The following was published by the New York Times in their New York Today column on August 23, 2018. The piece was authored by Jonathan Wolfe, who also collected the quotes. You can read the original here.
Let’s, for a minute, imagine a beach in Manhattan.
Manhattan is the only borough without one. Other big cities, like Copenhagen and Paris, have built centrally located swimming areas, so why can’t we?
Mayor Bill de Blasio thinks it’s “an interesting idea,” or at least he said so when asked about it on NY1 this month. “As a New Yorker, I’m kind of intrigued,” he said.
The mayor was responding to a New York Times editorial that suggested the idea.
We recently asked New York Today readers to share their thoughts — the pros and cons — and tell us where they would put it. The responses were mostly in favor, with a few detractors. A selection of those responses:
Battery Park: “A beach would cap the decades long effort to open up the city’s waterfront, and go beyond the traditional esplanades and walkways that have been employed in recent years to ring Manhattan. Battery Park would be a good place to create a pilot beach, but tidal studies would have to first be conducted to ensure safe swimming is possible before moving forward.”
— Richard Murdocco, 31, Syosset, N.Y.
