Celebrating the Grand Opening on July 10 / Photo by GIA
The Water Taxi Beach is open. With 300 tons of freshly imported sand, it has transformed the northern end of the Island from a parking lot to an urban seashore. It opened officially for frolic (and five-figure fund-raising!) under a perfect blue sky on the evening of Friday, July 10.
Following on the inauguration of Picnic Point at the southern end last month, the beach is yet another new addition to the Island's historic attractions and its matchless setting. It is the third beach that water taxi entrepreneur Tom Fox has created, and easily the most spectacular.
GIA chairman Ken Fisher awards special GIA crown of
gold to beach creator Tom Fox / Photo by GIA
gold to beach creator Tom Fox / Photo by GIA
The July 10 opening raised $10,000 for the Alliance's programs on the Island and its work promoting the open spaces. The event was co-sponsored by the Alliance and Emerging New York Architects, the young professionals group of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Sitting directly opposite the towers of lower Manhattan, the beach scene is to die for. Party-goers at the opening did what people do at the beach. They shed their shoes, munched on hot dogs and roasted corn, and relaxed. An energetic few dunked baskets through the hoops on the half of the beach that remains as open tarmac, where audiences will stand for concerts on the big stage at the east end. Beach volleyball anyone? There's a spot for that at the west end.
A fast food kitchen and a bar stretch along the inner edge of the beach, away from the water. For sit-down eating there is a choice of tables under a canopy or out in the open at the waterside. Some of the food comes from the new Added Value farm at the south end of the Island; uneaten food goes back to the farm for composting.
By day, when the Island is open to the public, the beach is wide open to all - at no charge. At night, for concerts after the Island shuts down, Fox's New York Water Taxi fleet will provide the transportation - free with the purchase of a ticket to the concert.
Fox's Harbor Experience Companies, parent of New York Water Taxi, has a five-year contract for the beach. (Harbor Experience came into being when Fox acquired Circle Line Harbor Cruises.) The original Water Taxi Beach is perched on the East River in Queens; the second has just opened at the South Street Seaport.
A fast food kitchen and a bar stretch along the inner edge of the beach, away from the water. For sit-down eating there is a choice of tables under a canopy or out in the open at the waterside. Some of the food comes from the new Added Value farm at the south end of the Island; uneaten food goes back to the farm for composting.
By day, when the Island is open to the public, the beach is wide open to all - at no charge. At night, for concerts after the Island shuts down, Fox's New York Water Taxi fleet will provide the transportation - free with the purchase of a ticket to the concert.
Fox's Harbor Experience Companies, parent of New York Water Taxi, has a five-year contract for the beach. (Harbor Experience came into being when Fox acquired Circle Line Harbor Cruises.) The original Water Taxi Beach is perched on the East River in Queens; the second has just opened at the South Street Seaport.