The Town of North Hempstead is set to begin Phase One of the Beach Park Project with shoreline restoration. Supervisor Judi Bosworth, before her departure from the role at the start of 2022, and the town board announced the first phase of the North Hempstead Beach Park renovation. New York State Senator Anna Kaplan is working with the town of North Hempstead to secure funding for this portion of the project.
With the help of New York State Senator Kaplan, the town will be provided with $1,050,000 in grant funding for phase one of the project. Supervisor Bosworth acknowledged the generous grant Senator Kaplan secured and said, “I want to sincerely thank Senator Kaplan for providing significant funding to support the first phase of this extraordinary project.” The shoreline restoration of phase one will re-establish aquatic habitat that has been lost and strengthen the environment to protect against erosion in the future.
“After many years of visioning, public participation, planning, and designing, we are extremely proud to announce that the first phase of the North Hempstead Beach Park renovation project is in the permitting phase, as we work to transform this space into a destination for residents to learn, live, and play for generations to come,” said Supervisor Bosworth. Once the permits are approved the town’s department of Public Works will be working with engineering consultants, Savik and Murray, to finalize plans for bidding purposes.
According to the final advisory committee presentation that took place in January of 2019, the shoreline restoration that will take place in phase one will use rip-rap to preserve the shorelines. Rip-rap is a human made structure consisting of rocks that are constructed to protect shorelines from erosion. Using rip-rap not only limits shore erosion, it also is a very natural looking solution to maintain the aesthetics of the park. The presentation also includes the use of tidal wetland areas along the rip-rap edge. Tidal wetlands are flat areas where vegetation, that survives regular flooding by the tides, grows. The addition of tidal wetlands provides the necessary wildlife habitat and shoreline preservation that phase one will be focusing on.
Phase one is just the start of the big plans the Town of North Hempstead has mapped out for the renovation of Beach Park. For two years, the town has received public feedback on what they want to see at the new Beach Park, during which the town created a plan.
“The cumulative vision for the entire renovation project is truly transformative, with features including a year-round restaurant and outdoor cafe, a performance stage, seasonal ice-skating rink, sledding hill, volleyball, horseshoes, bocce court, ping pong, a soccer and baseball field, climbing wall, BMX bike track, game tables, swings, pickle ball courts,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “As well as the conversion of eight acres of parking, which includes 675 parking spaces, into green spaces.”
In the detailed presentation of the Beach Park renovation, the year-round restaurant will be on the coast and feature a cozy fire pit. Other amenities mentioned in the presentation include an adult fitness zone, kayak storage, and a water play area for children. A waterfront esplanade that provides shared bike-way, walkway and seating for visitors is going to be constructed along the shore of Hempstead Harbor. The presentation of the plans states that the shared pathway for pedestrian and bike use will be 16 feet and create a 5K loop along the shore of the park.
“Families have been making treasured memories at North Hempstead Beach Park for generations, but the time has come to make investments for the future and create the kind of new amenities that our neighbors will enjoy for generations to come,” said Senator Kaplan. With the many provisions coming to Beach Park, the space will continue to be a destination for family and friends seeking fun.
“When Supervisor Bosworth shared the community’s vision for the future with me, and asked for help financing the park’s transformation, I was thrilled to support the effort by securing a $1,050,000 grant from the State of New York so that our community can have the beautiful and vibrant park that they deserve,” said Senator Kaplan. “I applaud Supervisor Bosworth and every member of the community who came together during the visioning process for this transformative project and look forward to continuing to support the effort through completion.”
The vision for the renovation of Beach Park contains many updates that will re-mold the park into a place for people of all ages to enjoy. To view the ideas for designing the renovated North Hempstead Beach park, www.northhempsteadny.gov/nhbpvisioning
