It could have been a beautiful dream: on one side of the East River, Long Island City's Water Taxi Beach. On the other side, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, the Fulton Fishmarket's own sandy shores. We've dreamed of a downtown Manhattan beach before, visiting it a few years back (above), and even sucking Richard Rogers and SHoP into the vision. But now it seems our dreams have died, lost in the currents of local politics—and, uh, child safety. Reports Downtown Express from a community board meeting:
"It's really pretty sterile," [Tribeca resident and avid kayaker Rob] Buchanan agreed. "There's also a really large back-eddy between those two bridges," he said of the water currents at the beach location, "and that is a very useful thing if you’re a paddler or a rower." "Not if you're an eight-year-old kid, though" [firefighter Joe] Hartigan chimed in. Ongoing talk of the danger to neighborhood children wandering into the water put a damper on the rest of the presentation.
If our dreams must die, at least the eight-year-olds will live.
· Let the beach idea drown, C.B. 1 committee says [Downtown Express]
· Weekend Planner: Hit the (LES) Beach [Curbed]
· East River Redevelopment Update: Touch the Pretty Water [Curbed]
· Lower East Side Beaches [Curbed]