Strange place to the max, & wonderful in its own way: the stretch of riverfront north of Lehigh Ave up to maybe Cambria. There's a lunar landscape back there, if you can find it. Head for the hills. One of them is made entirely of broken toilets. And along the water, a narrow band of forest. There's a whole grove of mature paper mulberries; maybe they were seeded from some old ship coming from the south Pacific. There's a big Kentucky Coffee-Tree. More ordinary trees too--locust, cherry, river birch, Pawlonia. If you're intrepid enough & it's low tide, you'll come upon a beautiful sandy beach, with a great view of the Bridge. But look out for poison ivy. Also, tick season starts when the weather gets hot.
The piers to the north are owned(?) by Conrail, & recently they've been closed off with new fence. That's the biggest enterprise going on for miles, it seems--erecting fence. Are they waiting for a second industrial revolution? Will the port suddenly need to put these piers back in service? I doubt it. What's up with this oobsession with fencing off the river?

Broken toilets huh? Sounds like a plumber's wonderland.