The American Veterans Memorial Pier is formerly known as the 69th Street Pier. Originally, a modest wooden pier drew fishermen from all over to try their luck at the Bay Ridge Anchorage. Today, the area is still a popular fishing spot, boasting views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

The pier was rebuilt in concrete in the 1970s and updated again in the 1990s. Ferries have been a quintessential part of the pier's livelihood, toting Brooklynites to Staten Island (prior to the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) and Lower Manhattan.