Pier 40 is home to two Cruise ships, "The Queen of Hearts" and "The Star of Palm Beach". If you are going out on a cruise, you will find them docked on the north side of the Pier. If you are driving there is a commercially operated parking lot right at the pier. 15 minute parking is available at the front of the pier for drop-offs or pick-ups.

The Friends of Hudson River Park offer this description of the history of Pier 40:

"Pier 40 was completed in 1963, in one of New York City's last attempts to retain commercial shipping in Manhattan. It has a footprint of 14 acres - one of the largest piers in the City. Following its opening, Pier 40 was used for several years by the Holland America Line.

For many years, Pier 40 was used as parking garage, and it continues to be used for that purpose. In addition, the Hudson River Park Trust maintains its offices here. However, in 1999, a less-than-regulation-size soccer field was constructed on a part of the roof of the Pier, and it has been very popular and heavily used.

More recently – and more importantly – the three-acre courtyard in the center of the Pier has been reconstructed to support two full sized soccer fields (or, alternatively, a full sized baseball field AND a Little League sized field.) In addition, an area on the roof of the Pier has been fitted with turf grass and now provides a large area for sitting, sunning and other passive recreation. So while Pier 40 continues to function as a parking garage, it now offers very important athletic facilities that are available to the public at no or low-cost."