Parks Dept. Increases Beach & Pool Access For People With Disabilities

Park workers installed a Mobi-Matt at B.73rd Street in Rockaway Beach before the beach season opened in May.  The mats are made of polyester from recycled bottles and are anchored into the sand by 20-inch heavy-duty staples made from bi-chromated steel.  The newer mats are 6 1/2’ wide versus the older mats which are 5’ wide.  (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft

For beach and pool goers who are mobility challenged or impaired help is coming.

Access to the city's beaches, pools and even the ocean will be dramatically increased this summer for people with disabilities, NYC Park Advocates has learned.

The Parks Department increased the number of mobi-mats by more than fifty percent. 

The popular light blue mats allow people in wheel chairs access to the beach and near the water. The mats are also popular with beach goers with strollers and coolers.

In total the city has purchased 112 new mobi-mats, 5,600 feet.  The new mats are also a foot and a half wider, going from 5 feet to 6 and a half feet wide. 

An elderly woman and her aid utilize the Mobi-Mat on Coney Island.

The city has also purchased a number of ADA beach wheelchairs which allows access on to beach and into the water itself, more than doubling the previous number of accessible wheelchairs. 

They have also purchased a number of pool lifts to replace outdated models. 

In total, 16 Hydraulic ADA Pool Lifts,16 ADA Beach Wheelchairs and 5 Pool wheelchairs were purchased.  All of the Parks Department's adult outdoor and indoor pools now have an ADA pool lift according to the agency.   

Before the new arrivals the city had 220 mats, 7 beach wheelchairs and 3 pool chairs.  

Rockaway Beach is seeing the largest increase of matts by far.  The beach,  currently undergoing a massive restoration after being battered by Hurricane Sandy, is receiving 4,200 feet of mats.  The city has also placed mats over sand berms.

Beaches:              Beach Mats Ordered:                             Beach Wheelchairs Ordered:    

Bronx:                   500’ (10- 50’ rolls)                                                          2

Brooklyn:             500’ (10- 50’ rolls                                                            6

Queens:               4,200 (84- 50’ rolls)                                                         5

Staten Island:       400’ (8-50’rolls)                                                               3

 

Totals:                 5,600’ Mats (112- 50’ rolls)                                           16 ADA Beach Wheelchairs

 

Pools:         Pool Lifts Ordered:                                              Pool Wheelchairs Ordered:

Bronx:                 3                                                                                          2

Brooklyn:            9                                                                                         2

Manhattan:         0                                                                                         0

Queens:              2                                                                                         0

Staten Island:     2                                                                                         1

Totals:                 16 Hydraulic ADA Pool Lifts                                           5 Pool Wheelchairs

Source: NYC Parks 

The pool wheelchairs - The AquaTrek Aquatic Wheel Chair is a submersible mobility aid. The chairs will be located at pools in the Queens, Bronx, Faber Pool in Staten Island and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.   

The city is spending close to a hundred and eighty-thousand dollars for the new equipment.

“NYC Parks looks forward to significantly increase accessibility at beaches and outdoor pools across the city with these new mobi-mats, beach wheelchairs and pool chairs,” the Parks Department said in a statement. 

Before installing a Mobi-Mat near the lifeguard station in Brighton Beach,  lifeguard Miguel Castro had to place his son Vencel Castro onto a stretcher. His colleagues helped transport him to the shoreline.  Vencel has Cerebral Palsy and Seizure Disorder. 

Miguel's colleagues helped carry his son Vencel to the water.

Miguel enters the surf with his son Vencel where he practices swimming.  

Miguel Castro, 57, has worked as a lifeguard for the Parks Department for the past 42 years,  for the past 21 years as Chief Lifeguard for section 3 in Brighton Beach near Coney Island.

He knows first hand the enormous challenges of providing access to the beach for people with disabilities.

His son Vencel Castro, 24, has Cerebral Palsy and Seizure Disorder. 

For years Miguel had to carry his 120 pound son, sometimes with the help of his colleagues, three hundred feet from the boardwalk to the ocean.

Last year the city finally installed a mobi-mat at Beach at  2nd Street near lifeguard station which he says made the world of difference.  

"It's vital for him.  It's made life so much easier,"  said the proud father and single dad.  

"So many people use it. It makes the beach so much more accessible not just for people with disabilities but for older people,  mothers, people with children and carriages. It's such an important thing to have."

Castro also stressed the need for land chairs which allow access to the water.

"Everywhere else you go around the country they have them."

We hope they put one over here, there are a lot of people who can use it over here," he said.

Before installing the matts the city forced parents and caregivers to drag wheelchairs through the sand. For most people that was not even an option.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge

 The city has come a long way since it first installed the first four mobi-mats in 2007 which enabled disabled access close to the water’s edge for the first time in the city's history. 

Before the city began installing the mats parents and caregivers were forced to drag wheelchairs through the sand. For most people that was not even an option.

Disabled advocates have long complained about the lack of access to basic facilities in the park system including to the city's 14 miles of beaches.   

On June 19, 2007 several disabled people in wheelchairs accompanied by NYC Park Advocates attended a press conference announcing the pilot program at Brighten Beach. 

While acknowledging the significance of the day advocates discussed the city's terrible track record providing access and noted that a width of just 25 feet was now available after providing zero accommodations for more than a century.  (They also questioned the rational of installing a mat where the closest subway station was not ADA accessible)  

Then Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe wasted no time in embarrassing himself and the city. 

Benepe shot back when asked to comment on the criticisms telling a New York Times reporter that advocates for the disabled, “should be ashamed of themselves for complaining about this on this great day.”

"Strike that from the record,  strike that from the record,"  he ordered the reporter waving his hands dismissively.

The paper did not comply.

Read More:

The Way Smoothing the Way for Those Seeking a Day at the Beach

New York Times - June 20, 2007 - By David K. Randall

City Installs Beach Mats for the Disabled

New York Times - June 19, 2007 -  By Sewell Chan 

Central Park Rowboating Returns With Floating Dock - Still Not ADA Compliant

A Boathouse rowboat concession employee helps a returning rowboat onto the new dock.  Workers are now easily able to guide the rowboats  on to the dock via rollers. Row boating in Central Park returned after $ 200,000 partly taxpayer-funded renovation.  The new dock however is not ADA compliant and the city did not require it.   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Manhattan

By Geoffrey Croft

One of Central Park's most popular attractions has returned.

The Loeb Boathouse reopened its popular rowboat concession after a more than $ 200,000 - partly taxpayer funded renovation,  NYC Park Advocates has learned.  

The dock,  including its sixty-two year infrastructure were completely ripped out and replaced with a plastic floating dock.

The redesigned deck, made of brown colored polyethylene, will rise and fall with the lake and not be susceptible to flooding as the wooden planks were since they were first installed. It will also be safer. 

"Wood was missing people were falling in, " said a worker helping a family from Florida out of a boat.

"It was rotted, it's way better now. The rollers make is much easier the boats slide right up. The grip on the floor is much better,"  the worker said.


A Boathouse rowboat concession employee in Central Park helps a family returning to the new dock. 

Over the last several months The Lake in Central Park had been eerily quiet as The Loeb Boathouse rowboat concession quietly underwent a massive renovation.   Usually teeming with boating enthusiasts park goers arrived to find the concession hidden behind a green mesh construction fence with no clue as to what was going on. 

In April workers began disassembling the deteriorated deck.  Wearing waders the construction crew trudged through the murky water and removed the rotted slabs, carting them away one by one.

April, 2015.  Demolishing The Deteriorated Dock. Workers haul away the rotted wooden decking from the old dock.  

The modular system dock arrived in multiple sections two weeks ago and crews quickly began assembling it.

The city shared the costs which are supposed to be the responsibly of the concessionaire.   

One design feature did not change however - the dock is not ADA compliant.

The city did not require that a system be installed that would allow people in wheelchairs to access the boats.  This can be accomplished by installing either by a lift or transfer station. No word whether or not the city will require that when they release a new RFP. 

Both the Parks Department and the Boathouse concessionaire owner Dean Poll refused to respond to questions despite several requests.

"It was nice and sturdy," Danielle Boivin, 23, an actress who recently moved from St. Louis said of the new dock.


The modular system dock arrived in multiple sections two weeks ago and crews quickly began assembling it.

"The rowing was really fun. It's so beautiful. We got our workout for the day."

Boating on the Lake has been a popular pastime from the Park's earliest days.

Located on the East Side of the Park between 74th and 75th Streets, boating on the park's second largest water body has been a favorite since the park opened more than 150 years ago. 

Row boating is normally available from April through October.

"It was seriously fun,"  said Kanchalee Wijakpaisarn, 28, a film maker. 

"It (rowing) reminded me of Harry Potter. It was beautiful."

Rowers are able to pass under the iconic Bow Bridge (1862) which is currently closed and partly enclosed in a white tent to prevent debris from falling into the Lake. The beautiful cast-iron bridge, and the second oldest in America. 

For the first time rowers are also able to pass under the iconic Bow Bridge (1862) for an up close and personal inspection of the repair work underway.  The cast-iron bridge, the second oldest in America,  is currently closed and partly enclosed in a white tent to prevent debris from falling into the Lake.

Row boats can be rented at the Loeb Boathouse daily, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. The boats must be returned by 6:30 pm. Rentals cost $15 for the first hour and $3 each additional 15 minutes.  Note: The website has not been updated and still states that the dock is under repair. Also the $ 12 cost to row for an hour was raised last year to $ 15.  

Photo Gallery:   (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

 In April demolition crews began removing the wooden dock, including its sixty-two year infrastructure

Wearing waders, the demolition crew removed materials in the murky water.

The old dock was carted away.  

The old dock, including its sixty-two year infrastructure were removed completely.

A crew unloaded the modular dock system which arrived in multiple sections.

Workers quickly began assembling it.

Smooth Sailing. A Boathouse rowboat concession employee helps a returning rowboats onto the new dock.  

John Jay Park Toilet Fire: Parks Department Creates Barriers For People With Disabilities

Three portable toilets in John Jay Park on the Upper East Side park burned down. The toilets were brought in while the park bathhouse (1906) is undergoing long-delayed renovations. (Photos: © Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on image to enlarge.

Manhattan

A heated portable toilet in an Upper East Side park erupted in flames, causing a chain-reaction blaze that gutted three of the toilets and knocked two others out of commission, according to the New York Post.

The fire erupted in a Port-O-San toilet in John Jay Park on 76th Street near Cherokee Place -- where the bathrooms are being renovated -- at 11 a.m. Thursday. It was apparently sparked by a faulty electrical connection. It took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured.

Sources tell A Walk In The Park the toilets were brought in while the park bathhouse (1906) is undergoing long-delayed renovations. The bathhouse work includes installing an elevator inside the building to comply with ADA and bringing the outside bathrooms to grade. (Seven steps prevented people in wheelchairs from accessing the facilities) Work also includes renovating the decrepit shower facilities and repairing dangerous cracked, leaking moldy ceilings and walls which park workers complained about for many, years. Electrical and plumbing are also being upgraded.

The two remaining portable toilets inside the park are ADA compliant however due to their location they are inaccessible for people in wheelchairs. The entry pathway does not meet ADA accessibility guidelines. (See Below)

Making The Lives of The City's Most Vulnerable More Difficult. Despite having acres of parkland to place these ADA compliant Port-O-Sans, the city placed them adjacent to a tree pit and a park bench whereby preventing access. The entry pathway does not meet ADA accessibility guidelines.

John Jay Park is named for a New York jurist and statesman. John Jay (1745-1829) was elected President of the First Continental Congress in 1778 and drafted New York's first constitution in 1777.

The Parks Department refused comment despite repeated attempts to reach them. – Geoffrey Croft

Read More:

Toilet blaze a real loo-loo

New York Post - November 9, 2010 - By John Doyle