clear debris and trash and demolish the abandoned, rotting pier known as the "radio tower."

The work is meant to restore the ecology of the cove, which has long been plagued by illegal dumping, according to City Council Member Costa Constantinides.

“The days of Hallets Cove as a crumbling dumping ground are over,” Constantinides said in a statement. “We will make good on a promise to reimagine this waterfront by restoring its ecology."

Constantinides has touted plans to revitalize the Astoria waterfront since at least 2015, when announced plans to replace the dilapidated pier with an eco-dock to launch kayaks and access the river for educational purposes.

Another long-discussed proposal, for a ferry stop in Astoria, launched in 2017. The ferry route was extended to Manhattan's Upper East Side this summer.

To Constantinides, the cove revitalization is another step toward his goal to reconnect residents of the adjacent Astoria Houses complex and the neighborhood at large to the East River.

“As a lifelong Astoria Houses resident and a lover of the outdoors, I'm especially grateful to see these beginning stages of our waterfront's revival and restoration," Claudia Coger, president of the Astoria Houses Residents Association, said. "This will ensure that many future generations will be able to access, interact, learn from and appreciate the beauty of our natural landscape."