Faulty reasoning signals

• Anecdotal - 30.9%
• Biased Writer Voice - 21.7%
• Halo Effect - 13.1%

Article text

Arts & Entertainment

New York's hottest club is a floating barge on the Hudson

Published Jul 10, 2026 at 6:31 a.m. ET

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Alix Piorun for Gothamist

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

A barge is anchored in the mouth of the mighty Hudson River, not far from Lady Liberty and near Ellis Island and a constant torrent of boat traffic. On that barge, in what was formerly a members-only clubhouse that belonged to the Manhattan Yacht Club, is the Honorable William Wall — or "Willy Wall" — a two-story bar that is open to the public and has become a hot spot for plein air drinking.

”Last summer, the Willy Wall, when I took over, was a little slow. It was more of a dive bar, but the bones were here,” Monty Fortenbaugh said from the top deck on a recent, blustery Thursday, before momentarily excusing himself to cue up another pop banger. In addition to managing the bar, he often serves as its DJ.

Fortenbaugh took over from his father, Michael Wall Fortenbaugh, who was also on board that night. He started the Manhattan Yacht Club back in 1987 with the vision of reintroducing recreational sailing to New York City.

“We succeeded,” he says from the enclosed, wood-paneled lower level of the William Wall, which is named for his ancestor, a cordage entrepreneur and mayor of Williamsburg. “Now everybody thinks it’s normal, but in the original days, no one thought it was possible.”

Patrons at the Willy Wall.

The idea for the clubhouse barge was born in summer 2001, shelved following 9/11 and then reborn after the club received a grant from the Civic Capital Corporation, which was funding projects derailed by 9/11. It was built, launched and anchored on a particularly shallow portion of the Hudson in 2004 as an unfinished, single-story floating platform with out a bar or a roof.

“It was very raw. The inside space wasn’t built out. It was all steel,” Michael said. “Over the years we invested more, made it nicer and people have responded well.”

Members kept asking to bring their friends, and so eventually, in 2012, the Willy Wall opened to the public. Now visitors and members alike are ferried out via the Admiral’s Launch, a decommissioned U.S. Navy vessel that leaves at regular intervals from the Manhattan Yacht Club’s Jersey City headquarters, where it moved in 2015 after 28 years operating out of Lower Manhattan.

Monty has excitedly extolled the Willy Wall’s appeal to influencers since becoming general manager last year,

“It’s only got a 149-person capacity,” he said. “We should be able to sell out every night.”

Despite the wind and wake, a crowd made up of New Jerseyans, Manhattanites and international visitors cavorts up top, sipping from plastic cups and eating meals brought in from the mainland. (Willy Wall sells only drinks and some limited merch, but no food). Maritime signal flags flutter overhead as guests stand about the blue-carpeted upper deck, taking in the glistening skyline. On certain days, sailboats race below, but today only shipping freights and ferries float by.

The view from the Willy Wall

“ Last summer they were so booked you couldn't even get in,” said Debbi Wallace, a resident of Union County, New Jersey. “But I made sure I signed up when things started happening, and I got a notification, and I was quick to book some tickets, and brought some of my best friends here to kick off the summer.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this in the whole world,” said Kostia Belkin, a mutton-chopped sailor from Monaco. “We have yacht clubs on the ground, but like this on the water? No.”

He and the rest of the crew from the historic sailboat Viola have been docked at the Manhattan Yacht Club while in town for Fourth of July festivities. It’s the most recent development in a relationship between the Manhattan Yacht Club and the Yacht Club de Monaco that started in 1988, when the Commodore snail-mailed Monaco’s Prince Albert, challenging him to a sailing competition in New York Harbor. He accepted.

After a few hours aboard, I head back to the mainland. It may be more of a schlep to the Willy Wall than the city’s landlubbing bars, but there really is no better way to take in the evening skyline than from the harbor.

Hannah Frishberg covers New York City arts and culture. Got a tip? Email Hannah at [email protected] .

MORE arts-entertainment

What you discover when you take absurdly long walks through NYC

We're talking about 15-20 mile walks.

Published Jul 9, 2026

Kevin Smith explains why Hollywood owes its existence to New Jersey. Yes, really.

Thanks to Edison, the roots of the film industry are in West Orange.

America’s first hot dogs were served on the shores of Coney Island

Beloved Brooklyn metal bar Saint Vitus to reopen in Bushwick

Comedy, tragedy, murder, birds: All at the movies this July in NYC

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.