LILAC, a retired Coast Guard cutter that carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys from 1933 to 1972, is berthed at Pier 25 in Hudson River Park. USCGC Lilac is America's only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. She is now a museum ship owned and operated by the non-profit Lilac Preservation Project and is open for tours, exhibits and events while undergoing restoration. Lilac was launched 89 years ago on May 26, 1933. The ship re-opened for the 2022 season on May 28. Regular hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend in May until mid-October. Hours are subject to change due to the weather. If the forecast is for more than a 50 percent chance of rain or if a Heat Advisory has been declared, the ship will close. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. For more information, click here. (Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Sea Chanteys and Other Maritime Music Aboard Tall Ship Wavertree: Beginning in April 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic necessitated nothing but online presentations of the South Street Seaport Museum’s monthly New York City sea chantey sing, "Sea Chanteys and Maritime Music." As of Sunday, June 5 at 2 p.m. ET, in-person gatherings are resuming. The free song fest of traditional maritime work songs and ballads will take place on the main deck of the museum's 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Singers of all levels, as well as listeners, are welcome to lead or request a song, join in the choruses, or just listen on the first Sunday of every month. Note that boarding the ship entails walking up a few stairs and along an angled gangway. Before or after the singing, participants are invited to tour the Seaport Museum's gallery exhibitions at 12 Fulton St., as well as tour the rest of Wavertree and visit the 1908 lightship Ambrose on Pier 16, all free of charge. For more information and to sign up, click here.

South St. Seaport Museum seeks volunteers: Volunteers work to support every aspect of the South St. Seaport Museum, but are most often involved in working on the waterfront at Pier 16 where crews restore and maintain the Museum’s fleet of historic vessels using traditional maritime skills. Volunteers and interns help the museum staff maintain and interpret the stationary vessels and operate, maintain and interpret the operational vessels. Entry level work includes cleaning and organizing, repairs, painting, polishing, varnishing, and general maintenance. In the spring, the operational vessels are fitted out and re-rigged for the coming season, and in the late fall they’re down-rigged for winter. Most labor can be unskilled. Training is provided. In addition, all ships need carpenters, electricians, ship engineers, riggers, metalworkers and divers from time to time. Requirements: Physical stamina, skills as described above and an ability to work in a team. Volunteers must be 18 or older and have a parent’s or guardian’s permission to sail. In addition, they must go on two training sails which are held most Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon during the sailing season. Between the first and second training sail, volunteers must take a U.S. Coast Guard mandated drug test. To maintain their active status, they must work as crew on at least four sails a month (during the season). Click here for more information.

Governors Island ferry access: Access to Governors Island is by ferry, with timed ticket reservations required. Ferries run daily from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South St. in Lower Manhattan. The ferries are always free for kids 12 and under, for seniors 65 and up, for residents of NYCHA housing, for military servicemembers, Governors Island members, and for everyone on weekends before noon. Starting later this year, NYC Ferry will serve Governors Island daily via the South Brooklyn route. A launch date for this expanded service will be announced soon. NYC Ferry's shuttle from Wall Street/Pier 11 to Yankee Pier on Governors Island will continue on weekends until the launch of 7-day/week service along the South Brooklyn route. NYC Ferry riders on any line that makes stops at Wall Street/Pier 11 may transfer to a shuttle service to Governors Island on Saturdays and Sundays. Governors Island weekend ferry service from Brooklyn (Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook) is currently not in service and will return in Spring, 2022. The first ferry to Governors Island from 10 South St. leaves at 7 a.m. The last ferry from Governors Island leaves at 6 p.m. Learn more about Governors Island ferries and book tickets by clicking here.

Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets: There are Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets in Tribeca (at Chambers and Greenwich Streets) and at Bowling Green, City Hall, the Oculus and the Staten Island ferry. GrowNYC asks that shoppers wear a face covering inside the market space and maintain a six-foot distance between themselves, Greenmarket staff, farm stand employees and other customers. Dogs and bicycles should be left at home.

Click here for a list of the fruits and vegetables now in season.