williamsburg piers

[March, 2002]

Stop me- you've heard this one before. These piers have been relinquished to the river, after years of serving a thriving industrial port populated with shipyards, breweries and sugar refineries. Now this portion of the waterfront is crumbling into the River. Huge chunks of earth sink off into the water, right before your eyes. Stolen cars, smashed up and stripped, litter the grounds nearby. Some wandering souls have made homes in discarded trailers, decorating them with glossy pages ripped from magazines.

However, the Williamsburg waterfront has not been completely cast to the wind. Many businesses still exist here, including a refinery manufacturing Domino brand sugar. It operates out of an ancient complex of buildings that appear dirty and abandoned but the quiet hum of machinery and lights peeking from behind slatted windows give away the interior's activities.