Hazardous section of Jacob Riis beach will stay closed this summer
Credit: Steven Pisano on Flickr
Parts of Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways will remain closed this summer due to unsafe conditions. Bays 1 through 5 of the beach, labeled “extremely hazardous” by the National Park Service, have experienced years of erosion, with nearly century-old wooden pilings and rockwork now exposed along the shoreline, as first reported by Gothamist.
Jacob Riis Park consists of 14 bays, with the main beach taking up Bays 6 through 14 on the western half. According to a press release from NPS last year, significant erosion occurred along the eastern half, creating unsafe conditions from Bay 1 through Bay 5 with exposed “deteriorating wooden groins, rockwork, and other structures” and a reduction in beach area, particularly at Bays 1, 3, and 4.
The dangerous stretch of shoreline claimed the life of a surfer last month and was also the site of two teen drownings last year, according to Gothamist.
In 2023, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent $12 million to replenish the beach with 360,000 cubic yards of sand. Officials had estimated the cyclic renourishment would be needed every four to six years, but most of the sand placed in 2023 had washed away a year later due to weather conditions over the winter and spring, according to the NPS.
The NPS confirmed to Gothamist that there are no plans for additional work at the site this year.
An Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson told Gothamist that ongoing work building new jetties contributed in part to the reduction of sand.
The $2.7 million restoration of the concrete path that lies east of the beach’s historic 92-year-old bathhouse, which was slated for completion by December, should be nearing completion.
Work on the Jacob Riis boardwalk coincides with a separate $50 million renovation of the park’s historic bathhouse, which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Led by CBSK Developers and the architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, the project will transform the 1932 landmark into a multi-use destination with restaurants, a bar, a pool, event spaces, and a 28-room boutique hotel.
Dubbed “The People’s Beach,” Jacob Riis was built on the Rockaway peninsula in the 1930s and has been federally operated as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area since 1974.
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