New Yorkers have lived on houseboats since the 19th century, docking across several boroughs.^[1] Historically, houseboat dwellers were typically men who worked on barges in the Hudson River.^[1] Since the 1940s, houseboat inhabitants have mostly chosen to live aboard for pleasure.^[1] Boats offer cheap housing, good views, and privacy.^[1][2] In 1999, it was estimated to be several hundred houseboats in the city.^[1]

Several houseboats are docked on the Newtown Creek.^[3] These include the MV Schamonchi, a former Martha's Vineyard Ferry that ended up in Brooklyn when it was decommissioned and sold in 2005.^[3] The Schamonchi served as a squat and a party space, and owners paid to dock it at 190 Morgan.^[3][4] Other boats are rented out to tenants.^[5] Most boats are docked on city land, without a marina, so owners do not pay to park their boat.^[6] Boat dwellers have faced eviction several times from the city's Small Business Services Department and the Transportation Department.^[3]

The 79th Street Boat Basin is a marina on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. People have lived there since the 1960s, when the Parks Department leased the marina to third-party management companies, who allowed for live-aboards.^[1][7] In the 1970s, rents were about $200 per month.^[1] The 1990s brought disputes between boat dwellers and the city, which resumed management in 1989.^[8] It was home to roughly 60 people when the marina closed in 2021 for renovation.^[7]

In the 1990s, the Floating Neutrinos junk raft Town Hall was anchored off Pier 25.^[9][10]

Houseboats are also located at the Newport Marina in Jersey City.^[1]

Rockaway, Queens, is also a popular place for docking houseboats.^[11][12] Chef Ben Sargent had a houseboat there which was sunk by renters.^[13] Marina 59 allows overnight stays but not full-time habitation.^[13] This marina was the site of the Boatel, a popular boat hotel that ran for several years before closing after Hurricane Sandy.^[14]

City Island in the Bronx is also a location for houseboat dwellers.^[1][2] Great Kills Harbor in Staten Island is another marina where people live on boats.^[1] Inwood was home to two sites of houseboats: on the Harlem River near 207th St, and along the Spuyten Duyvil near Inwood Hill.^[15]

Prisoners have lived on ships throughout New York City's history, including American prisoners of war held by British ships during the Revolutionary War,^[16] commemorated by the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park. Currently the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, a floating jail barge, is docked near Rikers Island.^[17]

• A Cold War Atlantis—A Boyhood Uptown, Benjamin Feldman