About one year after the NYCTA vacated the pier , Pier 57 was temporarily utilized as a detention center during the 2004 Republican National Convention , when approximately 1,200 anti-RNC protesters were arrested and sent to a makeshift detention/processing center at Pier 57 . Over 1,800 were arrested during the entire event , giving rise to the nickname " Guantanamo on the Hudson " for the temporary facility . Medical activists reportedly treated many people held at Pier 57 for chemical burns , rashes , and infections that resulted from direct , prolonged exposure to the motor oil , asbestos , and other contaminants from its days as a bus garage
2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
Pier 57