NYCkayaker Aug 5: Luau on Brooklyn Bridge Beach

[Erik Baard]

FRIENDS OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE BEACH

Robert Buchanan
917-656-7285

John McGarvey
917-572-0206

Erik Baard
917-579-9822

The following announces a luau-themed celebration of Brooklyn Bridge 
Beach to build support for the enhancement of the beauty and 
accessibility of this downtown Manhattan gem.The event will take place 
on Saturday, August 5, 2006 from noon to 1PM on the beach, at the 
corner of South Street and Dover Street.


Who: Dancers, twirlers, Rowers, Kayakers, Canoeists, Outriggers, sand 
combers, sunbathers, anglers, urban escapists, environmentalists, water 
lovers, artists, strollers, you!

What: Friends of Brooklyn Bridge Beach invites you to join a 
luau-themed celebration and harbor community activation event to bring 
attention to this unique lower Manhattan place of beauty.

Where: The beach directly under the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan side 
(corner South Street and Dover Street). Walking distance from subways 
to Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall, and Fulton Street.

When: Saturday, August 5, Noon – 1PM.

Why: Brooklyn Bridge Beach is lower Manhattan’s only remaining soft 
shoreline, an asset that should be highlighted as the city moves 
forward with the federally-funded $150 million East River Waterfront 
Esplanade and Piers Project.



Small beaches and coves are the safest means of entering and exiting 
the water for paddlers and rowers, especially in emergencies. Even 
small sand spits can save the lives of people who fall from 
hard-to-climb seawalls and piers. This will become increasingly 
important as development and recreation bring more residents and 
pedestrians to the waterfront.

East River water access points already exist in Brooklyn, the Bronx, 
and Queens as neighborhood amenities and to provide greater safety for 
mariners. Each of these boroughs has ambitious plans to create more 
soft shoreline access points. Manhattan deserves no less, so a 
coalition of water lovers from downtown and throughout the harbor are 
working together to ensure that at very least this beach is a 
centerpiece to waterfront revitalization plans.

Small beaches also cost less to maintain than complex, artificial 
infrastructure because they attract community stewardship with their 
beauty and simplicity. As neighborhood signatures, much like green 
spaces, beaches increase the value of real estate within walking 
distance of them.

Brooklyn Bridge Beach is uniquely suited to be such an access point in 
the heart of the Seaport District, adjacent to dead space under the FDR 
that would be enlivened by a community boathouse. It is fortuitously 
situated – Manhattan protects the waters from prevailing winds from the 
west and peak tidal currents are mitigated at this bend of the East 
River by convenient back eddies.

This beach is already popular with rowers and paddlers from throughout 
the harbor. Friends of Brooklyn Bridge Beach enjoys support from 
officials and members of Downtown Boathouse, Long Island City Community 
Boathouse, Red Hook Boaters, Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club, Rocking the 
Boat, East River C.R.E.W., New York Outrigger, and Hoboken Cove 
Boathouse, and from environmentalists as well, including the Lower East 
Side Ecology Center. Local businesspeople have also voiced their 
support.

For more information about the broader movement for small beaches in 
New York Harbor, please visit:

http://www.newyorkharborbeaches.org

Friends of Brooklyn Bridge Beach’s own website will be active Friday 
evening, August 4:

http://www.friendsofbrooklynbridgebeach.org




LIC Community Boathouse
http://www.licboathouse.org

Nature Calendar
http://www.naturecalendar.org

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Get more involved and join our discuss list, ask/answer questions of 
the LIC Boathouse Community, plan trips, etc. Remember, it's your 
Boathouse!
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