Remember the new East River State Park in Williamsburg, home of Hipster Beach? Our Kent Avenue tipster reports the July opening could slip to August because all the rain has made new lawns too soft for "the inevitable thousands of Chuck Taylors and platform boots tearing them up.” Bring lots of sunscreen or a beach umbrella because the semi-barren look you see is what you'll get. The budget is tapped and officials want to “preserve a decent amount of the site’s historical character.” (Post-industrial emptiness?) The huge concrete pads at Kent and North 7th will remain, but ixnay on the skate park. The State Parks Commissioner doesn’t dig skaters.
Now for the fun part: Will Williamsburg and New York State Parks culture get along? It could be a source of endless late summer fun, given complaints about tough enforcement of rules at NYC state parks like Empire Fulton Ferry Park in Dumbo and Gantry State Park in Long Island City, where offenders are often confronted by Park Rangers. (No bikes. No dogs. No bridal pix without a permit. No cameras with tripods. No videotaping. Etc.)
· Get Your Lawn Chairs Ready: East River Park Opening Soon [Curbed]
· Bodies, Burned Hookers and, uh, Bathtubs [Curbed]
· Rigid Rules Rile Park Goers in Dumbo [NYDN]