His fishing exploits - and buoyant bravado - are a highlight of "Gotham Fish Tales," a new documentary by Rob Maass about the lives of intrepid city anglers, many of whom ply their sport atop piers, under bridges and beside waste-water treatment plants.

The design is well-suited for construction atop elevated piers, or in areas of unstable soils where anchorages would be difficult to construct.

The narrator, three string players and Mr. Bral all sit isolated, in tuxedos and bare feet, atop wooden piers scattered about the pool.

The port boomed, and hotels, saloons, bath houses, and resorts were built around it, mostly atop high wooden piers in the shallows of the lake, connected by a network of pier like wooden boardwalks.

Several yachts perched precariously atop narrow wooden piers, where they had been abandoned by receding tides.

The elimination of horizontal forces at the abutments allows tied-arch bridges to be constructed with less robust foundations; thus they can be situated atop elevated piers or in areas of unstable soil.

The development would include shaded sports fields atop existing piers, 10 acres of water for kayakers, marshland habitats, playgrounds, restaurants and stores.

The platform consists of precast steel-reinforced concrete slabs that are placed atop poured concrete piers.