The New York AIDS Memorial – a 42-foot-long curved stone bench situated on a granite path cut into the lawn – is situated in beautifully landscaped knoll a near Bank Street. The path is complemented by a balcony that juts out over the river where Pier 49 once stood. The old pilings, still visible above the water, are a poignant metaphor for the lives lost to AIDS.
The memorial is intended to be used as a place for people to sit and contemplate those who have been lost. The memorial quote engraved into the black granite bench reads “I can sail without wind, I can row without oars, but I cannot part from my friend without tears.”
The concept for a permanent AIDS monument in New York City began during the International Human Rights March held in New York in 1994. Following the march several activists incorporated a non-profit called AIDS Monument Committee (AMC) responsible for fundraising efforts and the design of the memorial. In 2005, the Hudson River Park Trust, offered the group a landscaped site for a permanent location.
The Pier 49 pile field in Hudson River Park is situated in Greenwich Village, the neighborhood that was at the core of activism against this disease more than 20 years ago. From 1985 to 2002, over 81,000 AIDS deaths were reported in New York City. Today, HIV continues to have an untold impact on more than 90,000 New Yorkers living with HIV.
Dedicated on the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day, November 30th, 2008, this permanent monument was built by the AIDS Monument Committee (AMC) to commemorate those who have died from the disease, those who live with HIV, and those who have cared for people with HIV/AIDS, educators and researchers who will one day eradicate it.

AIDS Memorial Committee/Hudson River Park Trust